Quote Originally Posted by Dr. rydrum2112 View Post
Quote Originally Posted by chionos View Post
I'm not getting how this is connected to the voice acting in particular. To me, that's a script problem. That happens even in books, where there are no voices or images to otherwise cloud the audience's perception.
Yes, it could be a function of the script (never said it wasn't) and/or it could be a function of the way the line was voiced. And did I say it was a problem exclusively of voice acted video games?
Certainly implied it, by titling the thread "why voice acting has lessened my joy..." and not "why voice acting and changes to characters' personalities in general has lessened my joy..."

Listen, I'm not trying to be antagonistic here. Not everything someone says by way of responding to a thread topic is a direct assault on the op. You don't have to preface everything you say to me with "I never said that." I know what you said. I've reread what you wrote several times just in case I missed something. I thought this was a thread about voice acting, but when I try to defend voice acting you say you aren't talking about voice acting. What's the actual topic here?

I'm going to try to break this down so we can figure out why I'm confused.

You say voice acting has kept RPGs from achieving their goal of creating an immersive experience.

You use Cloud in AC as an example.

I say Cloud in AC had nothing to do with voice acting.

You say you never said that.

So the Cloud example has nothing to do with voice acting directly, but is instead a parallel example of how changes to a character can be detrimental to a fan's enjoyment of said character, because expectations are shattered. Yes?

So what's an example of voice acting itself not meeting expectations? Cloud doesn't answer that, nor does Tidus. Perhaps we're (I'm) getting hung up on the word "expectations?"

If so, all I'm left with from this is that voice acting is bad because the designers should allow the audience to voice the characters in their own heads, based on a few (precious few) examples of bad voice acting. And yeah, as Bleys said, some voice acting is just bad, even if that's the way the designers scripted and directed it. Tidus' laugh isn't bad because it's voice acted. It isn't bad because my expectations at that moment were not met. It's bad because the director and actor failed.

Early attempts at special affects in movies could be viewed the same way. Special effects in movies are so bad sometimes that they wrench the audience out of the movie, effectively taking away their ability to suspend disbelief. When they're not executed perfectly they take away from the film's immersion factor. But does that mean movies shouldn't have special effects? No, it means the people creating the special effects need to do a better job.

Video games are the ultimate entertainment medium, in that they are a visual, aural, and even tactile experience (and if they ever actually perfect the scent boxes...). Fully voiced characters are, and should be, part of that experience.