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[Dark Octave]

I'm not one of those voice over analysts or anything. I'm not going to stop playing a game because of bad voice work. I don't really even notice the difference between good and bad acting most of the time. So for someone like me to notice it's bad, it has to be really bad.

I can't remember a game (in English) where a foreign character was voiced by an authentic foreign actor. I remember playing the Just Cause demo and shaking my head in disbelief at the (Cambodian?) woman's accent and more recently playing Mortal Kombat and being plain embarrassed by Shang Tsung's voice work. He sounds like the parody of Kim Yong Il from Team America, only MK is trying to be serious. Black Ops' Russians could be another culprit, but I've probably heard the stereotypical fake Russian accent so much more over an actual authentic one, I can't even tell the difference anymore.

I'm sure there are tons of authentic Russian, Cuban, Asian, African, Spanish (and anything else you can think of) actors out there (probably all in L.A.) who can speak English clearly while maintaining their true accents, that are very eager for work.

I feel that it contributes to keeping game narratives from being taken seriously when the characters sound so silly.

If you know of any games in American English that use authentic foreign voice actors that aren't British or Australian, would be cool to share.

Some really bad examples of fake foreign acting would probably be good for laughs too.

 

[xxracerxx]

Meh Just Cause 2 is a poor example, it wasn't meant to be authentic in the slightest.

EDIT: Are you also mad at movies having people from different countries, loose their accents for roles?

 

[Jintor]

Didn't Assassin's Creed 2 get a lot of flak for their 'dodgy Italian accents' provided by actual Italian voice actors?

Also, is it flak or flack?

 

[Salsa]

dont fuckin mess with da leader of da REAPURRRRSSS

 

[Jive Turkey]

I remember playing the Just Cause demo and shaking my head in disbelief at the (Cambodian?) woman's accent...

Panauan...And every native in Panau had a different accent. EVERYBODY.

Also, is it flak or flack?

Flak though flack is an accepted variant.

 

[Deleted member 81567]

I actually thought Just Cause 2 did it deliberately for the lulz.

 

[Nome]

To be fair, Mortal Kombat isn't going for anything authentic.

 

[maxxpower]

Why can't they get authentic Salarians to do the voice over in Mass Effect?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Uncharted 2 -----> Tenzin

I thought the VA work in Assassin's Creed 2 and Brotherhood was really great in that regard.

 

[Trent Strong]

Heavy Rain sure could have used some American voice actors.

 

[- J - D -]

Heavy Rain is a game set in contemporary middle-America, but most of its inhabitants sound vaguely French. It's probably not just American game studios. Consider Japanese anime and games made for the Japanese audience. How often do they actually use foreign actors to play foreign parts? It's not pleasing to me hearing Russian or spanish filtered through a heavily accented Japanese tongue (like in Black Lagoon).

 

[speculawyer]

That costs money.

 

[Dark Octave]

Heavy Rain sure could have used some American voice actors.

Yes this is true.

The developers themselves probably couldn't hear it, but we sure can.

 

[Net_Wrecker]

How is GTA not mentioned yet? Rockstar gets great voice actors for tons of different accents.

 

[Dreamwriter]

Keep in mind most game development doesn't have Hollywood budgets. I know my company has occasional voice acting in the games, we record it in our studio and usually we aren't going to be flying in voice actors from LA or anything. We're located in Seattle, like many other Western developers, and even movies that take place in Seattle aren't filmed here. Not a lot of voice actors, let alone ones of various nationalities.

Though we did get Ben Stein for our iPhone game!

 

[Feep]

I'm sure there are tons of authentic Russian, Cuban, Asian, African, Spanish (and anything else you can think of) actors out there (probably all in L.A.) who can speak English clearly while maintaining their true accents, that are very eager for work.

So, I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I know a *lot* about this situation. Not only do I live in Hollywood as a minor voice actor (League of Legends, etc.), but I recently acted in and cast my very own game.

Hollywood voice acting is an insider's club. I got in through the most bizarre way imaginable (a goddamn anime convention), but even then, I never really audition for the big stuff.

Who does? A set list of around 100-150 actors, almost all of whom have been working these parts for years, and who are almost all ENTIRELY accent-neutral. Some can pull off certain accents, but as native accented actors can only fit niche and rare roles (unless a character has a reason for an accent, he will speak in standard American English), it's almost impossible for them to rise to the top.

The mentality of developers, who generally know absolutely nothing about show business or how it works, are terrified of having bad voice acting. This leads them to spends tens of thousands of dollars on "established names", to ensure that they get "quality VA". But the truth is, those 100-150 aren't really any better than Los Angeles at large, with a few notable exceptions. They just cost a lot.

I know a LOT of voice actors here; we're all part of a small little community. I brought in some of these actors to voice my game (my female lead, Naia, included), but I held open auditions, so no-names could come in and read as well. Some of these guys were great; fantastic, way better than 90% of the guys you typically hear in games. And non-established actors will work for cheap or even free, desperate to get some credits and their names out there. I spent a ridiculously low amount of money on voicework. The actual recording (studio costs) were a lot more.

It's a shame, the way it works, but that's the town, I guess. But to any developers out there, do yourselves a favor and cast on talent, not names. It'll save you money *and* increase the quality of your work.

 

[Luigiv]

Didn't Assassin's Creed 2 get a lot of flak for their 'dodgy Italian accents' provided by actual Italian voice actors?

Also, is it flak or flack?

Wait ACII got flak for it's accents? I thought they were great (actual Italian voice actors would make sense).

 

[syoaran]

Didn't Assassin's Creed 2 get a lot of flak for their 'dodgy Italian accents' provided by actual Italian voice actors?

Also, is it flak or flack?

Really? I thought it was quite good in terms of VA, considering that most sentences are broken up by some english words

Spoiler

as the animus progresses with the speech translation

 

[Black_Stride]

Just Cause and Just Cause 2
Used hyperbolically bad voice acting for the fun of it, the bad accents are the joke...no one on the island speaks even remotely err normally...Even Antonio Banderas Rico Rodriguez speaks with an exaggerated accent.

It looks like their humor went righ over your head...shame cuz you should have been laughing everytime a new character was introduced...esp if you recognize the accents they are trying to josh

Sloth Demon he cracked me up....man Just Cause 2 is such a legend...i really need to re-procure that game.

As for other games with Unintentionally bad accents.
I dont really know any, id love to see what other people post in here, cuz i dont think Assassins Creed had bad accents, and every other game i know with accents of any sort they are handled well e.g Fable, Tomb Raider,Metro 2033.

 

[RustyNails]

Heavy Rain sure could have used some American voice actors.

Came in to post this. Really, how hard is it to find aspiring American voice actors? Just go to Youtube and hook up with them for crying out loud. They'll do the entire last act of Apocalypse Now verbatim from memory for $500 and even make Brando gestures while they're at it.

 

[SouthernDragon]

I dunno, Heavy Rain was actually pretty good with the accents, I think. The accents were noticeable only rarely, and only on some voices.

 

[heyf00L]

JC2 takes place on some Indonia-like island (the writing looks Thai, but the words are all Indonesia). I spent some time in Indonesia, so I loved seeing all the place names in Indonesian. They rarely spoke the Indonesian in the game (occasional "selamat" or "serdadu"), but when they did they almost invariably pronounced it wrong. I think if they had gotten that part right, tho, that it would have broken the awesome-meter on the game.

 

[Jintor]

I have to say they got Bolo San... whatever her name was... they got her accent exactly right. Except it's exactly right for a market fishwife, not a revolutionary leader.

 

[Gamer @ Heart]

I dunno, Heavy Rain was actually pretty good with the accents, I think. The accents were noticeable only rarely, and only on some voices.

For a game that strives to be so immersive, it was a serious problem to have your main voice actors trying their damnest to hide their accents constantly. Its distracting and pulls you out.

 

[Dark Octave]

So, I don't mean to toot my own horn here, but I know a *lot* about this situation. Not only do I live in Hollywood as a minor voice actor (League of Legends, etc.), but I recently acted in and cast my very own game.

Hollywood voice acting is an insider's club. I got in through the most bizarre way imaginable (a goddamn anime convention), but even then, I never really audition for the big stuff.

Who does? A set list of around 100-150 actors, almost all of whom have been working these parts for years, and who are almost all ENTIRELY accent-neutral. Some can pull off certain accents, but as native accented actors can only fit niche and rare roles (unless a character has a reason for an accent, he will speak in standard American English), it's almost impossible for them to rise to the top.

The mentality of developers, who generally know absolutely nothing about show business or how it works, are terrified of having bad voice acting. This leads them to spends tens of thousands of dollars on "established names", to ensure that they get "quality VA". But the truth is, those 100-150 aren't really any better than Los Angeles at large, with a few notable exceptions. They just cost a lot.

I know a LOT of voice actors here; we're all part of a small little community. I brought in some of these actors to voice my game (my female lead, Naia, included), but I held open auditions, so no-names could come in and read as well. Some of these guys were great; fantastic, way better than 90% of the guys you typically hear in games. And non-established actors will work for cheap or even free, desperate to get some credits and their names out there. I spent a ridiculously low amount of money on voicework. The actual recording (studio costs) were a lot more.

It's a shame, the way it works, but that's the town, I guess. But to any developers out there, do yourselves a favor and cast on talent, not names. It'll save you money *and* increase the quality of your work.

I agree with you 100%. I'm not in the acting industry but I've seen so many first time actors do just as great a job as established actors, imo. But then again, I feel that if you can act without sounding stiff like you're reading, you're doing a pretty good job. And acting like yourself (what most actors do) is one thing, but trying to pull off an accent imo is real "acting" and it's something that I feel that most people fail at. If you're not stuck out in the sticks, why not just grab someone who really speaks the desired accent's language? Like you said, they will be eager, cheap and just the authentic accent alone will give them obvious points above anyone else.

Just Cause and Just Cause 2
Used hyperbolically bad voice acting for the fun of it, the bad accents are the joke...no one on the island speaks even remotely err normally...Even Antonio Banderas Rico Rodriguez speaks with an exaggerated accent.

It looks like their humor went righ over your head...shame cuz you should have been laughing everytime a new character was introduced...esp if you recognize the accents they are trying to josh

Sloth Demon he cracked me up....man Just Cause 2 is such a legend...i really need to re-procure that game.

As for other games with Unintentionally bad accents.
I dont really know any, id love to see what other people post in here, cuz i dont think Assassins Creed had bad accents, and every other game i know with accents of any sort they are handled well e.g Fable, Tomb Raider,Metro 2033.

I've only played the demo, so I only got to really hear a couple of characters speak. This is good to know though, because I do plan on playing JC2 and I will understand the joke now.

 

[rdrr gnr]

Heavy Rain. Awful. Motorstorm: Apocalypse. Awful. Sometimes it makes all the difference and I wish it would become a standard.

 

[BeeDog]

How is GTA not mentioned yet? Rockstar gets great voice actors for tons of different accents.

Yet they couldn't get a Serbian to play Niko, and it was incredibly obvious he didn't know any Serbian at all.

 

[Jintor]

I submit that while Just Cause 2's voice acting is a joke it may not actually be intended to be a joke. Actually, it's a little hard to tell. Either way it's pretty terrible.

 

[The Broken Ska Record]

I always get a kick out of one of the faction leader's pronunciation of the word "comrade" in Just Cause 2. "See here, com-raid." "I agree, com-raid." We are com-raids now."

 

[texasairhead101]

as far as i know the community of good voice over actors is small so a lot of the same people do all the work

 

[Yasae]

The mentality of developers, who generally know absolutely nothing about show business or how it works, are terrified of having bad voice acting. This leads them to spends tens of thousands of dollars on "established names", to ensure that they get "quality VA". But the truth is, those 100-150 aren't really any better than Los Angeles at large, with a few notable exceptions. They just cost a lot.

They cost a lot because of their stack of credits. Success begets success. Their talent leans towards the upper end of the scale, but really they're not stellar. They can get the job done consistently, so there are fewer variables. They have *amazing* connections and rapport within the community.

Hmm.. This story is awfully familiar...

 

[harriet the spy]

For a game that strives to be so immersive, it was a serious problem to have your main voice actors trying their damnest to hide their accents constantly. Its distracting and pulls you out.

so the VA really were french?

What an odd decision.

 

[Dark Octave]

so the VA really were french?

What an odd decision.

I think they decided on this because the original motion actors were also the same voice actors. This was their way of being authentic and probably figured they were close enough and maybe in their minds, indistinguishable from Americans.

But I really have no clue what they were thinking.

It was really just Nathan, his son and the ho that were French Canadian or whatever. Everyone else was either American or were very, very good.

 

[GavinGT]

Yet they couldn't get a Serbian to play Niko, and it was incredibly obvious he didn't know any Serbian at all.

I work with a Serbian, and I could hardly distinguish his voice from Niko's (I'm American). Then again, I'd be unable to distinguish between any two Eastern European languages.

 

[Relax.MX]

Mmm...just play in Latin america. all the games with spanish are with actors from Spain and are so diferent..(except Microsoft and well Nintendo with some cases like Kirby for Wii with voice for Argentina)

 

[elwes]

Heavy Rain sure could have used some American voice actors.

Here here! Ethan's accent was horrific. It became really distracting after awhile.

They should hire Psycho Mike from Loveline to voice all of the characters in an entire game. That guy is amazing at accents.

Psycho Mike for at least one VA in the new GTA, please.

 

[Speculator]

I believe most of the male protagonists in Heavy Rain were British (except for Shelby, who was American).

Heavy Rain casting video

 

[Orayn]

Low quality voice acting is why I advocate making several hundred clones of Steve Blum.

 

[fernoca]

For Mortal Kombat keep in mind that there are games (and movies, series, etc.) on which the actors are told to act that way, accents and everything. MK's case Shang Tsung was supposed to sound like 80s-90s chinese character/movies, like Big Trouble in Little China...and MK trying to be serious? Really? Did you actually played it?? there were serious moments, but was not an overall serious story. Sindel screaming around and picking people with her hair, while laughing, Johnny Cage's cocky attitude, etc..

XD (I know you played it, so no hard feelings ...yet... )


Lets not forget that in many cases they put accents, just for the sake of putting them, more than accuracy, and in other cases they just do them badly..on purpose.

So even if they found an actual chinese-older man to play Shang Tsung, he would've been asked to do his voice like that anyway.

 

[hxa155]

Modern Warfare has some authentic arab voice actors, but half the signs are messed up and the signs in Karachi are in Arabic instead of urdu.

Those people just don't do their research, do they?

 

[fabricated backlash]

Yet they couldn't get a Serbian to play Niko, and it was incredibly obvious he didn't know any Serbian at all.

This, my roommate was from Serbia and the first time I showed him the trailer he started shaking his head, cursing and giving me a list with things they did wrong:
I just remember two,
the accent is completely wrong
Bellic is spelled wrong

Also, you haven't heard terrible voice acting until you've wittnessed MGS the german edition. That Voice over was so dramatically bad that not even the original Resident Evil holds a candle to it.

Same goes for Assassins Creed 2 (german voice over) Everytime one of the actors tried to speak some snippets in italian, it made me cringe. Thank god for multilingual games, switching to the italian VO made the game infinitely better.

The main problem that I see with Video game Voice Over is that mostly the script is written by people who have little to no dramaturgic skills, nor any idea of how great dialogue works. Rare exceptions like Bioshock, or even the original Shadowman are far and few between.

Modern Warfare has some authentic arab voice actors, but half the signs are messed up and the signs in Karachi are in Arabic instead of urdu.

Those people just don't do their research, do they?

You do know that in Cod2 the german soldiers were actually telling/shouting you their own position instead of the players, playing through the game by knowing this made it a lot easier.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Modern Warfare has some authentic arab voice actors, but half the signs are messed up and the signs in Karachi are in Arabic instead of urdu.

Those people just don't do their research, do they?

Black Ops' protagonist was a hardcore American from Alaska who spoke with an Australian accent at bizarre moments during the game.

It was awesome.

 

[fernoca]

The main problem that I see with Video game Voice Over is that mostly the script is written by people who have little to no dramaturgic skills, nor any idea of how great dialogue works. Rare exceptions like Bioshock, or even the original Shadowman are far and few between.

Though, it also should be noted that part of the problems seems to be that the script in most cases is written in one language, in english (at least for US games).

And they basically take that script and translate it into multiple languages and the problem with that is that the feelings and emotions are lost. Because the translations are usually literal and in order to give the same emotion and feeling in a new language, they need to rewrite many things...and that costs more money and time, so of course not.

 

[fabricated backlash]

Though, it also should be noted that part of the problems seems to be that the script in most cases is written in one language, in english (at least for US games).

And they basically take that script and translate it into multiple languages and the problem with that is that the feelings and emotions are lost. Because the translations are usually literal and in order to give the same emotion and feeling in a new language, they need to rewrite many things...and that costs more money and time, so of course not.

Not necessarily, but it's pretty common that they cheap out on that aspect.
I can mostly compare English-Italian-German translations and voice work and boy if they do their job right, the German and Italian Voice over usually is the way to go for me. But with games like MGS (PS1), Mass Effect 2, Gears and AC2 the german voice over was so terrible that it made me either sell the game or switch to a different language version.

I must say that one of the best translations I've seen was in Wind Waker, and Nintendo big budget games in general. They really adapt the names and even spelling to fit a language (names in Oot for example, or Port Monet in Wind Waker). Well with the exception of MOM of course.

 

[Night_Trekker]

You know, I would settle for more developers using actual voice actors or recording more than one take before calling it a day.

 

[DiscoJer]

Just be grateful they don't use the VAs used to dub Kaiju movies (Godzilla, Mothra, etc). It's like they borrow someone's Kindergarten class

 

[Rahxephon91]

Well there's always Tekken 6.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8boCKMTs3Q

 

[BeeDog]

This, my roommate was from Serbia and the first time I showed him the trailer he started shaking his head, cursing and giving me a list with things they did wrong:
I just remember two,
the accent is completely wrong
Bellic is spelled wrong

It's important to point out that while Rockstar have always used good voice actors, they have often boiled down to very stereotypical assumptions of various cultures. In the case of Niko Bellic, not only is his name pretty much a non-Serbian name, his accent leans more towards the "Russian stereotype" accent, and the spoken Serbian in the game is horrible (you can clearly hear it's an American/non-Serbian trying to speak Serbian). Same with Roman Bellic; the first name is pretty much non-existant in the country, and the way he talks is very stereotypical/done in a caricature way. I mean, for a developer with Rockstar's pedigree, I would assume they'd know a bit about a culture close to their own home. Also, it's not like the UK has a lack of Yugoslavs who can fit the role of Niko.

 

[Count of Monte Sawed-Off]

That Australian dude who did the voice for the main character in Black Ops can't do an American accent for shit.

 

[Slamtastic]

Well there's always Tekken 6.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8boCKMTs3Q

So dumb.

One of the things I dislike about that series/VF, and I cringe when people talk about wanting it in other series.

If characters are being implied to talk at each other, even onesidedly in win quotes, they need to be in the same language for me.

In line with the topic, I'd also add fighting game engrish to the list.

Spoiler

Except Terry. He's cool.

Really though, I don't care if it's an American doing a bad accent or an Asian American doing a better accent, as long as it's English. That's my main concern.