Games to tap for voices?

chimeric

I want to make a few minor NPC, and I need some basic voice-overs for them: attack, select, death gurgling, that sort of thing. Asking real people would probably be too much, so I think I'll hit the plagiarism mall and just take from other games that won't sound instantly familiar. Right now I need a big or dumb guy's voice and three women's voices, one more of an action-hero or villain type and two milder neutrals. This is approximate, it doesn't really matter what they say. Any suggestions? What games do you remember for their voices? The Diablos and Warcraft are probably too well-known. I'm thinking about angling for games other than fantasy, too, like Commandos or even Jagged Alliance from way back.

Lord_Tansheron

My suggestion would be something where the voice/command structure is at least somewhat similar to BG, so you have proper lines for all the various responses.

It could be an RPG like e.g. Dragon Age, but it could also be an RTS.

redline

I've had some luck making custom voices from Soul Calibur characters. With a bit of googling it's pretty easy to find audio dumps from several games in the series, and 3 in particular has a robust enough story mode to give you lots of lines to choose from.

Fardragon

You should ask forum members to submit voices. I could do "squeaky English male".

JoenSo

There's always the wide range of character voices in Neverwinter nights. Personally I loved the manic psychotic voice.

chimeric

Fardragon said:

You should ask forum members to submit voices. I could do "squeaky English male".

I have asked, for another part of the mod. Guess how many takers there were. But if you want to try, sure, I'd like to hear you.

Games like Neverwinter Nights... A little too obvious. Whoever has played Infinity Engine games probably knows NN too. But I've had some luck with voices from Warcraft 2. "We're not brainless anymore."

Fardragon

Dragon Age games have decent protagonist voices. I'll see if I can figure out how to record a voice set.

AdaJ

Try Age of Empires and Age of Mythology.

God

chimeric said:

Games like Neverwinter Nights... A little too obvious. Whoever has played Infinity Engine games probably knows NN too.

But why is it even an issue that someone could be familiar with the acting?
From what you described, you could easily salvage all you need from NWN alone. The game has loads of generic soundsets, and it's not like the game's characters are any memorable, with the exception of a few utter weirdos like Deekin. It's also set in the exact same old Forgotten Realms, which means you don't even need to waste time cutting out references to starships and such.
I for one used Sir Christopher Lee's voice many times with success, despite it being so very characteristic. It's not a problem for me if someone should recognize a line of his as that of Count Dooku, Count Dracula or even Lord Summerisle. Neither is it a problem for me if someone goes like: omg how cool, it's Saruman! When picking voices for a mod or game, the only concerns are whether recording quality is sufficient, whether it suits the character, and whether it blends in with the rest of the content. That's all there is to making a character speak, at a basic level.
If anything, using familiar voiceover lines will make people more attracted to your mod. Certainly much more than anything a volunteer without proper equipment could record in their bedroom. Trust me, few things are as immersion-breaking as a voiceover troubled by loud ambient hiss and the occasional meow of a cat in the background.

AdaJ

To be fair, how many people actually made the connetion between Sheppard and Dynaheir just from their in-game voice alone? And Minsc and half-a-dozen other characters?

Just put in whatever you want so long as it is consistent enough, whether by the what the words are phrased or tone/timbre or what is being said. Not many people have the ear of Mozart or Beethoven...

Yes, I know they are deaf

God

AdaJ said:

Not many people have the ear of Mozart or Beethoven...

That's right. I once used two different voice actors for the same character. Both had similar West African accents. Applied a wee little bit of postproc and nobody ever noticed

Lord_Tansheron

AdaJ said:

Try Age of Empires

New NPC mod right there, some wild, primal priest with an innate Charm ability that does nothing buy say "Wololo" whenever you click them.

AdaJ said:

Not many people have the ear of Mozart or Beethoven...

Mozart wasn't deaf. At all. And you really don't need to be a composer to tell that some voices are similar to others - of course, it is easier with certain VAs than it is with those gifted with a wider range. Familiarity is also a factor, if you hear one VA in a lot of roles it becomes easier to identify them in another role, whereas someone you've only heard in one other place may not immediately come to your mind in a new role. And then of course some voices are just sooo distinctive it's hard to miss them (like, say, Gideon Emery for example).

AdaJ

It had better be a TOUGH NPC. Them Aztec monks can take a cannonball to the face without blinking an eye...!