LogFAQs > #985380156

ParanoidObsessive posted...

For decades (even up to around the time when I was a kid) it was seen as being a pretty standard mindset that A-List actors were above doing TV, and if you saw a film actor in a TV show they were blatantly slumming it. It was basically what you did when you were a has-been who couldn't get film jobs anymore. Until eventually we reached a point where it basically became acceptable for actors to do either (and in some cases, there started to be more prestige in TV).

That's not really where I was going. Rather the opposite, in that it's often used purely as a marketing ploy because these people are so prestigious. Worst case, it actively subtracts from the experience because these decisions aren't being based on making the game better, when they could have chosen someone who does take VA work seriously as their craft and written a meaningful character. And on the other side, of course unless the developer is big enough and going all out, they aren't going to be too keen on paying an A-Lister for an extended role. Yes, currently playing Oblivion and remembering "Patrick Septim" was what inspired this topic, but Emma Stone in Sleeping Dogs is even more of an egregious example of this. Her character was completely pointless, added in for a total of two missions in the beginning of the game purely for the purpose of having Emma Stone in the game, and then forgot about. And to a lesser extent, maybe Lucy Liu as well, but I think her character got a bit more presence.

adjl posted...

I think part of that boils down to the fact that voice acting does have its own set of skills distinct from screen or stage acting. Some screen/stage actors have those skills and/or are willing to develop them for a VA role, some don't.

Absolutely this! I found it funny, watching interviews with the main VA cast of GTA5, Steven Ogg and Ned Luke were adamant that "They were 'Actors', not voice actors". And I'm thinking, "the fuck is wrong with voice acting?" Granted, they also went through motion capture, so there was more involved than going into a booth and reading lines, but VA work is absolutely a respectable skill.