pk_hunter wrote:It's not so much about the noise and distortion of poor microphones which can, to an extent, be cleared up with filters. It's the dynamic range (or lack thereof) that is really noticeable. A tinny, flat sounding voice is one of the biggest immersion killers for me in mods and believe me - people do notice. You can work on the dynamics of a sound file 'til the cows come home, but if it was recorded on something sub-par then you're never going to get it good enough.
I also implore you not to look at it as being "pushed" to include quality sound with your project. It's a massive part of the player's experience and can be an incredibly satisfying thing to work on!
I can fully agree to this. I notice that mainly when I compare a voice over of my own to a HL 2 voice over, say Alex for example, the mod V.O is less pronounced and is much more difficult to hear. Also notice that voices are often louder in the actual games, then in the mods. In my experience at looking at them they have a lot more bass support and are more noticeable.
On a note of the voice actor, I would say one of the biggest things is speaking clearly and saying it in a believable manner. For instance you can pronounce all your words of the script correctly, but if you don't emphasize the emotions enough it all falls apart.
My last note, is when people do get voices added, a lot of the time they don't plan the situation to conveniently have the player around to listen. Often a response is added when the player has already passed by, especially important ones in mods. Once the levels are built, and everything is done correctly, that is when you want to start adding scenes (that is if your level was designed with them in mind). Otherwise you can slot them in at bad spots and end up with a lot of mashed up acting.
So my advice is get some quality mics and recording equipment. Play parts according to what you are able to do well, if you cannot fill a certain role, find some one else or change it. Lastly plan well, as this is the pitfall where even good voice acting bitterly crashes.
