So, tonight I fell down a YouTube hole.  I can't even remember how I got started with it, I think I just clicked something random and then all of a sudden, there I was an hour or so later watching video after video of game voice casts, the actor v the character.  

It reminded me how star studded the likes of some of the GTA games are, particularly I think Vice City:




Not just Ray Liotta as Tommy, but the likes of Dennis Hopper, Tom Sizemore, Burt Reynolds, Gary Busey, Lee Majors, Danny Trejo, Danny Dyer, Kevin McKidd all providing voices in the game.  I'd actually forgotten just how many big (ish) names provided voices for Vice City.  In the course of my YouTube travels tonight I saw a lot of familiar names that do a lot of video game voice acting (and I'm sure do other animated series too)

Names like Nolan North and Troy Baker (who are possibly two of the most well-known), Jennifer Hale, Steve Blum, John DiMaggio who all do loads of games and animated series.

One of my favourites is Gideon Emery who has done the voice for a lot of my favourite characters - Balthier in Final Fantasy XII, Fenris in Dragon Age 2, and now Biggs in FF7 remake.  I can usually pick out Gideon's voice as it's quite distinctive.

Others I just associate with one character, Rob Wiethoff will never be anyone but John Marston to me - I know he hasn't really done anything else though.

So the point of the thread I guess is, do you have a favourite voice actor?  Is there someone when you hear it you go 'Oh, that's so-and-so?  Do you have a favourite character that's made all the better by their voice artist?  Alternatively is there one you don't care for?  

Are you fans of celebrity voices or do you prefer it when it's one of the very talented crop of voice actors?

Some of these guys are so versatile with their voice acting it's hard to pick them out though  :lol:  

I like a mix, if you can get a celebrity and get him to work some magic rather than him being there for a paycheck, then it could be something special. I fancy them both. Big fan of Tara Strong (Juliet from Lollipop Chainsaw, Rikku from FFX, & Harley from the later Arkham series and Injustice).

Yes that's a good point, if they add to it rather than just showing up then it's great. I'm thinking of the likes of Martin Sheen in Mass Effect and Freddie Prinze Jr in Mass Effect and Dragon Age.

While I appreciate voice acting in video games, it's not something I actively pay attention to. Much like I rarely know how the directors of films I love.

Dragon Quest VIII was the last game where the voice acting really impressed me, especially the British accents from Yangus and King Trode.

Ricky Grover voices Yangus, and Jon Glover voices King Trode.

Voice acting only helps a game and I appreciate all of the work put into it. That being said though, it does get frustrating seeing the same core of guys(Laura Bailey/Troy Baker/Nolan North/Ashly Burch) get the major gigs time and time and time again. That's why I appreciated Ashley Johnson(Ellie of TLOU) sort of getting that 1st major gig in gaming. I like more voice actors and actresses to sorta share the wealth per say and while I don't fault the core group to make as much money as possible and not turn down gigs, I would like to see big companies maybe go for a person out of the ordinary.

Vaas from Far Cry 3 for instance is MADE by Michael Mando who got his real breakthrough performance. A lot of the Overwatch characters aren't too overexposed in video games. It gets to a point where I can recognize Troy Baker or Nolan North's voice or Laura Bailey's as well.

Emperor, that's a fair point too. I don't actively go out of my way to look up the voice actors unless I hear something that I can't place and then I'll look it up because it annoys me. If I hear a scottish accent in a game (which is pretty rare) I will likely look that up as I want to know if it's actually a scottish actor or not (like Alexander Morton playing Zoltan Chivay in Witcher. But I recognised his voice anyway as I like him as an actor and his voice is pretty unique)

Blindy, I've found that certain game companies go back to the same voice actors time and again, Bioware love using Claudia Black (who I adore), Jennifer Hale, Alix Wilton Regan and Jo Wyatt, Jennifer I know does a lot and she's one of my favourite female voice actors. It is good to hear a bit of variety and not just the same core of actors.

I try to avoid recognizing voices when possible. Especially with people who do a lot of stuff since I try to associate the voice with that character. If I recognize the voice I associate it with the person it belongs too or the first character I heard use it.

A celebrity playing a character pretty close to themselves or themselves doesn't bother me like say Ozzy in Brutal Legend.

You lose points for not name dropping Phil Lamar in the original post. The man plays basically every other black character, and a decent amount of other races too. He’s as prolific as anyone else, even if North and Baker get most the love.

Here’s him just riffing on designs:

RagnarokMike, I accept the rebuke    I know Phil has done lots of voices but I guess I associate him more with his animated voice work than his video game work, but that's by no means belittling his contributions to gaming, it's very likely he's done more than I realise.

Jun 15, 2020 0:58:02 GMT X-zero said:

I try to avoid recognizing voices when possible. Especially with people who do a lot of stuff since I try to associate the voice with that character. If I recognize the voice I associate it with the person it belongs too or the first character I heard use it.

A celebrity playing a character pretty close to themselves or themselves doesn't bother me like say Ozzy in Brutal Legend.

I like that you mentioned Brutal Legend because even though that game was basically Jack Black playing himself, I always wished he would do more voice acting. Also I want a remaster, damn it. Or a sequel. COME ON, DOUBLE FINE.

Tara Strong is one of my favs, but she’s already been mentioned. She’s talented, she’s hot, she’s Canadian. Basically all the same reasons I like Trish Stratus and Rachel McAdams.

It’s a shame Mark Hamill was type cast as The Joker because he did such a good job and would be awesome doing villain voices in other games.

I don’t know if anyone else here plays Overwatch but the voice acting in that game is amazing for how simple it is. Every character fits perfectly, and their little quips while waiting in spawn rooms are fun. Some give clues to backstory about characters, how they know each other, whether they’re friends or not, etc. Between the voice actors and the amount of details in the maps, it’s no secret why that game became such a success for being a glorified team shooter. It’s the little things that can make a game go from good to great.