MMORPGs were slower to adopt voice than other game genres. However, advances in technology and bandwith are increasingly helping to make voice in online games the norm. Jagex recently teamed up with dialogue specialists OM to put the first voices to quests in their flagship MMORPG, RuneScape. Jagex Audio Director Stephen Lord (right) and Mark Estdale (left) of OM talk over the issues involved.
"Context is vital for dialogue so working without a main voice does add performance challenges. OM has an audio and script toolset that helps deal with this by enabling the voice director to instantly emulate gameplay in the studio. The tools enable us to get the actors instinctively into the performance sweet spot by giving them super-fast acting-pertinent context on the fly. The script is on-screen, supported by voice and audio cues, character images, videos etcetera.
How does the size of the game impact the dialogue recording process?
Whether recording 50 words or 5 million the focus is the same: every single word needs to add to the experience so the performance needs to be bang on. Meticulous preparation is key and the OM tools help minimise size being a issue. The tools lock script and recorded assets together as they are created enabling us to track, control, review and use data immediately."
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