10-24-2010, 06:29 PM
Being that I'm the sound guy, I'm creating this thread so that we can decide on the details of how to implement voice acting in BM. This is not relevant to the present stage of development but warrants proper preparation none the less.
I've previously expressed my idea regarding this, and here's the full version of it. A lot of this is speculative and not meant to be taken as fully developed.
Site-note #1: I think we should invalidate persuasion in BM. All characters are immune to it (both the skill and any and all persuasion spells and abilities) and their attitude towards you is affected solely by quests. I realise that persuasion is a part of the gameplay in Oblivion but it's just so anti-immersion breaking that I don't think anyone will miss it.
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Voice Acting Outline
My idea is built around NPC categories. The whole motivation behind this is to minimise the amount of total lines of dialogue while still allowing for a world that feels inhabited by creatures all born capable of speaking (and also to take into account the various races and languages that exist in BM). Also, we don't want to make the player feel as though voice acting was cut because of reasons other than good game design.
NPC Categories
City Atmosphere
As we all know, vanilla Oblivion is full of townsfolk awkwardly stumbling into each other, suddenly realising that they're meant to be talking, after which they proceed to have something that only technically qualifies as a conversation. These random NPC-to-NPC conversations take up a huge amount of lines but the fundamental idea is rather stupid, as the end result is nothing like what you'd actually see in the real world.
Kicking a dead horse aside, my idea is that we scrap these conversations and use a variation on what they did in Gothic II. While walking around in cities (or any place where we deem it beneficial) the player will hear NPCs talking to one another. This to serve as either just atmosphere or as necessary for a quest. However, it will not be random. In the spirit of categories, these are the various types of NPC-to-NPC chatter that'll be present. Each has its own practical circumstances. I'll do my best to explain what I mean by each type.
It's worth remembering that a little goes a long way. Given that cities are small, just two NPC-to-NPC conversations per city would work just fine.
Note: Depending on what animations (specifically standing poses) are available, these can be very varied. What animations are available in vanilla Oblivion and are there mods out there who offer additional ones?
Very useful animations would include: Leaning against walls (on back or side), sitting with elbows on the table, walking slowly, standing with arms crossed etc.
The implication is not that these conversations are interesting to listen to, and they're not intended to be easily audible from afar.
This is what happens when you activate a character; standard dialogue. I'm including this here because it'd be interesting to examine ways to set BM apart from vanilla Oblivion by modifying how this works. Anything from something subtle like modifying the dialogue interface to something more drastic like changing the camera angle.
What, if any, options for customisation are available here?
Conversation Encounters
In Oblivion, the player is sometimes 'locked' in place and forced to watch something happen, such as the killing of the emperor in the beginning (which I could've totally prevented if it weren't for my fully-body arthritis suddenly flaring up). This feels a bit ham-handed and I'm wondering if (and this is largely tied with the above subject) we could transform it into a very simple version of what the conversations are like in Mass Effect 2, i.e. having several characters involved and still allowing the player to say something, as it were, here and there, to make certain key points in quests feel a bit more interesting.
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xxx[/HR]
There are a lot more things left unsaid but this should serve as a good start.
I've previously expressed my idea regarding this, and here's the full version of it. A lot of this is speculative and not meant to be taken as fully developed.
Site-note #1: I think we should invalidate persuasion in BM. All characters are immune to it (both the skill and any and all persuasion spells and abilities) and their attitude towards you is affected solely by quests. I realise that persuasion is a part of the gameplay in Oblivion but it's just so anti-immersion breaking that I don't think anyone will miss it.
xxx[/HR]
xxx[/HR]
Voice Acting Outline
My idea is built around NPC categories. The whole motivation behind this is to minimise the amount of total lines of dialogue while still allowing for a world that feels inhabited by creatures all born capable of speaking (and also to take into account the various races and languages that exist in BM). Also, we don't want to make the player feel as though voice acting was cut because of reasons other than good game design.
NPC Categories
- Clutter NPC: Purely cosmetic character without any persona lines. These people will only respond with a short, often dismissive line (or bodily noise) when activated. They do not even necessarily have names. Examples include: random townsfolk, establishment patrons, "filler" NPCs.
- Minor Character: Character with actual lines and some degree of characterisation. The player can initiate actual conversations with these. However, they're not significant to any plot but are mostly voiced for practical reasons and frequency as well as necessity of use. Examples include: establishment owners, characters involved in quests and any otherwise clutter NPC with unique dialogue lines.
- Major Character: These are the guys with deep background stories, developed character traits, significant involvement in one or more quest lines and with specifically crafted appearances.
City Atmosphere
As we all know, vanilla Oblivion is full of townsfolk awkwardly stumbling into each other, suddenly realising that they're meant to be talking, after which they proceed to have something that only technically qualifies as a conversation. These random NPC-to-NPC conversations take up a huge amount of lines but the fundamental idea is rather stupid, as the end result is nothing like what you'd actually see in the real world.
Kicking a dead horse aside, my idea is that we scrap these conversations and use a variation on what they did in Gothic II. While walking around in cities (or any place where we deem it beneficial) the player will hear NPCs talking to one another. This to serve as either just atmosphere or as necessary for a quest. However, it will not be random. In the spirit of categories, these are the various types of NPC-to-NPC chatter that'll be present. Each has its own practical circumstances. I'll do my best to explain what I mean by each type.
It's worth remembering that a little goes a long way. Given that cities are small, just two NPC-to-NPC conversations per city would work just fine.
Note: Depending on what animations (specifically standing poses) are available, these can be very varied. What animations are available in vanilla Oblivion and are there mods out there who offer additional ones?
Very useful animations would include: Leaning against walls (on back or side), sitting with elbows on the table, walking slowly, standing with arms crossed etc.
The implication is not that these conversations are interesting to listen to, and they're not intended to be easily audible from afar.
- Exterior Atmospheric: In cities, people who know each other sometimes stand around talking, or they walk at a slightly slower pace while talking. Or they talk while doing something. What they talk about varies greatly but it's typically non-personal stuff, like gossip or what they spent last night doing. This talk can be in English, but also Argonian or any other language, whatever we want.
In practice:
Example 1: In Gideon, a Dark Elf and an Argonian are sitting in the shadow of a house, near the creek. They're casually discussing what they've heard about politics in Cyrodiil and are making a few morbid predictions so what'll happen if the Oblivion gates start to surface everywhere in Black Marsh. Their voices are quite quiet and they're not very articulate.
Example 2: In Gideon, two Argonians are standing under the Serpentine Emmanuelle. They're speaking very softly, closer to whispering. One of them apparently stole something from a shop in Soulrest and he's asking his friend if he knows of a fence that would be interested. If the player steps close to them, they stop talking.
Example 3 (very dependant on animation, scripting and general time required): In Soulrest, two females are walking down the road talking about one of their kids almost having gotten eaten by a behemoth living in a nearby cave.
Example 4: In Stormhold, three Argonian mercenaries are standing/sitting near the outskirts of the town, talking about their jobs with a small amount of levity.
- Interior Atmospheric: Depending on the place, these can range from really private conversations to just gabbing away with your friends at the Hole-In-The-Wall. Often these are whispered and people stop talking when you're near them. These can be in any language, of course.
In practice:
Example 1: In the Marshland Glow Inn, two Dunmer as sitting opposite of each other at a round table in one of the corners. They're whispering something about a Redoran-Hlaalu conflict in Morrowind.
Example 2: In an inn on the countryside, an Argonian and an Orc are sitting at the bar, talking loudly about pulling the legs off of a mudcrab one by one.
Example 3: In the Serpentine Emmanuelle, a Khajiit is talking to one of the... 'women', about having his bachelor party there, the same kind that his friend Deeza had back in '08, except without the need for the salve cream.
- Quest-related: Spoken more coherently, perhaps with a subtle hint of drama, and in a less casual tone of voice, unless it's a conversation intended for eavesdroppin'.
This is what happens when you activate a character; standard dialogue. I'm including this here because it'd be interesting to examine ways to set BM apart from vanilla Oblivion by modifying how this works. Anything from something subtle like modifying the dialogue interface to something more drastic like changing the camera angle.
What, if any, options for customisation are available here?
Conversation Encounters
In Oblivion, the player is sometimes 'locked' in place and forced to watch something happen, such as the killing of the emperor in the beginning (which I could've totally prevented if it weren't for my fully-body arthritis suddenly flaring up). This feels a bit ham-handed and I'm wondering if (and this is largely tied with the above subject) we could transform it into a very simple version of what the conversations are like in Mass Effect 2, i.e. having several characters involved and still allowing the player to say something, as it were, here and there, to make certain key points in quests feel a bit more interesting.
xxx[/HR]
xxx[/HR]
There are a lot more things left unsaid but this should serve as a good start.