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Voice Acting in MMORPG's good or wasted resources?

I will start off by saying that I don't know how much it cost to do quality voice acting in a game let alone an MMORPG.

 

Does it lend well to the experience of MMORPG's or is something that you just skip to get to the damn point and get the experience?  

 

Do you think it's wasted on most people who don't care whats on text or being said by NPC because their only looking to level?

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Comments

  • QuirhidQuirhid Member UncommonPosts: 6,230
    For cutscenes and the like, yes ofcourse its worth it. For everything else, not so much.

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  • KrimzinKrimzin Member UncommonPosts: 687

    It wasn't bad in SWTOR, but honestly after the first couple days I would just skip them. I would rather they used the resources for something more tangible.

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  • SquishydewSquishydew Member UncommonPosts: 1,107

    I like some random NPC talk when i walk around towns and cities, and cinematics and cut scenes should ofcourse be voiced.

    As for things like quests, i really don't care, I'll probably skip over / not even hear it anyway.

     

    Even in neverwinter where the quest dialog continues as you walk away, i cant remember a single word any of the quest givers said.

  • maplestonemaplestone Member UncommonPosts: 3,099

    I tend to enjoy little snippits of voice work well as part of the ambient sound design of a game.

    However, verbalizing quest text doesn't make me any less inclined to want to skip them.

    I like listening to nicely told stories, but I'm not personally a fan of story-centric games.

     

     

  • purewitzpurewitz Member UncommonPosts: 489
    I think its well worth it. Its the reason why Star Wars: The Old Republic is my favorite MMO to play since December 2011. Its hard for me to play a MMO without full voice over now.

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  • DraucantDraucant Member UncommonPosts: 34
    Adding random NPCs talking to each other out in the open is nice, but i think having fully voiced acting is a must for the main storyline and important cutscenes. Normal quests, I think its a waste of resources. 
  • DrunkWolfDrunkWolf Member RarePosts: 1,701

    personally i think its a complete waste of time and resources.

    i would rather the money be put towards more content and things to do in the game.

  • DavisFlightDavisFlight Member CommonPosts: 2,556
    An MMORPG will never be as good as a singleplayer RPG. Trying to be one is tossing money and resources into a bottomless pit. Devs should instead focus on massive storytelling, which is what MMOs are good for. Scripted, solo, linear, instanced content is NOT what MMOs should focus on if they want success.
  • BcudaBcuda Member UncommonPosts: 164
    I dont think its needed for every quest. The big quest i think should have it though. swtor although exceled here. thats not enough to save that game.
  • InsaneDalekInsaneDalek Member Posts: 119

    I think voiceovers are a fantastic idea for main story quests (including raid cutscenes and the like) but not really all that appropriate for every little 'kill ten rats' type of quest. Especially if you can't hire a decent cast of unique voice actors for the various NPCs. For example, it seemed like every 3rd or 4th quest giver in SWTOR was voiced by Jim Cummings. It really ruins whatever mood the VO is trying to add very quickly when all the NPCs sound identical. Having the PC re-use the same lines over and over again doesn't help either.

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  • DrunkWolfDrunkWolf Member RarePosts: 1,701
    Originally posted by DavisFlight
    An MMORPG will never be as good as a singleplayer RPG. Trying to be one is tossing money and resources into a bottomless pit. Devs should instead focus on massive storytelling, which is what MMOs are good for. Scripted, solo, linear, instanced content is NOT what MMOs should focus on if they want success.

    +1

  • maplestonemaplestone Member UncommonPosts: 3,099
    Originally posted by DavisFlight
    An MMORPG will never be as good as a singleplayer RPG. Trying to be one is tossing money and resources into a bottomless pit.

    What if large-budget publishers are actually looking for bottomless pits to throw money into in order to set a standard that independant publishers can't compete with?

  • DamonVileDamonVile Member UncommonPosts: 4,818

    I like when a quest giver explains the quest but doesn't force you to stand there with a dialog box open. You can walk away and still listen to them explain the quest.

    SWTOR went a bit overboard and the way the quests worked you often just ended up skipping it anyway to get the the choice.

  • motherofserpentsmotherofserpents Member Posts: 6

    only the developers can answer this question. They know the exact costs; we can only speculate. The better question is which MMOs do it best? And for which do they add the most?

    for me, DCUO has the best voice actors and writing. It's at times very funny and witty and other times serious and comic-dramatic. And it has that subtle dark humor. And pretty much the ENTIRE game is voiceovered. very well done. not to mention the extremely well done cutscenes and cinematics. that game just oozes vibe and comicbook theme flavor.

    SWOTR is good as well and GW2, while i thought the game was extremely bland and boring and the personal story a complete "meh" of cliches, the voice actors seem good and there is a good amount of NPC chatter.

    Neverwinter however... lol. baaaad voice acting. so bad, and not even campy bad - distracting bad.

  • RusqueRusque Member RarePosts: 2,785

    Though I do like voiced dialogue and cut scenes, I will say that so far every MMO that has featured a large amount of voice acting has definitely wasted resources.

    It's one of those things that you incorporate as a cherry on top, not as a main feature. It's expensive and requires lots of manpower to accomplish. Focus on the game first, then if there isn't any way to keep improving the game, go ahead and add voice overs.

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,483
    It depends on how much voice acting and on how big your budget is.
  • ozmonoozmono Member UncommonPosts: 1,211
    If I knew how much it cost in comparison to other things I may be able to give a decent answer. Best I can do not knowing that, is to say I don't skip them and they do add something. Is it a wasted resource though? I don't know.
  • dgarbinidgarbini Member Posts: 185
    Personally I'd say its a waste.  Usually the writing is so bad or boring that no voice over can make up for that.  Unless you have amazing story and writing its a total waste, spend that money elsewhere.
  • Vermillion_RaventhalVermillion_Raventhal Member EpicPosts: 4,198
    I liked some of the stuff in SWTOR but afterawhile I started skipping it.  To fully voice over it seems like it makes it harder to add content.
  • RhinotonesRhinotones Member UncommonPosts: 250

    I become far more immersed in a game if there are good voice overs, particularly for main characters I interact with consistently. An example of this Diablo's Deckard Cain who voice totally compelled me to help and follow his instructions when playing the original Diablo.

    Getting the voice right is very important though. If his voice had sounded like that of one of the Goblins in WoW it would have irritated the you know what out of me.

    A game with quality voice overs can only add another layer to it's immersion if done well.

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  • XiaokiXiaoki Member EpicPosts: 4,036


    Originally posted by DavisFlight
    An MMORPG will never be as good as a singleplayer RPG. Trying to be one is tossing money and resources into a bottomless pit. Devs should instead focus on massive storytelling, which is what MMOs are good for. Scripted, solo, linear, instanced content is NOT what MMOs should focus on if they want success.
    The Dynamic Events in Guild wars 2 are fully voiced, which are not solo or instanced.


    And I do believe that GW2 has been quite successful.


    So, you can have voice acting in MMOs and not have it be reserved entirely for story cut scenes.

  • jpnzjpnz Member Posts: 3,529
    Swtor is a financial success so in a business sense it is a good investment. Whether you like VO in mmos is a personal opinion.

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  • RydesonRydeson Member UncommonPosts: 3,852
    total waste of resources.. IMO
  • crack_foxcrack_fox Member UncommonPosts: 399
    Love it. I thought the voice-overs in TOR were excellent and I rarely skipped them. I don't know how much of the total development costs went into voicing all of the quests, but I think it was money well spent. 
  • AkulasAkulas Member RarePosts: 3,028
    Saves reading if your just focusing on game progression and not worrying about the story.

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