James Ohlen is the Creative Director and Lead Designer of The Old Republic, | ||
| Character | Line | Comment |
| Phone rings | ||
| Shauna: | Hello | In a good mood |
| James: | Are you in a good mood? | |
| Shauna: | Yes…? | Suspicious |
| James: | You know how the game was going to be multiple times bigger than any game we’d ever done? | |
| Shauna: | Yes… every NPC gets recorded. | More suspicious |
| James: | We did a prototype. | |
| Shauna: | OK… | Very hesitant |
| James: | We want to voice all of the characters including all player characters. | |
| James: | Hello? | |
| Shauna: | Pardon me? | Weak in the knees |
| James: | We decided that we-- | |
| Shauna: | I heard you, but this is already the biggest game we have ever done. What does that do to the line count? | Cutting James off |
| James: | We're estimating hundreds of thousands of lines, give or take a few thousand. | |
| Shauna: | Wow... You’re insane, completely insane, you know that don't you? | After an uncomfortable silence |
| From that moment forth my nickname for James became “Crazy Man”. | ||
And so began the crazy odyssey of voice-over (VO) production for Star Wars™: The Old Republic™. It would be a joint effort between BioWare and LucasArts. BioWare would write all the scripts, create the schedule and be responsible for the tracking and integration of all VO assets. The LucasArts Audio Department, led by Darragh O’Farrell, would handle recording the voice talent and sending the VO assets to BioWare.
I was excited for the chance to work with the LucasArts Audio team. They had done the VO for a previous BioWare game, Star Wars™: Knights of the Old Republic™, before I joined the company and it had been very well received. In fact, when I joined the world of VO production for games, my goal was to match the KOTOR quality bar.
But – The Old Republic would have at least ten times the lines of dialogue of KOTOR. Since neither BioWare nor LucasArts had experience on a project of this magnitude, this was an exciting and intimidating challenge. BioWare would be responsible for providing the reams and reams of scripts, as well as, managing the writing/VO production schedule. The LucasArts team would be responsible for finding the actors, recording and post processing the dialogue.
So how do we do it?As I said, The Old Republic is the size of at least 10 KOTORs recorded back to back. Basically, it takes a very large team all focused on the same outcome - producing the most VO assets ever produced at the highest quality possible. There are dedicated internal teams at both LucasArts and BioWare, and externally, there are also multiple studio audio engineers and post production teams. On any given day, there can be over a dozen people working specifically on The Old Republic voice-over and that doesn’t include any actors!
The ProcessIt all starts with the writing. The story is written by a team of writers and signed off by the Principal Lead Writer. Then it is handed off to the dialogue editor where it receives a pass for ‘voice’. This ensures consistency and also that the writing is the tightest it can be to be delivered by voice actors.
Once the editing passes are complete, the conversations are formatted into scripts for the actors. Like all BioWare games, dialogue in The Old Republic is nonlinear. As a player, you can select from a number of different conversation lines which, in turn, lead to multiple options for NPC responses. This creates highly complex scripts (unlike a movie or television scripts which are linear). In studio, all the various permutations of the story must be recorded - and often in a variety of orders. Because the scripts are nonlinear, we have to provide enough context for the actors to understand what is going on. We need to set the scene for them.
There are two ways we work to ensure the actors have what they need to deliver a quality performance. First, prior to any large section of the game being recorded, the Principal Lead Writer meets with the VO directors for a story summit. They spend hours discussing the story content and going into detail about many of the characters. This is very powerful for the directors and I can assure you it doesn’t occur on all video games. This gives the directors crucial information to be able to successfully direct the performance.
The actors’ voice-over scripts are another tool we use to communicate our intention. Each new conversation script starts with a synopsis outlining the setting and purpose of the conversation. As well, “voice-over comments” are provided for all lines of dialogue, so that the intention of the writer is completely clear to the actor and the director.
After each batch of dialogue is recorded, it is edited and post processed as per the character requirements. This work is then verified and put into the game.
So, how do we ensure quality and consistency across hundreds of thousands of lines of dialogue? You have to work with the best and be willing to throw away the stuff that doesn’t work. Often it takes hearing a character in-game, or hearing a combination of characters together, to be sure that you have achieved the quality that you need. The LucasArts and BioWare teams each review the voice-over in the game and then make final decisions as to what will stay and what will be re-recorded. In the end, while the script calls for hundreds of thousands of lines of dialogue, we will actually have recorded much more than that! And by the time this project wraps, we will have completed easily over a thousand four-hour voice-over sessions!
Here are some other tidbits about the VO on The Old Republic:- The voice-over is being recorded in 5 different cities (so far); Los Angeles , London, New York, San Francisco, and Toronto
- By the time the project is finished, we will have worked with hundreds of actors - many on multiple occasions.
- The entire game ‘script’ contains approximately 40+ novels worth of content.
- One of the biggest challenges of the production: consistency in pronunciation across the whole project! You would be amazed at how many ways there are to say “Thul” or “Holo” Projector. An audio pronunciation guide sure has helped :).
Shauna Perry
Director of Audio and Localization
Make sure you’ll receive Star Wars: The Old Republic emails. Add swtor@newsletter.biowaremail.com and no-reply@bioware.swtor.com to your address book.
Tags
shauna perry|voice-overCOMMENTS
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can you beta test on a MAC? |
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This is another great reason why will TOR become the firs tru, not only MMO, but MMORPG! Finally...It's about time. :P |
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This is awesome, in every single way. pure and simple. And can i just say 40 FREAKING NOVELS WORTH, bet that was fun. |
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The idea of having everything voiced is awesome in my opinion because it makes it easier to emerge oneself in the world which is very important for any MMO but especially for SW:TOR because SW is very reliant on story. Can't wait to enjoy the efforts of the guys and girls at Bioware! Keep it up! |
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It's good to hear that there are serious discussions about story background to help the acting and direction. I'm excited to see how the voice acting is going to make this world come alive. It's so much easier to immerse yourself in a game when there is sound. :) |
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This game is going to be an epic piece of art. we are on the verge of something great here, and i'm going along for the ride. |
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True. The famous Roger Ebert said recently that video games can never be art. |
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Two words: SWTOR ROX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! |
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When i buy that game, im going to be so excited |
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Man, I can't wait till the game comes out. |
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im so glad bioware is part of this there idea of story is beyond shakespeares after the fop of swg nge im glad to see a real company game developer/game god make a star wars mmo...the right way star wars is about the story not just a complete grind fest sure the politics and economy/civilization were great in swg but other then that it was a complete grindfest swtor is going to be the first to take a real shot at story many have tried including wow(fail)but biowae knows story like lucasarts knows its lightsaber parts hit us with the beta soon |
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The amount of voice over work being done is absolutely mind boggling. Kudos to BioWare and LucasArts! |
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I remember hearing this announcement, and my jaw hitting the floor...I was astounded by the sheer amount of work that is clearly going into this game...If the dialogue is of the same quality or better than KOTOR than this game is going to be so consuming and amazing...that I won't know what to do with the rest of my life (Besides school and possibly finally getting a girlfriend)... |
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CerebusAlteri
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What is really going to amuse me to be honest is them recording 4 novels worth of branching dialogue and be more consistent than that other rpg company can be for 1/60th the voice work in one game. |
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I just wanted to extend my applause and thanks for undertaking this. I know a couple of people that have done some VO work and I'm astonished that any company would take it on. But if your guys past works have shown us anything if anyone can do it BioWare and LucasArts are the ones to go for it. Good Luck Shauna. |
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Mmmm 40+ Novels. Its gonna be the greatest, longest Audio Book/game ever! I wonder if the lightsabers are gonna talk! I hope so. |
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This game is one of the best i have ever seen, Being a star wars fan ive always wantede a good SW MMO. This game is not only going to rock the stores but if it gets enough hype and the beta gose over well this game might just beat the sales that WoW did on it's release date, lets just hope that it dose cause it will be one of the biggest things that the gaming industry has seen in the past 5 years. Im going to the midnight realese, Being in high school kinda hampers that though. But when you parents are as big of starwars fans that mine are i think i can get away with a few days of no school =) |
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i really hope this is free like guild wars if not then f--- it ill pick up mass effect 2 and the new halos |
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This game is amazing, their is no doubt in my mind, that it will rock the stores. I dont care what happens im going for this game when it hit stores, but enough about that, i want to point out a small fear i have which might turn into a big one when the time comes near. With a game fully voiced, how long you think it will take to make an expansion of this game if its ever made? People have to face that, their will be a guild/clan that will go through the game real fast, have all the gear or whatever you need to be buffed up and if you dont come out with an expansion, they will get bored. And if you want to stick with this commitment of a fully voiced game, which i really admire, you will have time on your shoulders, those end game guilds/clans banging on the doors of the next end boss/encounter have power in the end. I say this because i am a end game raider in World of warcraft and i know how much power some guilds have, especially the world first guilds, it has come to a point they practically own the game and decide when stuff is gonna come out. That is basically the only fear i have, i know this game will be great, i had the privilege to see some gameplay there in the documentary, looks amazing, very fast paced i love that, the animations are epic, im sure i will be very entertained when this comes out. But keep what i just said in mind, basically the only obstacle will be time, but its a big one if you dont know how to take care of it. Thank you! and keep up the good work. |
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I agree that would be awesome! |
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Ahhh! I wish I lived in one of those cities so that I could try to do voice over work for the game that would be awesome |
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hmmm.... I am interested to see how this goes for this voice over program that they are putting in this game. i can prodict a lot of problems but i can also see a lot of good from this i hope everything works out with this. |
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there is so much going to be in this game so I see 2 problams for the average person and this game: 1.it sounds like you will need a $2000 computer to actually enjoy the game ( without it freezing every 5 seconds.) |
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I don't know how they are going to get voices for EVERY NPC and Character Players |
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If you have played recent games made by bioware (Star Wars KOTOR and KOTOR 2) P.S. Does anyone know if it will be for systems |
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Sweet a comment box.... PLeASE TELL US SOME OF THE SHIPS!!!!! |
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there was a SERVER MAINTANCE and NO UPDATE added meanwhile???? what the hell? |
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Friday is almost over...*snore* |
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Wasnt there an announcement today about TOR showing a Comic Con...maybe there wont be a Friday update at all |
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Fiat hopes you are incorrect...:( |
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Are we there yet?!? |
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Fiat thinks they ENJOY his singing, well, why not, he was singing folk tunes, everyone likes the folk tunes. Now, Fiat does J-LO!!! (if you can call it singing) |
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Are they even doing an update today? I hope if they do its actually a good one and not another let down |
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Maybe if Fiat tortures them with singing... (singing on top of ol' smokey) |
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So this is what it has come to for the once mighty Fiat... a slimy trail, where he "paces" back and forth waiting for an update. Fiat is impressed with Cashmag's observation that half the old updates are missing...well done Cashmag, well done!!! And yet, here I slither, back and forth, waiting....waiting... Hutts don't wait, DRAG NABIT!!!!! |
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I think they're updating right now. Half the old updates are missing from the list. |
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I believe they are finished, but they want to keep things away from the public. |
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Is there even gonna be a new update? |
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They always post. Just be patient. It must be big to be an hour late. |
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oooo man this game is gonna be so cool i cant wait to beta test it |
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How are you able to beta test? If anyone knows please tell me. |
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well, its gonna be 14 months, so if you cant wait, shoot yourself now. Or you could do what Eric Cartman did in "Go God Go" on South Park. |
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This game is going to go down in history.It's the first MMO to be made with voice-overs. Amazing. |
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Wrong, its going to be the first MMO to be Completely VOed, Age of Conan had plenty of VOs |
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is there going to be anything new this friday or what? |
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You know you're right but no one except the people who play it will enjoy and acknowledge it. WoW is going to be so miffed. (Snicker) |
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They generally post it around 3:00, Eastern Time. |
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This games' scale is so HUGE! Bioware and LucasArts really are setting the new standard for RPGMMOGs. |
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Why can't they be like SOE? Hurrying up with the game then adding updates later hehe :D |
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VO in kotor is what added to the feel of the game immensely, it DID make a huge differemce for me and im sure for others too. I've played a lot of the big MMOs that are out there you name it and many of them didnt have VO, it was an awsome suprise when i herd about this game being made, but the fact they are going to make this MMO with VO prety much is mind blowing, think about the size of that concept :) |
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