Potential Non-human NPC Voices

[Ibsen's Ghost]

Hello again,

I thought that, considering the fact that I saw another thread regarding non-human voices, I would try offering you some samples from a piece of voice changing software I experimented with on an earlier project. I ended up not using them but thinking that, properly used, they could have an impact.

Some of these are a bit crap, to tell the truth, but I particularly like the voice of the Tiger, Snake and Boa. The Horse and Mosquito also have some potential, if only for comic value. If nothing other than a basis for producing words in the form of unearthly sounds, they might form the basis of springing an extra surprise on the player (a source of great delight to players who are faced with a community saturated by mods that can be very similar). On the negative side, continual usage could result in being irritated by them or giving the player a headache. Plus some purists like to hear 'real' voice-work. In a world of novelty, quality is King.

Technical Information: There is a time delay on the recording of these samples that is sometimes noticeable. This means that the actual laying down of the audio is slower than when you are speaking, which is clearly the result of the software having to process the result through whatever filter you're using. There are some ways to combat this, including the basic stuff like cutting files and careful timing. There is also the option of altering certain parameters within the program itself in order to tweak the voice changer in different directions. I'm not entirely confident at using these options to their optimum capacity but I find that experimentation often reaps rewards with these things.

Take note of the fact that I'm not altering my own voice in any way with these samples. This is my normal speaking voice filtered through the program, wholly lacking in expression.

Your views, please?

- Steve (Ibsen's Ghost)