Game News More on Oblivion voice acting

[Saint_Proverbius]

Tags: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion

<blockquote><div align="center"><b>THE BRITISH ARE COMING… BETHESDA GAME STUDIOS TAPS TOP
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INTERNATIONAL HOLLYWOOD TALENT TO VOICE THE UPCOMING
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THE ELDER SCROLLS® IV: OBLIVION™ VIDEO GAME</b></div>
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<b>The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion to Feature Voice Performances by
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Patrick Stewart, Sean Bean, and Terence Stamp</b>
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September 30, 2005 (Rockville, MD) – To create the perfect tone and timbre for its upcoming epic role playing game, The Elder Scrolls® IV: Oblivion™, Bethesda Game Studios announced today an all-star voice cast of British stage and screen legends. Developed for both the Xbox 360™ videogame and entertainment system from Microsoft and PC platforms, Oblivion is one of the year’s most highly-anticipated games and sequel to the best-selling role playing game of 2002, Morrowind®.
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Leading the lineup is Patrick Stewart, playing the role of the Emperor. Stewart is best known among genre fans as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation and as Professor Charles Xavier from the X-Men feature films.
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Providing the voice for the Emperor’s lost son and heir to the throne is Sean Bean. Bean skyrocketed to the public’s attention as Lord Boromir in the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings trilogy. While Oblivion will be his first video game role, Bean is well known for starring in a variety of films, including memorable roles in National Treasure, Goldeneye, and Patriot Games.
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"Oblivion is something unique, an epic entertainment experience unlike anything I had seen before," said Bean. "I decided this was a project I really wanted to work on creatively and I hope fans of the game enjoy the results."
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Terence Stamp will lend his talents to the game’s heavy plot, a sinister force bent on the destruction of Tamriel, the game’s geographical setting. Stamp starred in Star Wars: Phantom Menace as Supreme Chancellor Valorum and as General Zod in the legendary Superman films. Oblivion is Stamp’s first foray into voice work for a video game.
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"Having never done voice work for a video game before, I really had no notion of what to expect," said Stamp. "Bethesda did a great job in providing the tone and theme for the character and it was fun to give life to the villain in the story, who is a very thoughtful man from a different line of kings who seeks to realize his own vision for the empire."
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Bethesda had previously announced that Lynda Carter would also be lending her voice talents to the game. Best known for her starring role as the crime-fighting superhero, "Wonder Woman," in the hit television series, Carter has appeared in more than 50 television shows and films, including this summer’s hits, Sky High and Dukes of Hazzard.
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"We wanted to work with voice talent that really captured the emotion and drama of the game’s story," said Todd Howard, executive producer for The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. "Quite honestly, we wrote the parts with these individual actors in mind. It’s an honor to have them lend their talents to the project."
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As the next chapter in the highly acclaimed and best-selling Elder Scrolls series, Oblivion is a single-player game that takes place in Tamriel's capital province, Cyrodiil. Gamers are given the task of finding the hidden heir to a throne that sits empty, the previous emperor having been killed by an unknown assassin. With no true Emperor, the gates to Oblivion (the equivalent of hell in the world of Tamriel) open, and demons begin to invade Cyrodiil and attack its people and towns. It's up to the player to find the lost heir and unravel the sinister plot that threatens to destroy all of Tamriel.
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The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion has not yet been rated by the ESRB. For more information on the title visit the official web site at <a href="http://www.elderscrolls.com">www.elderscrolls.com</a>.</blockquote>
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w00t! General Zod rules.
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Thanks, <b>Pete Hines</b>!
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[Chefe]

I think I smell a Game of The Year!

 

[GhanBuriGhan]

I forsee this will become a fun thread...

 

[Chefe]

Well, you've got to give Bethesda credit, they've successfully found their target market:

Anyway, I'm very very very glad about the choice. Terence Stamp, Sean Bean and Patrick Stewart.. a dream come true. Now everyone knows Oblivion is gonna be a great game!

Has the gaming world really come to this?

 

[Saint_Proverbius]

I believe Terrance Stamp is also the voice of Jor-El in Smallville. He's got a great voice if that's who voiced Jor-El in that series. Pretty sure it is, though.

 

[Psilon]

Speaking of General Zod...

 

[jiujitsu]

Cool!

 

[Cimmerian Nights]

Speaking of General Zod...

Zod, Picard/Prof X, and Boromir, a geeky trifecta!

 

[truekaiser]

interesting so they think they can forget about a good storyline if they have high priced actors to do the voices?

 

[Twinfalls]

Kneel before Todd.
(you'd still be taller than him)

 

[corvax]

interesting so they think they can forget about a good storyline if they have high priced actors to do the voices?

Couldn't resist the urge to bitch, huh?

This news is good indeed. The voice acting for once will be top-notch, not some Gothic-like fake-ass-Texas- ESL- German- accent talk. The storyline is also pretty good and I suggest you become familiar with the TES lore before stating otherwise. The emperor is dead, there's a power struggle between different factioins, a different line of kings wants to restore its power. The empire has been going strong for over 400 years, its fall is a crucial event in the TES lore. The implications of Oblivion's storyline are much more significant than antything previously done in TES games. It's not Torment quality but it's as good as it gets in post-Torment Rpg's.

 

[Mithter Thibbs]

1. Patrick Stewart has a great voice.

2. Sean Bean's pretty good too. He does a good smarmy-type of evil.

3. Zod... ? Stamp...? Jo-Rel? None of 'em ring a bell. No comment.

In the grand scheme of things, though, the particulars of the VO talent (however appreciable that talent may be) isn't going to make or break the game for me. It'll either drive one more nail into the coffin of a sub-standard game if it's bad (ToEE), or enhance an already good experience if done well. It won't drag a crappy game up from the dumper and make it sparkle, nor will it turn an otherwise good game into a steaming turd of excrement.

What I really want to know is if it'll run on my current 'pooter. If it'll run on my current system, I'll buy it. If not, I'll wait.

It does sound impressive, though, which I suppose is the whole point of hype.

 

[Balor]

Well, good voice acting, is, well, good.
However, if we'll find certain gameplay elements lacking, and will get usual 'no time, no resourses' disclaimer, we know whom to blame.

 

[Andyman Messiah]

Yup. The voice actors. They didn't do a good job, and therefore the whole game sucked.

By the way, now that Sean Bean and the-other-guy have joined the cast, I hereby predict that Oblivion will become Game of the Day, Week, Month and Year and in magazines and Internet sites everywhere people will scream out the greatness that is The Elder Scrolls VI: Oblivion.

Except here, I imagine.

 

[geminito]

Good for Bethesda! Glad they can compete with EA and the other corporate games companies in this arena.

 

[Micmu]

Fuck voice actors. Seriously, is this a feature even worth mentioning (here)?
Surely it sounds great in xbrick magazines for certain younger audience and therefore boosts the sales (celebrities, better graphix than halo 2, knight swinging his sword on a cute horsie). For a RP gamer, voice acting by celebrities is of no real importance. It's nice to have great voices, but bragging with it constantly (and graphix) lowers expectatons of many people who expect roleplaying gameplay...

 

[Surlent]

Speaking of General Zod...

Is it just coincidence or does that zod look like emperor Mengsk from Starcraft ?

 

[Fintilgin]

Well, honestly I doubt that getting some 'serious' voice talent is expensive as you might think. For example, seeing as how Patric Stewart dies right off the bat (omg spoilers!) he probably didn't need to do more then a one or two voice sessions. I dunno, maybe five or six hours of work for what in the game is maybe 10 or 15 minutes of dialogue. Hard to ballpark what that might cost, but I'm going to guess around 10,000$? Sean Bean, as the the heir probably did more work, but I still doubt it was more then a few days or cost more then 20 or 30 thousand.

Compared to the total cost of Oblivion that's peanuts.
(Of course I may be way off.)

 

[Balor]

@ Fintilgin
Good points.
But then it brings up the question:

Fuck voice actors. Seriously, is this a feature even worth mentioning (here)?

 

[Section8]

Starcraft flirts dangerously with the line between homage and plagiarism with almost all of it's elements, and so does Warcraft for that matter.

I'd love to know what sort of budget is going to the VO for Oblivion, and I'd also question the marketing value of Terence Stamp. I don't imagine too many copies of "Far From The Madding Crowd" have been played on an Xbox. I'd also venture that anyone old enough to remember Superman 2 fondly is probably mature enough to not only ignore the hype, but be offended by it.

 

[DorrieB]

"Oblivion is something unique, an epic entertainment experience unlike anything I had seen before," said Bean. "I decided this was a project I really wanted to work on creatively and I hope fans of the game enjoy the results."

Wow, what a sharp observation.

Sorry, I'll leave quietly now.

 

[corvax]

Fuck voice actors. Seriously, is this a feature even worth mentioning (here)?
Surely it sounds great in xbrick magazines for certain younger audience and therefore boosts the sales (celebrities, better graphix than halo 2, knight swinging his sword on a cute horsie). For a RP gamer, voice acting by celebrities is of no real importance. It's nice to have great voices, but bragging with it constantly (and graphix) lowers expectatons of many people who expect roleplaying gameplay...

Worth mentioning, why the hell not? It adds atmosphere. Constant bragging? Join the real world and get over it. Get a fucking grip on how marketing works too. The addition of those British voice actors is something new and defenitely welcome.

 

[crpgnut]

Captain Picard, Boromir, General Zod and Wonder Woman! The geek level of this project is off the charts. Now if we get a game instead of a movie, I'll really be excited. The longer we go without hearing any gameplay news, the less excited I become about the game. I'm definitely not pre-ordering based on what I know so far. I really hope we get some real news soon.

 

[Micmu]

Worth mentioning, why the hell not? It adds atmosphere. Constant bragging? Join the real world and get over it. Get a fucking grip on how marketing works too. The addition of those British voice actors is something new and defenitely welcome.

And some other John Doe voice actor with equal or even better voice acting skills (not that Steward isn't great!) wouldn't add to atmosphere? So, it MUST be a celebrity everywhere now, for something to be atmospheric enough, you say.

I agree on British voice acting though; British accent and games in medieval (-like) setting mix good.

 

[truekaiser]

interesting so they think they can forget about a good storyline if they have high priced actors to do the voices?

Couldn't resist the urge to bitch, huh?

This news is good indeed. The voice acting for once will be top-notch, not some Gothic-like fake-ass-Texas- ESL- German- accent talk. The storyline is also pretty good and I suggest you become familiar with the TES lore before stating otherwise. The emperor is dead, there's a power struggle between different factioins, a different line of kings wants to restore its power. The empire has been going strong for over 400 years, its fall is a crucial event in the TES lore. The implications of Oblivion's storyline are much more significant than antything previously done in TES games. It's not Torment quality but it's as good as it gets in post-Torment Rpg's.

oh i am very faimilar with tes lore.
but even then i still think the story is not that good.
'you must find the last heir to the throne who will save us all'
reminds me alot of the jrr tolken's return of the king.
also you have to consider the price of having such talent. it has obviously drain resources from elsewhere, where it would matter more(mounted combat, staff melee, etc).
voice acting though is just in there because too many people complained about having to read all the dialog in morrowind.