98 réponses à ce sujet

[Terror_K]

According to Liara's voice actress, she was just as confused about Liara's change of personality in ME2 as many of us were. Perhaps even moreso:-

www.rpgsite.net/articles/42/238/ali-hillis-interview.html

The relevant bits:-

RPGSite: In the event, Liara did return but she changed
from wearing her heart on her sleeve to being quite an emotionally
hardened character. How did you adjust your approach to the role in
order to incorporate that change in her personality?

Ali: Quite honestly, the things Liara was going through
in Mass Effect 2 weren’t explained to me, they didn’t clue me in that
there were changes so they were giving me interesting directions that I
didn’t understand when I would read the line.



Let’s say I’m saying, “Shepard, over here”; before it would be quite
gentle but everything became more urgent, she became less analytical and
more reactive as a character and the more reactive she was, the less
analytical, the more confused the actress became [laughs]. I was just,
“what is going on with her?”



Finally we took a break, I started asking questions and they explained
but I think a lot of my performance in that game is me flying blind. As
an actress I need justification. I need that when I watch a movie, I
need that when I play a game, I need that when I play a role. I need to
know why I’m doing what I’m doing.



That’s just a pitfall of recording video games. I really think with RPGs
and gaming gearing much more towards the drama and the relationships of
things, if they want the legitimate experience and if they’re going to
hire TV and film and theatre actors to play these roles, we need to know
a lot about these characters.



RPGSite: Were you disappointed that Liara took more a backseat role in number 2?

Ali: I really don’t know how big the roles are until
the game is released, I’m never sure how long the games are and with
Liara I think I was doing so much recording at the time that I was just
trying to fit my sessions together, quite honestly [laughs].



I think I was feeling that the role was a little smaller this time, but
like I said I was kind of leaving sessions a bit frustrated with not
understanding what was going on with her. My first experience with Mass
Effect 1, I loved Liara so much and I still love Liara, I’m just hoping
that if we do 3 that things are a little more clear.



For the gamer as well, because you guys are smart and you know your
characters. I got a question from one very intuitive young lady who said
something to the tune of, “I don’t understand the changes to Liara in
Mass Effect 2…?” and I read in her dot dot dot question mark, “why? Why?
Why did they change her?” [Laughs]

Modifié par Terror_K, 10 septembre 2010 - 04:20 .

[Epic777]

between lotsb and me2 you know why!

Modifié par Epic777, 10 septembre 2010 - 05:47 .

[Vargeisa]

That's what you get when characters devellop outside of the game in books, comics and such.

I'm sure Mark Hamill would have been confused too playing Luke in Return of the Jedi if The Empire Strikes Back had been a book instead of a movie.

[Mox Ruuga]

Interesting.

Makes sense, though...

Most fans were confused and/or angered by the character derailment of Liara as well.

[Dave of Canada]

Interesting. I wonder if this references also LOTSB.

[Terror_K]

Dave of Canada wrote...

Interesting. I wonder if this references also LOTSB.

From the context it sounds like she's referring to her initial recordings for ME2 and not for LotSB. Dunno though.

[kraidy1117]

Liara in the main game of ME2 sucked, this was however corrected in LotSB and I is very happy.

[Terror_K]

kraidy1117 wrote...

Liara in the main game of ME2 sucked, this was however corrected in LotSB and I is very happy.

I do have to say that LotSB definitely made up for things. I kind of understood in a way after reading the comic and analysing things a little more, but LotSB really did fill in some missing pieces and even allowed Liara to grow and change a little within that as well, thanks to Shepard.

[javierabegazo]

Very nice find Terror

[kraidy1117]

I do think tho that this was done before LotSB since she does not mention it at all, just ME2. I would love to see a new interview with Ali

[Maugrim]

If this interview was really done post LotSB recordings I'll eat my hat.

[kraidy1117]

makenzieshepard wrote...

If this interview was really done post LotSB recordings I'll eat my hat.

I doubt it. It would have been mention and in LotSB we also understand Liara`s motives, why she changed and what lies in the future for her.

[Maugrim]

kraidy1117 wrote...

makenzieshepard wrote...

If this interview was really done post LotSB recordings I'll eat my hat.

I doubt it. It would have been mention and in LotSB we also understand Liara`s motives, why she changed and what lies in the future for her.

Exactly and I would've sworn I've seen this interview posted somewhere else months ago.  Though it could've been a different interview also touching upon her dissatisfaction with the role Liara had in ME2.

[UltraBoy360]

It sounds to me like she's talking about the ME2 and LotSB. Wouldn't she have recorded it all together - she doesn't reference LotSB at all.



It does sound like poor voice direction - not explaining the arc of the character or the events of the comics. Still she did a great job.



Liara was my LI in ME1 and I loved the small role she had in ME2. Both meeting her and Kaidan really brought home the two year absence and Shepard's alienation from his old life. It really helped me develop a character arc for my Shepard.



People change a lot over two years, especially younger people (she's very young by Asari standards right?). Before I moved to Sydney, I had a lovely co-worker and friend at a not-for-profit organisation. I went away for three years, during which time, my friend... lets call her Katie... got a job as a celebrity reporter at a tabloid newspaper. When I got back the sweet girl had gone, replaced by someone who relished finding out about soap actors affairs and ruining their careers.



Characters are not set in stone or static, nor should they be. I thought Liara's writing in ME2 was intentional and part of an arc - mostly resolved in the fantastic DLC. I'm completely glad it was not included in the main game. I think it works much, much better (for me at least) as bridging.



Anyway, I thought the actress did a great job.

[Mr. MannlyMan]

There's also a part where she compares working with Bioware and Square Enix... apparently, Bioware gave her almost no information on the character she was playing or background, and Square Enix pretty much gave her the FFXII bible to work with...



I remember the same thing happening when Marina Sirtis voiced Benezia in ME1; she wasn't given proper information on Benezia's motivation, her personality, background, etc... at least, I remember she said in an interview that the way Bioware explained the character to her "confused" her.

[Melancholic]

Bioware games always strike me as having amazing voice acting, so it kind of surprises me they leave their actors in the dark like this. If there's one developer that understands the importance of dialogue it's them.



That being said, I strongly believe this only applies to Liara's small role in the main game, because she's excellent in LotSB.

[HBC Dresden]

Yeah, the whole bit about leaving her in the dark is disparaging. Do they do that in ME2 with all the characters or did they drop the ball with only few of the characters? But like others wondered, is this pre or post LotSB? Because it seems they really messed up that subplot internally and finally rectified that with the recent DLC.

[Terror_K]

HBC Dresden wrote...

Yeah, the whole bit about leaving her in the dark is disparaging. Do they do that in ME2 with all the characters or did they drop the ball with only few of the characters?

Liara's was definitely the worst case of it. Every character had the two year gap to deal with, but Liara's character was the only one that changed so radically to the point of almost seeming like a different character (if you romanced her you could get a little extra dialogue that let a little "old Liara" come through briefly... beyond that we didn't really see any until LotSB). But Joker, Garrus, Tali, Anderson, Udina, Wrex, Ashley, Kaidan, etc. were all pretty much the same characters as they had been in ME1.

[Maugrim]

Well Kate Mulgrew spoke pretty highly of the way her recording sessions went for Dragon Age Origins.

Kate Mulgrew interview...

TC: Well, you're working with people who have a long tradition of doing excellent work. Now, were you given any visualization for Flemeth? Did they provide you with any artwork or animation of what she might look like?

KM: No animation. If there were any drawings, I promptly put them away.

TC: Meaning you didn't want to look at them?

KM: I didn't want to look at them. I wanted to find her in my mind. The director copped to that right away. We had a great understanding, from the instant we got into the booth, that I would find her in my imagination. And I did. It's infinitely more satisfying when that happens.

If you read the full interview it's obvious from the way Kate describes Flemeth and Morrigan that they obviously gave her tons of info, even if none of it was visual.  The fact that someone as intelligent and talented as Kate Mulgrew was so into her characters backstory and motivations finally sealed just how great a game Dragon Age Origins was going to be.

I suspect part of this is a ME vs DA team issue, not Bioware as a whole.  Whatever setting and game series you like more I think most would agree that the writing, story and characterization aspects of DA runs circles around ME (Keep it civil I love and own both and my 'fav' switches from one minute to the next)Just IMO. ME team take notes from your fellow Biowarians .

EDIT: This was mostly in response to the suggestion that Bioware keeps their VA's in the dark I think the problem can be narrowed down a bit more to the ME team.

Modifié par makenzieshepard, 10 septembre 2010 - 05:54 .

[GHOST OF FRUITY]

I can certainly understand her frustration. Trying to do a job without the background information is tough. With Liara as with anyone, events in life can change a person - grief, loss etc. But there does need to be at least an explaination of that change when it's done in terms of a game, at the very least to the voice actress. I think even ME2's biggest fans would say they felt confused by how Liara was used pre LotSB. It struck me though after playing LotSB at just how much i'd missed having Liara around as a character. I hope we get to see her (and Ali Hillis) back as a major player in ME3.

[kaiki01]

makenzieshepard wrote...

Well Kate Mulgrew spoke pretty highly of the way her recording sessions went for Dragon Age Origins.

Kate Mulgrew interview...

TC: Well, you're working with people who have a long tradition of doing excellent work. Now, were you given any visualization for Flemeth? Did they provide you with any artwork or animation of what she might look like?

KM: No animation. If there were any drawings, I promptly put them away.

TC: Meaning you didn't want to look at them?

KM: I didn't want to look at them. I wanted to find her in my mind. The director copped to that right away. We had a great understanding, from the instant we got into the booth, that I would find her in my imagination. And I did. It's infinitely more satisfying when that happens.

If you read the full interview it's obvious from the way Kate describes Flemeth and Morrigan that they obviously gave her tons of info, even if none of it was visual.  The fact that someone as intelligent and talented as Kate Mulgrew was so into her characters backstory and motivations finally sealed just how great a game Dragon Age Origins was going to be.

I suspect part of this is a ME vs DA team issue, not Bioware as a whole.  Whatever setting and game series you like more I think most would agree that the writing, story and characterization aspects of DA runs circles around ME (Keep it civil I love and own both and my 'fav' switches from one minute to the next)Just IMO. ME team take notes from your fellow Biowarians .

EDIT: This was mostly in response to the suggestion that Bioware keeps their VA's in the dark I think the problem can be narrowed down a bit more to the ME team.

Sorta curious now if the teams use different voice directors or if they use them at all.

[Mister Mida]

Kind of a bad move on Bioware's account. Not even telling the voice actor what's been changed about the character is not smart.

[Deviija]

I remember Kate speaking about the recording sessions for BW. Tim Curry as well. They were really praising how cohesive it was, how intricate the team was, how often they got direction and redid takes in various tones/emotions. Kate also had a picture of Flemeth.



I think it really is simply a difference in approach between dev teams. I'm glad Ali shared her honest thoughts in the interviews, and that we were not the only people to find Liara's change in personality so abrupt and left field. And really, from the sound of it, they didn't even give Ali pertinent info like what Liara's been up to in the two years of Shepard's dead, and her personal adventures, and Feron, and etc. LotSB helps, but this is coming at it from very late in the game, so to speak.

[Ch40sFox]

Terror_K wrote...

HBC Dresden wrote...

Yeah, the whole bit about leaving her in the dark is disparaging. Do they do that in ME2 with all the characters or did they drop the ball with only few of the characters?

Liara's was definitely the worst case of it. Every character had the two year gap to deal with, but Liara's character was the only one that changed so radically to the point of almost seeming like a different character (if you romanced her you could get a little extra dialogue that let a little "old Liara" come through briefly... beyond that we didn't really see any until LotSB). But Joker, Garrus, Tali, Anderson, Udina, Wrex, Ashley, Kaidan, etc. were all pretty much the same characters as they had been in ME1.

Garrus? Im sorry, are we looking at the same Turian?

He's completely different, he was just given more dialogue than Liara, a few explanations here and there, we got none of that with Liara.

Kaiden, same, but different, alot more bitter, more brainwashed.

Ashely...... >___> Im not going to go there.

Wrex DEFINITELY the same.

Screw Udina.

Tali, a little more mature, less patient and innocent, relatively the same.

---

Ive missed the old Liara so much, it actually made me tear up to hear it come out of her again.