Longtime video game voice actor Jennifer Hale says that her role as Commander Shepard in Mass Effect boiled down to a lot of last-minute performances since she didn't see any scripts until it was time to record them.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Hale reckons that "85 to 90%" of video game voice capture work boils down to cold reading. "The entirety of Mass Effect, I saw no line before the moment I recorded it," she says. "It was all cold reading on the spot. A couple takes, maybe a few, and it goes out to market. That's it."
The Mass Effect games were obviously recorded quite a while ago, but the games industry is still often secretive and late when it comes to recordings. Hale says "voice performers have to be incredibly skilled in the game arena, even more so than in other arenas" due to the demands this production schedule puts on performances.
Many voice actors don't even know what they are being cast in until much later in the process. Lady Dimitrescu actor Maggie Robertson had no idea what was in Resident Evil Village until after she'd been cast. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth's Matthew Mercer didn't learn he was playing Vincent until a cryptic message was shared with him at the studio and on camera. Stewart Clarke voiced Strohl in Metaphor: ReFantazio, but didn't realize he was in a big Atlus game until that recording was near its end. This kind of thing happens a lot, and it's just a glimpse into the controlled chaos that goes on behind the scenes.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
BioWare lead proves he's onto us while celebrating Mass Effect 3's birthday, clarifying that's all he's doing so that "nobody can say I purposefully teased them"
"EA gives you enough rope to hang yourself": BioWare co-founder says working for a big game company just ain't it, even if "it was actually a pretty successful run" for Mass Effect
