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VoiceGate: Videogame voice actors considering a strike, want to unionize

pippin

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What if voice actors are discarded and games go back to be mostly text-driven?
Imagine the tears.
 

upwardlymobile

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just imagine if beth's voice talentjanitors and secretaries got royalties based on how many lines of dialog they did
 

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I remember there was a VA strike back around 2000 that was blamed as the reason for Icewind Dale having lame PC voice sets.
 

Higher Animal

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I have no problem with people getting paid money to do work. The lack of high paying jobs in the industry is probably why so many of the games released are not very high quality.
 
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Unwanted

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Only degenerate scum have a problem with people getting paid money to do work. The lack of high paying jobs in the industry is probably why so many of the games released are fucking terrible.
In case of VA's being paid a lot isn't the only thing.

I mean if they would do very good job and recorded tons of stuff quickly it would be okay. However, they often have limited working hours(up to 5, with 1 of them being used for brakes because muh throat) and workdays(2-4 days a week) as well. And they're striking because they don't get Hollywood superstar money for doing it.

Meanwhile the programmers who get employed in video game development are the mostly worst kind of programmers you'll ever meet but they accept low wage and never strike. Skilled programmers jumped off the boat most of the times because they were paid like shit.

He-he-hey, poor VA's need money, they're so crucial to game development and on top of it the more you'll pay them the better they'll try - just look at Hollywood - actors are well paid, budgets are high and we're getting quality movies with quality acting out of it!

Craig was right all along.
 

pippin

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Most of them have worked on mainstream cartoons and anime, though. Blum especially, he seems to be fucking everywhere. But I do think people like Courtenay Taylor or Dave Fennoy have a lot of potential to work on major productions outside videogames... maybe that part of the industry in America is just not creative enough or maybe their agents just suck.
 

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Stephen Russell should get more major roles in games.

Also, there are mods out there with less crappy voice acting than Bethesda games, so yeah.
 

Athelas

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Stephen Russell should get more major roles in games.
Your wish has been granted...

...but probably not in the way you wanted it: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4741306/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast

Most of them have worked on mainstream cartoons and anime, though. Blum especially, he seems to be fucking everywhere. But I do think people like Courtenay Taylor or Dave Fennoy have a lot of potential to work on major productions outside videogames... maybe that part of the industry in America is just not creative enough or maybe their agents just suck.
Well, I wasn't entirely serious. While it's true that the same handful of actors seems to appear in almost everything and celebrities are paid a premium to deliver a boring, stilted performance, the problem seems to lie more in the direction they're given by the game developers rather than the actors themselves (well, that and the usually horrible dialogue).
 
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In My Safe Space
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In case of VA's being paid a lot isn't the only thing.

I mean if they would do very good job and recorded tons of stuff quickly it would be okay. However, they often have limited working hours(up to 5, with 1 of them being used for brakes because muh throat) and workdays(2-4 days a week) as well. And they're striking because they don't get Hollywood superstar money for doing it.
What do you mention by "muh throat"? Are you mocking protecting their work tool from getting getting damaged? Are you insane? Maybe teenage drinking damaged your brain after all...
 
Unwanted

a Goat

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What do you mention by "muh throat"? Are you mocking protecting their work tool from getting getting damaged? Are you insane? Maybe teenage drinking damaged your brain after all...
If they wanted to protect their throat they would have strict no-smoking paradigm and it isn't the case.
 
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In case of VA's being paid a lot isn't the only thing.

I mean if they would do very good job and recorded tons of stuff quickly it would be okay. However, they often have limited working hours(up to 5, with 1 of them being used for brakes because muh throat) and workdays(2-4 days a week) as well. And they're striking because they don't get Hollywood superstar money for doing it.

My understanding is that most VA's issue with videogame work is that, compared to doing cartoons and commercials, it's both very boring and a significant pay cut.

I'm not saying they deserve Hollywood salaries, only stating their argument as I understand it.
 
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a Goat

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My understanding is that most VA's issue with videogame work is that, compared to doing cartoons and commercials, it's both very boring and a significant pay cut.

I'm not saying they deserve Hollywood salaries, only stating their argument as I understand it.
It goes way beyond.

If you read about why do they protest - they want cut from sales. Oh dear those video games would surely not work if it wasn't for all those voice actors - programmers, designers, graphics, playtesters can go to hell(half of them are a mere contractors who we treat like shit anyway), VA's deserve sales cut for their very important work.

It's nothing but greed that leads them. These aren't really talented people who protest either - you have A(shley?) Burch here who's mediocre at best. Just gold-digging motherfuckers.
 
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Well, yes. I think what's happening is you're seeing second-tier VAs who mostly work in videogames seeing their more talented peers making way more money than them and having a lot more fun than just sitting alone in a recording booth (the Futurama cast, for example, got paid a boatload of cash, and I believe successfully negotiated royalties a few years before it ended). There's no doubt that there is a not insubstantial amount of entitlement at work here.
 
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Dreaad

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To be fair the job is shit with shit pay and work is hard to get. Meanwhile companies rake in huge amounts of cash from the biggest entertainment industry. I can understand the :butthurt:


Sure programmers and writers need pay rises too, less working hours blah blah, but they are all weak. Most don't seem to care how they are treated because they love what they do and seemingly are willing to put up with any amount of shit. They are also easily replaceable by Indian and Chinese code monkeys so their options are limited from the start.

Point is you can't fault someone for asking for more money, especially if they have the winning hand. Isn't that what the land of freedoom is all about?
 
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BlackAdderBG

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lol no they also ask for companies to not hire non union VA ,because they are competitors and price them out the market (starting amateurs or some hollywood big names).
 

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