[casual_games] Sample voice over script

[Antonio Santamaria]

We've found that voice actors often prefer to work with scripts in the 
traditional "movie" format as well.  Something like this:

http://www.simplyscripts.com/WR_format.html

We've found that it is best to separate actors' scripts from one 
another, then format it accordingly.  That way, they have some kind of 
flow to their work and can get some kind of emotion beyond just reading 
one line after another.  The only times we've strayed is when having 
them read out lists of words that didn't have much context.

On a related note, when having them read things like categories or 
answers, we often found it helpful to have them read the whole line (ie. 
"The answer is dog") rather than just the word ("dog").  Otherwise, 
stitching comes across as unnatural, especially when VO sessions take 
place over several days.

There is some software out there (Final Draft, etc) that can help 
enforce the formatting for larger scripts.

Antonio


Aaron Murray wrote:

> Hi Paul,

>

> This is topical because I was just speaking with DB Cooper about voice 

> over scripts and what makes them good/bad. She was saying that most 

> scripts she has seen (from game companies) are excel spreadsheets that 

> have numbers on each line, and the words to say. If she is lucky 

> she'll get a one word emotion next to that. 

>

> This, she says, is about the worst case scenario for a voice actor 

> because there is no situational relevance for the lines. They don't 

> know who they are talking to, or if the line is uttered to self, etc. 

> Also, there are different levels of "angry" or "sad" depending on the 

> situation.

>

> So...she said that any close to a movie script is what they typically 

> want, and they *need* this to be able to deliver a quality performance.

>

> That said, I am attaching the final version of a VO script we did for 

> Crunch Time. It has all of our version editing notes in there, so it 

> may look wonky, but you can see the thoughts & progression beside some 

> of the word choices, in addition to the script itself, which helps the 

> actors understand as much as they can. 

> The game itself is a simple demo (though it won the 08 Intel demo 

> contest), but is filled with quality VO we paid for. 

> You can either check out the .ogg files in the install folder, or play 

> the game to compare the script to the VO that was delivered.

> Download it here if you want to 

> listen: http://www.vmcgamelabs.com/pixelandvega/CrunchTimeSetup.zip

>

> I hope this helps. I'd also love to see what other companies have done 

> for their VO scripts.

>

> Aaron Murray

> Technical Director, Co-founder

> Tandem Games

> www.TandemGames.com <http://www.TandemGames.com>

> www.DomainOfHeroes.com <http://www.DomainOfHeroes.com>

> "Fun for All. All for Fun."

>

> On Tue, Oct 7, 2008 at 1:23 AM, Paul Steven 

> <paul_steven at btinternet.com <mailto:paul_steven at btinternet.com>> wrote:

>

>     I need to write a voice over script for an educational game I am

>     developing and thought it would be useful to see some examples of

>     formats of voice over scripts. Perhaps there is a format voice

>     over artists are familiar with or prefer? If anyone can supply me

>     with any sample voice over scripts I would be most grateful.

>

>      

>

>     Basically I was just going to create a word document with a number

>     beside each separate voice over chunk.

>

>      

>

>     Thanks in advance

>

>      

>

>     Paul

>

>

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