Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
missing 20 percent of the dialogue, something the client was not aware of.
h e client thought they had provided me everything, as their reporting
was crippled by the ever-changing 50-column spreadsheets they relied on.
In my database I simply ran a custom report that listed each character,
how many i les there should be, and how many i les actually existed per
language, and emailed that report to the client so they could send me all
the missing i les and I could begin the job at hand.
In the studio, scripts are created from the database and then loaded
onto iPads. Everyone in attendance has an iPad with a version of the
script most suitable for them. We record one line at a time, with the
writer providing context as necessary and the voice director ensuring
the performance is consistent with the dialogue that will play before
and after. Recording-wise, a single i le is created for each line, making it
easy to track lines directly back to i les. I generally strive to keep the i les
as clean as possible, using a -60dB destructive gain change to obliterate
any confusing waveforms and making life easier for the editor.
Next up is the mastering process. h e goal is to ensure that all
dialogue sounds good, is heard at the same perceived loudness and
that conversations sound believable. Titles like
h e Walking Dead:
h e Game
are made up of usually a dozen or more environments the
player will explore and interact within. By working on all i les within an
environment it ensures that there will not be a problem matching very
large voice sets. When a character has more than 100 i les, it is easy for
there to be a bit of variance in loudness from the top of the list to the
bottom, just because our ears are not 100 percent consistent. Mastering
by environment tends to help eliminate this problem.
”
Programmer/Integrator
At last, the voice-over is recorded, edited, processed, named and
delivered to the
programmer
or
integrator
whose job it is to insert each
i le into the game engine. How this is done depends on the platform.
Most platforms have multiple ways in which audio gets triggered and it is
the integrator's job to choose the best way for each game depending on
the interactive structure of the project.
Translated and Localized Video Game
Voice-Overs
Today, games are made in every developed nation on the planet and can
employ talent across great distances. One of the challenges is that often
a game is developed in one language and then “localized” to English or
