Voices for Gaming (redux)

My recent post concerning the value of voiceactors to the
gaming industry was subsequently repurposed through John Florian’s VoiceOverXtra
site, and seen by that many more eyes, including that of JS Gilbert. Anyone who’s visited Rick Party’s
VoiceOverUniverse ning site is familiar with Gilbert. He’s a seasoned voice actor, and a prolific
contributor to that site and others.

JS noted some gaps in the story I’d edited together from a
thread on Yahoo’s VO Forum, and wrote to tell me. I’m excerpting his response here to add to
the dialogue:

I have personally performed voiceover for over 400 video
game projects, including top sellers like the Twisted Metal series, Dynasty
Warriors and EA’s new Dante’s Inferno. I’ve also cast and directed talent for
numerous projects and I have been working within the gaming industry since its
inception.

I also live in San Francisco, and was present when Marie
Salerno through the direction of SAG/AFTRA crafted the first interactive
agreement. Unfortunately, this agreement then and now, simply fails to
take into account an industry with very different revenue streams and protocols
than motion pictures, television, or advertising.

First, it should be noted that the current state of the
gaming industry is quite healthy. Much the way publishing and motion pictures
grew and flourished during the depression, so do we see strong parallels with
gaming and the internet today.

It should also be
noted that the unions insist the caliber of talent improves with the use of
union talent and yet most of the research indicates this isn’t necessarily
true. And as with movies and television, there are many different types of gaming
projects, including “casual” games.

There are also assumptions that the base pay for voice
actors performing in non-union games is exceedingly low, which is far from the
case. While perhaps 15 years ago, the attitude of many game makers was to “buy
a six pack and a pizza and get the guys and gals in the office to do the
voices”, it has radically changed and by and large the attitude is to use the
“best” talent one can find.

Outside of Southern California, you will find most games
are produced non-union and in areas like Austin, Dallas, San Francisco, San
Jose and many other areas, non-union rates can be comparable to or even
slightly higher than scale union payments. Experienced talent who are capable
of working quickly can earn rates significantly higher than union scale.

Here are some suggestions for talent looking to break
into doing voices for games

Join the IGDA (Game Developers
Association) and get involved.
Visit local videogame stores, such as
Game Stop and study the games.
Purchase some of the many Game
Magazines available.
Many games have one or more fan sites,
often with forums. Join them. Ask questions. Find out what gamers think
makes for a good game performance.
While the current rates for SAG/ AFTRA
are a good place to start with regards to pricing, it is always a good
idea to remain flexible. As with any type of work, don’t sell yourself
short. Credits are important, but few hire based on resumes and most based
on how well you audition. Also, realize that the posted rates are “scale”,
which means Minimum in union speak. Many veteran game v.o. talent will
receive double scale or more per game.
Take into account anything that might
affect your pricing. For example, if the project asks you to individually
edit and name 500 files, that will take some time. Also, realize that most
every game will ask for a pickup session to correct some poorly written
lines or add some line3s to help the game. Pickup sessions can be small or
big and may take place days or even months after the regular record
session.
Don’t be too eager to jump right in.
Research and learn as much as you can.

JS’s response led me to call him on the phone, and THAT
conversation resulted in his agreeing to provide me with responses to a set of
questions I plan to forward to him this week.
I’m sure the result will be a benefit to all of us who want to learn
more about the opportunities and challenges that we might find when we go
knocking on the door of the video game producers.

CourVO