作者：Jaimie Lynn Hensley

在2016年的春天，我面试了一款独立复古恐怖游戏的配音员角色。回首过去，我希望自己的经验能够对配音员，独立开发者以及其他致力于自己喜欢的工作的人带去帮助。

《Camp Sunshine》

有时候游戏开发需要一些准确的句子，但有时候也需要来自角色的持续反馈，所以这可能需要从配音员所需要的时间中进行删减（最多可能几分钟）。我便会将自己至于角色的角度并进行一些即兴发挥（更多内容详见下文）。

我已经参与过许多独立项目。当一个项目还没有可游戏演示版本或游戏脚本时，我们就很难去判断开发团队是否有能力去完成这个项目。

《Camp Sunshine》是在公布演员招募公告时便已经上了Steam的greenlight。我所共事的开发者将我的角色所出现的区域的视频发给了我，同时还有我的声音的游戏效果。当10月末Fossil Games发行了《Camp Sunshine》时，我必须承认自己真的非常开心。

不过对我来说最重要的时刻还是在看到《Camp Sunshine》的游戏玩法视频的时候。因为我想知道这个玩家对我的角色配音有什么想法？

他是这么说的：“不要那样低语”。通常情况下你都不希望自己的讲话方式会获得这样的回应，但对于这一角色，这便是我们想要的回应。那Steam上的评论又是怎样？从整体上来看都是正面的！

配音

voice acting（from jjapk）

如果你问我今年的配音工作是如何获得提高的，我的答案真的很简单。我报了表演课程，向配音老师进行了学习，并升级了我的家庭工作室的装备（即包括iZotope RX并购置了新的麦克风）。

我所负责的角色是个非常容易焦虑且渴望获得帮助的人。作为一个天生缺乏安全感的人，扮演这样的角色并不困难。我会去回想自己非常焦虑的时刻，感觉自己的喉咙被锁住的时候，那时候我的声音就会变得非常紧张且音调会变高。我会将这种体能特征与被囚禁在黑暗中的感受结合在一起去演绎角色。

我觉得自己更加倾向于那些忧虑且性格怪癖的角色。因为他们和我的性格更相近。但我也想去尝试一些其他角色，即像那些强大，忠诚，异想天开等角色，因为我想去探索一些不一样的自己。再一次地，身体性能也很重要。例如你的站姿如何？你是如何呼吸的？你在哪里感到紧张？你的声音会对身体的那一部分产生共鸣？

这便是我每一天都在练习的地方，如果我可以让自己发出像强大的武士那般的声音，我便会相信任何充满决心的配音员都能为和自己性格不像的角色改变自己的声音。并且说实话，一名优秀的老师值得你花更多钱。

独立游戏

我认为我们中很多进入这一领域的人应该都遇到过一些让自己伤心的项目。但是根据我的经验，当我在寻找工作时我都会会特别关注一些重要方面：

是否有可游戏的演示版本？不需要是完整的游戏，但却要有能够呈现代码，图像等能够用于创造一个可行游戏概念的统一内容。如果只有草图但没有可游戏的内容，或者只有角色“理念”和脚本（游戏邦注：如她听起来声音就像Triss Merigold但更刻薄与直言不讳，并且能够逗乐玩家们）等便会让我觉得游戏概念还不够靠谱。

游戏当前的状态怎样？是否有发行商？是否进行了greenlight，early access，或beta测试？大多数情况下你都希望在发挥自己的配音才能前先摸个底。

开发者是否真的清楚自己想要呈现怎样的角色？例如“一个20岁的美国女性，讲话低声，没有安全感，渴望别人的帮助“这样的设定便会让我清楚自己将如何为这样的角色配音。

方向是否明确。今年我所参与的不同项目都需要不同的声音。根据我提交的录音，开发者会给予一些特定的反馈。如角色是名士兵，他们就会希望她的声音会更加洪亮有力。而与那些能够清楚表达自己想法的人共事真的非常棒！

是否存在时间轴。当然有时候时间轴会被拉长并引出一些问题。但是拥有一个整体计划能够避免项目最终黄掉。

预算和资金也很重要。你需要确保项目是否获得众酬，或者自己是否能获得来自开发者或其他人的报酬？对方如何付钱？付多少钱？何时付钱等等都是你需要了解清楚的。

（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转发，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Voice Acting in Indie Games: Finding Awesomeness in Yourself and in the Casting Calls

by Jaimie Lynn Hensley

Back in the spring of 2016, I auditioned for a voiceover role in an indie retro horror game. Looking back, I hope my experience can help you enhance your own awesomeness as a voiceover artist, indie dev, or whatever it is you do and love!

Camp Sunshine: The Project, The Reception

There were some exact sentences the devs wanted, but it was for a situation that required continual feedback from the character, that could be looped or cut to the length of time the player took to figure out what to do–up to several minutes. I put myself into the mindset of the character, and improvised. (More on this below).

I have worked on a number of indie projects that have fallen through. In my experience, it seems some of these approached voiceover artists too soon. When there is no playable demo, or no script, it can be difficult to judge if the team has the committment and ability to see the project through.

Camp Sunshine was already greenlit on Steam when the casting call was posted. The developer I worked with communicated promptly and kept me updated. He sent me a video demo of the area my character was in, with the in-game effects applied to my voice. When Camp Sunshine by Fossil Games was released on Steam in late October, I have to admit I was very excited.

For me though, the biggest moment of truth was when I found a gameplay video of Camp Sunshine. How would this gamer react to my character? (Here it is–but there’s plot spoilers!)

The gamer seemed to be put off. “Don’t…don’t whisper that way,” he says. Normally it’s not the reaction you hope for in regards to your own speech, but for this character, it was exactly the response we wanted! And the Steam reviews? Overall positive!

Looking back at the experience, I realized it’s been a serious level-up in two areas.

Voice Acting Awesomeness

If you asked me what made this year more awesome in terms of voiceover work, the answer is easy. I took acting classes, studied with a voice acting coach, and made some serious upgrades to my home studio (iZotope RX and a new microphone).

The character I played was very anxious, fearful, and desperate for help. As a naturally anxious person, this was not a stretch for me to get in character. I thought about the times I have been extraordinarily anxious, and how my throat would pinch and my voice would become very strained and soft and high. It was combining those physical characteristics with the mindset of being trapped somewhere dark and terrifying that informed my performance.

I think I will always have a proclivity for shy, anxious, or quirky characters. They’re just so natural to who I am. But I want to take on other characters as well. Strong, royal, whimsical, wild–I was able to explore many different types with my coach. And again, the physical attributes are so important. How do you stand? How do you breathe? Where is there tension? Where does your voice resonate in your body?

This is something I practice every day, and if I can sound like a strong warrior, I really believe any voice actor with determination can also change their sound for a character that might not come naturally at first. And honestly, a good coach is more than worth the money.

Indie Game Awesomeness

I think many of us breaking into the field have had the heartbreak of projects falling through. And there’s really no way to be 100% sure a dev or team isn’t going to go radio silence on you at some point. But looking back at my experiences so far, there are some key things I’ll pay attention to when looking at jobs or casting calls:

Is there a playable demo? Doesn’t have to be a full game, but a demo shows the code, the art, and the vision are cohesive enough to create a working concept. Sketches alone with no playable content, or character “ideas” versus a script (“She sounds like Triss Merigold but more sarcastic and outspoken, she will make fun of the player here”) are warning signs to me that the concept might not be concrete enough at this point.

What is the state of the game? Is there a publisher? Is it greenlit, early access, in beta? In most cases you’ll want the basics in place before you bring in voice talent.

Does it sound like the devs know what they want for the character? “American female, 20s, high register, whispering, fearful, desperate for help” gives me a pretty good idea of how I’m going to voice this character.

How is direction handled? A different project I worked on this year called for a number of “exertion” sounds. Upon submitting my recording, the dev had some specific feedback. The character was a soldier. Could she sound more throaty and powerful? Working with someone who can articulate what they’re after is fantastic.

Is there a timeline? Of course deadlines are sometimes extended and setbacks come up. But having an overall plan that is followed as much as possible helps ensure the project does not end up in limbo.

And, of course budget and funding. Has the project been crowdfunded, is it paid for out of the devs’ pockets, or something else? How will you be paid? What amount? When?(source:gamasutra)