Poll: Voiceovers, accents and archaic language

Story & Setting
#143

I see the argument for rhotic accents, but that does not mean it sounds like modern American. This accent doesn’t work for me, like REALLY doesn’t work. Contemporary English accents from what i understand are some cross between south west english and scottish. I myself am northern english and some of the archaic pronunciations still linger on (fil-um for film) though it in non-rhotic. The great linguist David Crystal and his son give a good demo here (though the period is a lot later than we’re talking about, it gives a great feel):

Please reconsider using modern US. It could be a deal breaker for some in Europe.

1 Like
#144

Since I recently joined the club I have no idea if there has been any decision so far regarding the voiceacting in the game. However I voted for the second option.

I think, a good solution was done in assassins creed revelation (Byzantium) were you had some greek, turkish, latin voices in the streets /market along with your choosen main language setting.

I personaly prefer NPC’s with their own specific dialect. How would a Dwarf sound if you sync him with a high womenish voice? (ok, ok no dwarfs or elves in this game but you got the point) Same like an fat old sweaty innkeeper talking to you in midle-old English… So propably in my oppinion it would be perfect if I could play my mainchar in modern british (not US) and the NPC’s could speak their own english with fitting dialekt. It should be also ok if a Herold (while announcing a kings order) speaks Latin or German (with subtitles). Or a city headman (as long as he is German) could have a German accent or something else.

1 Like
#145
1 Like
#146

check this out, also nice example of the variety of voices in AcII

4 Likes
#147

A separate option for the language and subtitles would be nice, so you could set the language to whatever you wanted, and subtitles to whatever you wanted. I’d prefer Czech with subtitles, I have a speech processing problem so I always need subtitles anyways.

#148

about Bohemia in the 15th century. I don’t know much about it. But Bohemia once was a part of the Sacrum Imperium Romanum Nationis Germanicæ.
There have been ethnic Germans living in the Bohemian crown lands since the Middle Ages.
In the late 12th and in the 13th century the Přemyslid rulers promoted the colonization of certain areas of their lands by German settlers from the adjacent lands of Bavaria, Franconia, Upper Saxony and Austria during the Ostsiedlung migration.
For centuries, German Bohemians played important roles in the economy and politics of the Bohemian lands. For example, forest glass production was a common industry among German Bohemians.
An independent german-bohemian consciousness long time was not widespread or had no determining role in everyday life. The persons concerned found themselves mostly as Bohemia, Moravians, Silesians, subjects of the reigning monarch or the Holy Roman Empire.

I couldn’t find a good source about the language in exactly this time. I think german had no big official role. This was latin in this time and czech bohemian for the most of the folk. german (accents) spoke the german settlers (later german-bohemian and german bohemians) and czech-bohemian the bohemians.

So, of COURSE i voted for option 3: CZECH

But if i speak with a german bohemian or a clerik i want to hear their language: german bohemian the german bohemian or latin the cleric (of course the clerik has another language like czech or maybe german i dont know)

Iam against english. I think it doesnt fit in this time. Even if you take shakespeare inspired english.
It doesnt fit in this area. I won’t play it in english. Never never never.

People have to LEARN reading subtitles. If you watch ANIME you read subtitles and listen to japanese, why not in a game??

3 Likes
#149

And it is not possible to mix czech with german, because when you have both languages why you want to split them? This would be my favourite. additionaly some latin for the cleric: PERFECT.

2 Likes
#150

I don’t see why it would be impossible from technical standpoint. Hovewer the biggest issue IMO: Wouldn’t it scare away the mainstream gamer? Making this game seems like a constant struggle to maintain balance between realism and the size of your potential audience.

#151

The mainstream Gamer? cmon the mainstream gamer will love it, it’s just noone has ever tried it yet :slight_smile: So Warhorse will be the groundbreaking pioneer in the gaming field! Let’s go Warhorse :sunny:

1 Like
#152

I’d be quite bothered if this game wasn’t done in english. That is what I pledged for: a game where I can understand what people are saying.

#154

Maybe Henry understands only Czech, so all characters that speak other language should just produce incoherent babbling. :smile: Also realistically he probably can’t read either, so all writings like books or HUD should just be full of confusing curled lines. :smile: Anybody up for this ultra-hardcore version? The babble could be produced by computer which would cut down on voice acting costs.

1 Like
#155

Somehow i think this version would be quite unpopular :smile:

#156

Omg, imagine Henry and all the other npc’s sounding like the SIMS?
Back to topic, I think that it wont be possible (time & moneywise) to make several language versions like in AC or Witcher. I would be fine if they keep it simple. English with Czech /polish /eastern Europe /German accents and a bit latin propably. Maybe a few npc can speak also cantebury english…

1 Like
#157

I support @Phaidon .
I am currently playing The Witcher 2 in english with german subtitles. CDPR handled everything perfectly in my opinion. The elves, the dwarfs, the nobles… Be honest when has the language ever been an immersion braker? Right in case you don’t understand it.
Too much realism can brake the immersion :smile:

#158

I would go The Witcher way, personally, and use modern language with some archaic terms. I would also allow people to customise language combinations of the voice over packs and subtitles in game (if the engine allows it, of course), which would allow people to have the game completely in English or, if they so chose (and some English-speaking minority does play The Witcher with Polish dub and English subtitles), to play the Czech version with English subtitles.

As for the accents in the English version, I would go for British English - it’s usually the default go-to-accent in the historical movies and it has a wide range of regional varieties that can be used to distinguish social standing of the characters. It also sounds less jarring, as has been pointed out, I don’t know but the idea of a medieval farmer sounding like a cowboy is slightly weird for me, especially in non-fantasy setting.

Of course, having Czech accents in English would be a cool feature, but I doubt that most English-speaking actors can do a decent Czech accent without ending up sounding like a stereotypical Russian. A solution would be to have Czech actors speak English, but I doubt that most Czech actors could pull off a good performance in English, or that there is enough good Czech actors whose English is good enough to do so.

#160

I’ve pretty much skipped to the end of this thread, but this sums it up for me. I don’t want this game to be a medieval simulator, and if it is to succeed as a commercial venture it has to be accessible. I think capturing the overall essence of the period, inducing some language from the time makes far more sense than going hardcore and turning it into some kind of study sim, for medieval scholars only.

2 Likes
#161

immersion has nothing to do with simulation. they would be speaking a mixture of latin, german, slavic languages, etc anyway.

i hate the idea of “accessibility” especially when it applies to artistic things and features. art is supposed to be a bit different, original, challenging. why does it have to be dumbed down? why can we not expect more from people? i think we should give them more credit, and give ourselves more credit, and stop asking for dumbing down things just because we’re afraid of the unknown, of something new and different.

#162

^

This is a ‘game’ though and like it or not it has to sell enough copies to give us the full three acts. The money raised through pledges is not enough… it has to sell outside too. The scope of this game demands too much from a large team to be an ‘art’ project, however worthy that is. There is still plenty of room for artistic expression, even if compromises have to be made.

I’m all for art too (its my job actually) but reality does present some constraints… I do appreciate where you’re coming from though.

#163

Just do Czech voices with many subtitles as possible…

I don’t see the point to have english voices in a game who set in Eastern Europe…

If peoples really want to get immersed they will turn it in Czech anyway…

I’m not an Eglish speaker (french), but I watch all my movies in their original voice acting and I don’t see why i’t would be different for video games…

If this game pretends to have a realistic medieval universe, it would be logic to have Czech voices, with archaïc accents and words…

#164

If there is english subtitles and UI, it would be fine right ?

In my opinion, there is no point to have others voices than Czech for a game who set in Czech republic…

It would be a lack of immersion to play it in english…

I’m not Czech (actually I’m french), but I just want the subtitles in french, and in many languages as possible…

Doing other dubbings than Czech would be a waste of money and time…

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