Plans for Voice Acting in AOC?

Lfmr

Let me start off this post by saying that people learn and absorb knowledge more effectively in different ways, some people learn the best when they write things down (Note takers) Some learn the best when they tackle problems head on, and actually have to do or see what they're learning before it is absorbed. For me, I am an audio learner, I learn the best when I hear an explanation of what I want to learn, and it sticks better in my mind.

Is there plans for voice acting in Ashes of Creation similar to that of Swtor / ESO? If not, then will certain important quest lines such as the main story, world boss, legendary weapon, or siege be voice acted?

Songcaller

It won't be the level of SWTOR or ESO. There might be some Voice Acting but I doubt it will be substantial. Tight budget and all.

Wandering Mist

There will likely be stock lines that NPCs say when you speak to them like you have in WoW, but that's probably going to be it. No voice acted quests or anything like that.

Caeryl

I also wish voice acting was in the cards. It makes a game feel alive in a way that just can’t be matched by any other aspect.

But as an independently funded project, Intrepid can’t really afford to fund a team of voice actors for Ashes. At least not right now. Maybe way down the line if we’re lucky.

BlackBrony

No, I hate voice acting.
Takes budget away, if done poorly it sucks. I hated ESO early game voice acting, it sounded super artificial and all ALL the NPCs had the same mono tone voce.

I'd rather have text that it's not bazooka lore, just info here and there

EpicJune

If they can, I would go for it. The reason I like ESO so much is that everything is voice acted if they can't do that, at least the main storyline. My attention slowly fades when I need to read streams and streams of dialogue.

DarkPhalanx

After playing WoW for years and start playing ESO last year I just think it's a very very underestimated feature. In every review you read about Elder Scrolls Online this is mentioned a a really strong pro about the game.

Nypam

I agree that voice acting is a plus for immersion but like mentioned by @Caeryl it shouldn't be a priority for AoC right now. Maybe in the future.

Samson

I actually prefer to not have many voice acting cut scenes while questing.

Valento92

VOs are very expensive so I'd prefer the minimum because halving things doesn't taste good later on; feels like the game isn't consistent.

SepiDN

after playing divinity original sin. Hell yeah for voice acting !

xXBelocXx

If done right VO can be a great addition to the game and can give you that little extra bit of immersion. This is not an MMO but take The Witcher 3 for example.. Every quest, every cut scene is VOed very well. When I play that game I just sit back and let the cut-scene play out like a movie. But this is also a single player game, not an MMO.

Now am I saying MMOs could not benefit from good VO? I am not by no means. But when you look at all the aspects of an making and running an MMO and making an MMO, you have to think about a few things.


1. Cos: of VO: With every new expansion or content addition you would be required to add VO.
2. Reason: Many people play an MMO. Even though lore is king in many single player, lore in an MMO is
skipped by a large number of people who dont care why you need to take this life saving potion to the town
up the road, just give me the bottle so I can complete the quest, move on and get to max level.
3. Time to release: VO would slow down release of any content.

To touch on each one a little.
1)Cost. Its expensive to add VO, especially good VO. Depending upon your audience you not only have to get voice actors for english, but for spanish, french, etc. This adds a significant cost to the development and continued growth of the game. Steven has said a few times this will be a sub-only game. So that initial influx of cash you get from the "sale" of the game wont be there to help offset those development costs.

2) Reasons we play. I hate to say it since I am a lore guy and like to "immerse" myself in the world I play in but the overwhelming majority of players dont really read or even care about the quests. They see them as nothing more than a means to an end. Max level, that piece of gear, REP, etc. Its unfortunate but its true.. They just next, next, next through the dialog... This also goes back to number one above. Why spend the money on things that wont get fully experienced. Watch this, you will laugh.. https://youtube.com/watch?v=i7zqnBEECG0

3)Time to release. VO adds time. You not only have to write the dialog and translations (yes I understand this has to be done anyway) you also have to get the voice actors to say the lines, QA it, get it re-done if it sucks, which means working around the voice actors schedule, etc. Then once you get it then you now have to decide how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. Do you want full "acting" VOs like ESO with animations and such or just a static NPC standing there, no animations and you hear words. This all not only adds time, but time is money, so back to point number one.

In closing do I think VOs would be cool.. 100% yes. It would be. But do I think it would change how I feel about AoC and its quality? No. I think AoC will be an amazing game with or with out VO.

Disclaimer: Did not mean to make it sound like the OP meant the game would not be as good with out VO. Just stating an opinion.

Valento92

@xXBelocXx I agree with you on every point. I love VOs, in GW2 VOs are especially cool on random NPC chatters; it adds a new layer of immersion to the game. In cities it feels like they're truly alive because NPCs go about their lives and speak a few lines. Of course these repeat because duh it's impossible to add those many lines, but it's so satisfying to hear they talk, gossip, cheer about something. It's so immersive.

TheLegend27

DarkPhalanx wrote: »

After playing WoW for years and start playing ESO last year I just think it's a very very underestimated feature. In every review you read about Elder Scrolls Online this is mentioned a a really strong pro about the game.

I think that's mainly because there aren't many Pros for the game to begin with. So, almost anything would suffice at that point. IMO, the voice acting in ESO isn't great but above classic MMO Standards. If we add context, ESO is based off a standalone RPG Series, so they have a baseline already there.

Personally, I don't care much for voice acting, I plan to be having too much fun with my friends to care. WoW level voice acting is enough for me. Maybe bias though, I tend not to care for in-game lore (I read the lore offline, if it's interesting, like Destiny's lore)

XerayReaper

Lfmr wrote: »

Let me start off this post by saying that people learn and absorb knowledge more effectively in different ways, some people learn the best when they write things down (Note takers) Some learn the best when they tackle problems head on, and actually have to do or see what they're learning before it is absorbed. For me, I am an audio learner, I learn the best when I hear an explanation of what I want to learn, and it sticks better in my mind.

Is there plans for voice acting in Ashes of Creation similar to that of Swtor / ESO? If not, then will certain important quest lines such as the main story, world boss, legendary weapon, or siege be voice acted?

Well, looks like you're going to be reading aloud a LOT then, haha.

All joking aside, as much as I can appreciate VA in a game, it's a double-edged sword. You have to have some really good voice direction and talented VAs in order to not make dialogue sound awkward or embarrassing to listen to. The most I'm expecting out of this game is small voice snippets from some NPCs, and maybe during story content(though this being a sandbox MMO, might not happen to a greater extent like a Themepark story/narrative driven MMO), which I think is fine enough.

I'd honestly rather have no VA for long winded dialogue, since I can read faster than most of the voice lines that get spoken. I'm sure we've all played games that had a good enough story, but then the VA has kind of killed any enjoyment out of certain impactful scenes, yeah?

As well, adding in VA would probably extend the development window too, having to hire VAs and a VA director who actually know what they're doing. Getting all the voice lines read properly, the audio mixing, etc etc; it can be a time consuming effort in-and-out of itself, and a costly one at that(especially if you're looking for quality). I know everyone likes VA in games, and expect to a certain degree in modern gaming, seeing how games have gotten to the point of practically being blockbuster films, and it even can bring the game to life in many aspects; but it's really a hit or miss type of ordeal. Have good VA, that's great, but if it's bad, get ready for everyone to start bashing it and criticizing it nonstop.

Lfmr

TheLegend27 wrote: »

I think that's mainly because there aren't many Pros for the game to begin with. So, almost anything would suffice at that point. IMO, the voice acting in ESO isn't great but above classic MMO Standards. If we add context, ESO is based off a standalone RPG Series, so they have a baseline already there.

Personally, I don't care much for voice acting, I plan to be having too much fun with my friends to care. WoW level voice acting is enough for me. Maybe bias though, I tend not to care for in-game lore (I read the lore offline, if it's interesting, like Destiny's lore)

Let me just start off this post by saying ESO, is a GREAT game, it has a lot going for it, there is always something to do, and probably has the most end game content of any popular MMO out there, the only one I haven't played is GW2, so can't speak for that one. (Also, ESO has the best housing system hands down.)

And now onto Voice Acting in Ashes of Creation. I am no expert on this subject, but I have been around for quite a few developments of games, and adding voice acting likely would likely not add much or any time to the development of the game simply because they would have to hire a new team to do voice acting, and the current team and VA team would work at the same time, the biggest issue is the cost of hiring voice actors and a team to facilitate that. I understand it's a big investment, but the voice acting in other games really does put them heads and shoulders above the rest from an immersion standpoint.