39 réponses à ce sujet

[Luekas]

Why would Puerto Ricans have horrible voice actors? They speak English and Spanish.



You do know Puerto Ricans have had U.S. Citizenship for like 90 years, right?

[Flamin Jesus]

Mountain King wrote...

Distinguishing between "original voices" and "overdubs" for animated characters is kind of silly. I could understand it if we were talking about real actors and their voices but their is no reason why other languages must by definition have synchronizations of lesser quality in video games.

Not by definition, but experience prooves that non-English VO tends to be treated as an afterthought, and something that IS a problem of translations in general (By definition) is that language based humor (In particular puns) is very hard or impossible to translate, that doesn't even take into consideration that a talented author writing in one language will use subtleties and connotations that help convey atmosphere that are hard or impossible to translate.
Language goes beyond the mere surface-information of the words spoken, context and cultural background play a big role.

Example: Crazy, mad and insane can all mean the same thing, but they are different enough that the correct (or wrong) choice between the three when describing a person can make a big difference in the message. I'm sure there are enough languages out there that don't have direct matches for all three. Even the analogues in German (verrückt, irre, wahnsinnig come closest I'd say), a language that is very close to english, don't have the exact same meaning.

[Sarevok Anchev]

Herr Uhl wrote...

There is English for every version. And dubs are always* bad.

*Exception for kids movies and such

No Sir, thats not true!

Bioware has good reputation in voice acting, at least in Europe(German,French,Spanish at least).
I have the tendency to play most games with English voices because of the reasons you and others said.

But Bioware makes so good quality, that in example the voice acting in Baldurs Gate 2 is even superior
than the English version!

I heard and played both versions and you cant compare the -good- actors for Minsc or Irenicus in example.

[Herr Uhl]

Sarevok Anchev wrote...

Herr Uhl wrote...

There is English for every version. And dubs are always* bad.

*Exception for kids movies and such

No Sir, thats not true!

Bioware has good reputation in voice acting, at least in Europe(German,French,Spanish at least).
I have the tendency to play most games with English voices because of the reasons you and others said.

But Bioware makes so good quality, that in example the voice acting in Baldurs Gate 2 is even superior
than the English version!

I heard and played both versions and you cant compare the -good- actors for Minsc or Irenicus in example.

The reason that it is bad is that much of the humor and undertones that the original language had can't be translated.

The quality of the voiceactor is not the main problem.

[Jotun35]

Herr Uhl wrote...

The reason that it is bad is that much of the humor and undertones that the original language had can't be translated.

The quality of the voiceactor is not the main problem.

Yeah but SOME time, the people in charge of translation manage to make another joke as funny as the original... Or better (I don't want to seems to be chauvinistic, but I've already play some games that have better jokes in french than in english). But I agree, it's pretty rare.

[Basher of Glory]

Flamin Jesus wrote:

Yuppers... German VG voice actors are awful, for the most part.

You should really add that this is YOUR very personal opinion.

I remember the days, when German localizations were bad, but these days have gone, at least for first category games.
Not only in MY opinion the German localization DA:O is beyond all blame, it's done professionally with well-known actors.

I agree to that what you wrote later: The specific meaning of a given word in a certain context and the very own way of humor of a nation is - at least sometimes - hard to translate for the audience in different countries. But even regarded under this aspect they did their very best for the German version.

The flaw in the German localization is - without any doubt - that they did not "translate" the different accents. Thus, "our" Leliana speaks in a VERY educated manner, without the slightest bit of a foreign accent.

Unlike the DVD, the downloadable version does not contain the original voices, so I can play the game only in it's localized version. But I'd like to hear the original voices as well.

Does anyone happen to know, if and where I could (legally) download the English voice-pack?

Modifié par Baher of Glory, 17 décembre 2009 - 03:28 .

[Alraymr]

Nikator wrote...

Speaking of this, I am curious how a german dub would voice Leliana. A german french-accent. Is such a thing even possible?!

Leilana has no accent in the German version but why on earth should it not be possible to have a French accent when speaking German? 
The French way of pronouncing different vowels and consonants is different than the German way. For example the "h" which should be a problem for French people speaking English, too. So, yes, you can speak German with a French accent (an English or American accent works, too).

[Bonanza16]

I would have played the French version up until I heard Leliana pronouncing Orlais as Or-La-(H)iss. I assumed it would be like watching Friends or The Simpsons (Somewhat okay French voice-overs) in French. Though, I agree that The Witcher in French was a great experience and let us not forget Claudia Black.

[Sibelius1]

Why do you automatically consider French & German actors to be inferior to Americans?



Do you watch much European cinema?

[Bfler]

In many other games I also prefer English language, but DA I play with German language because the actors do a good job. Only Duncan could be another actor. The german voice of Doug Heffernan doesn't fit to that char.

[Basher of Glory]

Bfler wrote...

In many other games I also prefer English language, but DA I play with German language because the actors do a good job. Only Duncan could be another actor. The german voice of Doug Heffernan doesn't fit to that char.

But the German voice for Carry Heffernan does a great job with several NPCs. One good example is the spirit-lady in the werewolf lair.


Sibelius1 wrote...

"Why do you automatically consider French & German actors to be inferior to Americans?"

Good question. I guess some people think it's cool to be ignorant.
Ever since JA2 anyone should have realized, that we DO have good voice actors

Modifié par Baher of Glory, 17 décembre 2009 - 05:24 .

[Bfler]

That is not the same. She is more serious, Doug is much more like a clown or big funny baby.

[Basher of Glory]

Bfler wrote...

... Doug is much more like a clown or big funny baby.

I didn't notice that Duncans "localizer" is the same, but now, because you mentioned it, I listened to Duncan attentively and disagree.
The voice actor might be the same clown, when he acts for Doug, but this does not necessarily mean, that he is limited to roles like that.

[Thrasher91604]

It's a sad day when the quality of voiceacting becomes the most important thing in a game....

[Basher of Glory]

Thrasher91604 wrote...

It's a sad day when the quality of voiceacting becomes the most important thing in a game....

It might not be the MOST important thing.
But as a matter of fact, bad voice acting will destroy the best game inevitably.

Perhaps you want to reconsider your post and write something like
"It's a sad day FOR ME, when...."
and not elevate your opinion above all others, ok?