This is a perfect tie-in with my recent article on video game voice acting [link: Bloggers Complain Video Game Voice Acting Sucks] as D.C. Douglas explains in an interview with Kombo.com how voice acting differs for video games compared with that of other media.
Douglas has provided the voice of villain Albert Wesker in a few games for the Resident Evil franchise and says that he doesn’t get a script in advance for video games and thus has to give a completely cold read with no preparation. Video game voice acting, Douglas says, “requires more technique and less preparation for any particular audition. Many times you don’t know what the hell is going on with a character in VG because you are only given your lines or maybe a preceding line, then yours. With on-camera, you have the whole scene, or script in some cases.”
And on recording dialog for the Resident Evil games, he adds, “Each time, they had me listen to a sample of a different actor to sound similar to! My main thrust, though, was to try and merge what other actors [Richard Waugh and Peter Jessop] had done with Wesker into my own style and sensibilities. It’s been an on-going struggle because there are several versions of him. But the Capcom and Just Cause folks have been awesome, as well as Liam O’Brien – who directed me in RE5.”
Douglas also found himself involved in an unexpected aspect of performance on RE5: doing motion capture in addition to voice acting: “It was FREAKIN’ WEIRD! See, [voice-over] people move their arms and body in odd ways to fully emote through their voices. In on-camera acting, we start from inside -— it’s in the eyes. In facial mo-cap, your face has to emote a little larger than real-life, but your arms and body have to be STILL! Oh, and they prefer you don’t turn your head! It was a challenge, indeed, but fun!”
Continue reading: D.C. Douglas: Interview with a Wesker.