I think games like Final Fantasy 10 and Metal Gear Solid have broken me. Metal gear solid was the first game (I remember that) I encountered dedicated voice acting combined with CGI movies and actioned 3-d model cutscenes. FFX had a phenominal amount of voice acting, both in and out of CGI movies. It makes it hard to go back and enjoy some older games (and makes a good point for enhanced remakes).

The main benefits I see for voice acting:

1) The emotion of a scene is easily conveyed leaving little to interpretation
2) Listening is easier to understand than reading
3) You always know who's talking
4) The pacing is easier to control

The thing is, I don't see how these things can be replaced by a non-voiced, 2-d game. Is there something to lessen gap between the two formats? Do character portraits significantly enhance cutscenes? How important is it for characters to wander about during cutscenes? What things can you do with the timing of text boxes to enhance the pace of a cutscene?

Would anyone be up for discussing how to bring out the emotions of a scene in the RPG Maker XP format? Right now, even if it were to bury my project (... again), I'm considering finishing the game, but then adding voice acting to all the main cutscenes.

The lack of voice acting is a difficult thing to overcome, but with the RPGMs you have to embrace the limitations. I think the best way to convey emotions with an RPGM is to keep it real. Instead of focusing on what you cannot do, you have to work with what you can. If you are trying to do a cutscene that only works with 3D models, don't try to make it work with 2D models. Adapt to the 2D methods and create (and maybe innovate) with that. Where this may work out for you is that a TON (and I mean A TON) of professional video game voice acting is horrendous and completely destroys the mood. I'm talking about highly rated games here. Truly good video game voice acting is very rare. At least with the limitations of RPGMs, you are safe and can't really screw up your emotional moments, even if they are bound by RPGM limitations.

I'm gonna have to disagree on that. I have an easier time understanding written word over spoken word, sometimes.



Very important. Not only is it redundant and an eyesore if you're staring at a textbox with nothing happening, but it can help remind you who's speaking, who's where in the room, and of course, can help convey emotion. Even something as simple as a person turning to look at somebody speaking can be helpful.

I recommend going back to some of the 2D greats, and see how they conveyed emotion. Look at games like Final Fantasy 6, Chrono Trigger, and Super Mario RPG. Heck, look at some PS1 RPGs as well, since this is more about voice acting. Even looking at the games with voice acting, movement of the characters still proves important. A voice-acted game where the characters just stand around stiff as boards is just as ho-hum as a similar scene in an older RPG.

Of course, changing the music to fit the mood is also important.



You're gonna have to explain this one to me. I see no difference between the pacing of a voice-acted game and one that isn't, aside from how you can't go through the cutscenes in the pace you want in games like FFX, where the entire scene is automatic. Tales of Symphonia is better in this respect, because the lines are only given when the player chooses to click to the next textbox.

I think that there is a tradeoff. Text is easier because you can reread until you understand it. However, given that the line is spoken correctly, it can eliminate grammatical difficulties and define proper emphasis.


I do recall FF6 had a lot of pacing around during/between text. Little animations as well for looking down or away. Chrono trigger strikes me as more of a reactionary game in which the cutscenes are mostly centered around actions/reactions and little to do with dicussion/thought.


A little difficult to explain. I just mean that the delivery of a properly voiced game feeds you the game in an easy to handle stream of information. At times, I might read too quickly or too slowly, perhaps even blur ahead or skip a detail. When a game has voice acting, I find that I can still listen when I'm too tired to read.

A couple thoughts about reading text versus voice acting.

First, I've noticed that I tend to prefer the text enabled even during voice acted cut scenes just to make sure that I heard everything correctly but this is probably little more than a personal preference. I did notice however that in games like Shadow Hearts from the New World, the text doesn't always correlate to the voice acting, it is sometimes a little briefer and if this is done too poorly that could detract but I got used to it without any problem.

I think the much more important point is this. In a game like Metal Gear Solid, and I'd like to throw in Halo, you spend almost no time in-game reading. Those games are more about 3-dimensional action so the voice acted cut scenes are far more important than in an RPG where you spend a considerable amount of time reading. It doesn't mean that an RPG wouldn't benefit from a well voice acted cutscene to convey emotion, but it does suggest that it is less likely to suffer a loss of emotional impact because the gamer is already interfacing the game in a text based mode of interaction, so it has a naturalness, an appropriateness. Whereas an action game in which the whole expression of gameplay is via 3D models is likely to have an emotional setback if one has to read text during the cutscenes or if the cutscenes are poorly voice acted or visually non-dynamic.

Like Bo I prefer to have both on in my games for the same reasons. I was actually upset with the move to full voice acting in FFX so I boycotted the game for several years. They voices were never how I imagined them. In RPG's if there is VA then I listen, but I prefer none in traditional games.

However to fully contradict myself, if it is done well enough I do see how it can add to the experience by setting the tone for the conversation with the stresses where the story wants them, not where the reader wants them. It also helps add something rarely seen in RPG's. Sarcasm. I can't remember any sarcasm in any text RPG. Having sarcasm can add humor and make the conversation more natural.

And Dray pretty much covered the whole movement during conversation. It's a big plus.

What do you MEAN there is no sarcasm in RPG's!? Of course there is! Haven't you ever heard of Merle? Or Quistis Trepe? The Idea is that if you read well enough and the words form a natural flow in your mind, where you HEAR the written word in your minds ear, then you can <i>infer</i> sarcasim. I think this actually adds a layer of immersion, of connectivity to the characters. I don't know what constitutes bad voice acting, but when ever I see it demonstrated on G4, only in the most extreme cases do I notice what makes it bad. Of course that might have more to do with the fact i seem to only buy Games with professional Voice actors in them. I mean, you tend to get MUCH better results when Folks like Tom Kenny, John Di Maggio, Tara Strong, and/or Gregg Berger work on a project then some no name hack that they pulled from the local talent outlet.
I'm with Bo, I like to have both. In games where the in game graphics are almost as good as the cut scenes, it also tells me when I'm watching one. In FFX, they cut out (the subs) for the cut scenes.

I think a lot of people, when they think "bad voice acting", they think, for example, the infamous laughing scene in FFX. Although, I attribute it to cheesy writing.

And now, here's the scene again, this time the Japanese version:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XBHIgh3MEJU&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XBHIgh3MEJU&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Actually, after watching that, I'm going to agree with the people who complain that Yuna's voice acting was too quiet and timid.

FF4 Comparison: Voiced and non-voiced
They contain massive spoilers, so if you haven't already seen them, avoid them like the plague. Don't even scroll down. HEY! LISTEN!

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/8x20XPHTbHg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/8x20XPHTbHg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
vs
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/DukFCy6bU4g&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/DukFCy6bU4g&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

or

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/T4DbwAxewHw&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/T4DbwAxewHw&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
vs
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ob3IihnM-nk&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ob3IihnM-nk&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Now, can anyone point out which did what better, what needed improving, or what was unclear? I think I see some things done by either that I like, but I think the ds version is better, hands down. I'll do a post on it soon.

I think the voice-acting in FF4DS is impressive simply because this is a handheld RPG, and it has voice-acting. Or is this a normal thing in this generation, now?

I've heard people say the acting wasn't that great, but I like it. Then again, I'm not one to judge voice acting in a video game. The acting would have to be pretty bad to make me cringe.