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Imbarkus · May 23, 2017

As I was marveling at how well Jeffrey Combs took over and owned the role of Brainiac (basically repeating a trick he did with Scarecrow years earlier) I'm struck by how much the quality voice acting, from familiar and valued performers, enhances this game.

At the end of April, the SAG/AFTRA strike against interactive work has become the longest in the history of the guild. I'm not sure of the status of Injustice 2, it's listed as a "Struck title" on their info page: https://www.sagaftra.org/interactive/...

It's pretty unclear, as a consumer, if I care about this issue, where to put my dollars. I plan to continue supporting what I like: narrative-enhanced games with writing, performances, and acting. Lots of people think games can get on just fine without those things. People thought the same thing years ago when reality TV got big on the networks... creating an opportunity space for cable and streaming to invest in creators. It's always been a back and forth... at least the WGA thing got resolved...

I don't have the answers. But I know we won't be seeing the Injustice 3 we would expect, unless this thing is resolved somehow. Don't forget about it.

Sheroking · May 23, 2017

Imbarkus said:
I don't have the answers. But I know we won't be seeing the Injustice 3 we would expect, unless this thing is resolved somehow. Don't forget about it.

You don't think they would resolve this before 2021?

That's probably when Injustice 3 happens.

Sephzilla · May 23, 2017

Yeah I highly doubt Injustice 3 will be affected by this assuming NetherRealm keeps to their normal development schedule.

Tokubetsu · May 23, 2017

yeah I'd be more concerned with how this will affect MK11

Mupod · May 23, 2017

I mean it's had a bit of an effect on some of the games I play, but if Lucina in Fire Emblem Heroes isn't voiced by Laura Bailey in her fourth special event version I won't lose any sleep over it. I'll choose Japanese dubs most of the time unless the English one is really exceptional like Nier Automata. But voice acting in a language I understand is in no way necessary for me to enjoy a game's writing, case in point being Yakuza 0.

Where it would actually bug me are games where I'm used to certain characters being voiced by specific people. Capcom replacing Alyson Court for Claire Redfield in RE Revelations 2 never sat right with me. Likewise it drives me nuts that Blizzard didn't get Steve Blum for Anub'arak in Heroes of the Storm or World of Warcraft even though he's done other voice work for them over the years.

Or look at it this way, if someone in the cast of Overwatch got replaced due to the strike I feel like that would draw a lot more attention to this whole thing.

Imbarkus · May 23, 2017

Sheroking said:
You don't think they would resolve this before 2021?

That's probably when Injustice 3 happens.

MK11 as someone said, Overwatch, Left 4 Dead 3, Half-Life 3, Assassin's Creed in Ancient Egypt, whatever.

I mean, I really don't think we want to go back to devs doing voices.

It's kind of disingenuous to state you don't care about the fate of a U.S. voice actor's unions because you're getting your product from an overseas manufacturer (preferring the Japanese performances won't really help out Western devs who have to originate the performance, unless you only want Japanese games to have voice acting).

But it reminds me again that if American unions really do want to succeed, they have to globalize, and become concerned with the rights of workers in other nations as well. Kind of more appropo to manufacturers than voice actors, but still.

Imbarkus · May 24, 2017

I feel like people don't know how to feel about this strike, so it just flies under the radar.

If Injustice 2 is listed on the "Struck Games" list, then even though much of the voice acting was recorded before the strike was decided upon, does that mean further work on the title after Oct last year would have meant crossing the lines?

On the non-struck list is a title widely rumored, right: Batman Arkham Underworld a/k/a Zeppelin... did people not look at the list?

I'm pretty sure it's the residuals that is the drop-dead point with publishers out of the set of issues... I don't think they'll get it, and I hope it doesn't jeopardize them getting the other things on the list.

Neoxon · May 24, 2017

I just noticed, could the lack of Trevor Devall & Travis Willingham as Rocket & Thor respectively in Lego Marvel 2 be due to the ongoing strike? Lego Marvel 2 was listed as one of the struck games. Weird that Travis did Thor in Lego Marvel 1 & MvCI (same for Trevor as Rocket in the latter game) and not Lego Marvel 2.

lupinko · May 24, 2017

Imbarkus said:
MK11 as someone said, Overwatch, Left 4 Dead 3, Half-Life 3, Assassin's Creed in Ancient Egypt, whatever.

I mean, I really don't think we want to go back to devs doing voices.

It's kind of disingenuous to state you don't care about the fate of a U.S. voice actor's unions because you're getting your product from an overseas manufacturer (preferring the Japanese performances won't really help out Western devs who have to originate the performance, unless you only want Japanese games to have voice acting).

But it reminds me again that if American unions really do want to succeed, they have to globalize, and become concerned with the rights of workers in other nations as well. Kind of more appropo to manufacturers than voice actors, but still.

I dunno, Harada doing Law and Yoshimitsu's grunts was the best.

KillLaCam · May 24, 2017

lupinko said:
I dunno, Harada doing Law and Yoshimitsu's grunts was the best.

All of the old Mortal Kombat grunts were awesome too. Devs doing the voice acting is actually more entertaining for me lol

Teasing_Pink · May 24, 2017

On the one hand, I certainly feel voice talent deserves their due. On the other, since budgets are finite, I'd like to see the actual development teams get better pay, benefits, etc, before the voice talent. They are much more important to the overall success of a project.

Ideally everyone could prosper for their contributions. Shame the development team (all positions) don't have any collective bargaining leverage on their behalf.

Edit: Especially when considering residuals. It's ridiculous to me to think the voice actors should get percentages when the development team does not.

t26 · May 24, 2017

Teasing_Pink said:
On the one hand, I certainly feel voice talent deserves their due. On the other, since budgets are finite, I'd like to see the actual development teams get better pay, benefits, etc, before the voice talent. They are much more important to the overall success of a project.

Ideally everyone could prosper for their contributions. Shame the development team (all positions) don't have any collective bargaining leverage on their behalf.

Edit: Especially when considering residuals. It's ridiculous to me to think the voice actors should get percentages when the development team does not.

Not this again. We already have voice actors here explaining this in the past. Voice actors asking for more doesn't mean developers are less important.

Teasing_Pink · May 24, 2017

t26 said:
Not this again. We already have voice actors here explaining this in the past. Voice actors asking for more doesn't mean developers are less important.

I understand that, which I suppose I didn't make clear enough. But money available to pay people with isn't unlimited, and if there is extra in that pool to go around, I know where I'd like to see it go first.

Edit: To more specifically comment on the OP's quandary, I'm not willing to boycott a development team's product and deny them my financial support solely because of a voice actor strike.

Edit2: This also may be because my understanding is that the strike is mostly about residuals, and not unsafe or inhumane working conditions, or abusively low pay. Maybe I'm wrong, and if I am, those are definitely the sorts of things that can sway purchases.

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Injustice 2 Forces Me to Consider the Long-Running SAG/AFTRA Strike

Imbarkus

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Imbarkus

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