Salutations.
Lately I've been hearing that people really want to record more voices for
Swamp. To that end, I have (with Aprone's approval) reopened voice
submissions. The acceptance window begins now, and continue till December
31st, 2012.
If you've never had your voice in Swamp and would like to be a part of this
epic game, or if you're unhappy with your current recording, now is your
chance to either become a part of Swamp, or to improve your current
offering.
Criteria for qualification will be just as strict as before, and while I do
not intend any offense upon rejecting a submission, I will not hesitate to
deny entries which do not meet the below guidelines. if you'd rather have
these guidelines presented in an audio form, with vocal examples for each
entry, this podcast from harp will hopefully be of use to you.
http://www.kaldobsky.com/audiogames/kai/Swamp_Voice_Submission_Guide.mp3
1. I fully realize that few of us are good actors (I myself am a prime
example of a lackluster actor), but please do your best to act the part of
your character. If you're recording a line requesting a medic to heal you,
don't ask for such assistance in a bland, monotone voice. You're
experiencing some degree of stress and panic as a result of being injured.
do your best to convey this emotional and physical trauma in your
characterization.
2. Use the best possible microphone you can obtain for your submission. A
good USB headset will suffice, but if at all possible, try and do your
recording on a higher quality USB microphone, or indeed a low-end dynamic
microphone with an XLR to USB adapter would do nicely. The better your
recording, the better you're going to sound in the game.
3. Do some audio testing before you submit your final results. If you notice
distortion or clipping in the file, or if there are unwanted artifacts (such
as the microphone picking up excessive breaths and plosives), do your best
to rectify these situations before recording, as they could contribute to
the lacking quality of a submission, and thus may necessitate a rejection
(depending upon the severity).
4. Record your entry in as quiet of an environment as possible. Don't record
it outside where there will inevitably be intrusive noises. Try and reserve
your performance for a quiet, reflection-free area. Most rooms will possess
some degree of reflection, but the lower, the better, else you'll end up
with a voice that has unwanted reverberant artifacts.
5. Please include roughly 5 to 10 seconds of recorded silence. This means
start the recording process with your microphone on, but say nothing, do
nothing. You want this silence window to be as clean as possible, as i will
be using the cleanest portion of this particular section to aid in noise
reduction.
6. Record your entire performance into one single, unedited file. No need to
worry about mistakes and random chatter and banter in between phrases. I
will be going through these files and chopping them apart, and in the
process eliminating any detritus. No one else will ever see your original
file, so worry not that you'll embarrass yourself with spurious material.
I've had to reject several entries from the previous offerings because they
insisted on sending me separated files. I require one single take, so that I
can get a reliable capture of your ambient surroundings, using such data to
perform noise reduction.
7. For each phrase category, record at least three versions of an
appropriate phrase. The more you're willing to put in, the more material
I'll have to select from, and thus the higher your chances of having a
superior voice in Swamp.
8. Do your best not to have microphone handling, keyboard handling, or other
jarring noises directly overlap your phrases. Microphones are sensitive, and
they will pick up these obstructions. Furthermore, such sounds are very hard
to edit, and if I have to select a poorer performance due to unwanted noises
ruining a better performance, I will. If you're reading the lines and then
doing your performance, pause between finishing reading with your screen
reader or medium of choice to make sure all mechanical devices (keyboards,
headsets, etc) have come to a full rest, then start performing.
9. If you're recording a foreign language voice, you will need to preempt
each category with its English name. therefore, if you're recording a set of
phrases for the greeting category, you'd say "Greeting", pause, then start
your performance. I do not speak every language there is, and thus require
such prompts when I'm editing so as to determine where a category starts and
ends.
10. Verify that you've recorded a phrase for each category! A lot of people
in the last session tended to either skip one category, or to skip recording
their character names. The absence of even one category is grounds for
rejection, unless I am by some miracle able to salvage the offering by using
data from somewhere else (which I am unlikely to attempt more than a couple
times).
11. Submissions may be either left in wave format, or compressed reasonably
to either MP3 or other similar formats. Either send the file as an e-mail
attachment (if it's small enough), or place the file on Dropbox or another
online storage service (such as SendSpace).
Files and links may be directed to:
swampau...@gmail.com
*** SCRIPT ***
NAME:
Not necessarily your name, but rather a name you'd like for your vocal
character. keep the name within reason. No Sci-fi, medieval, fantastic, or
other obviously incongruous monikers.
GREETING:
A simple phrase spoken to greet a fellow player upon the field.
Hello. Salutations. Greetings. Howdy. How do you do? Well met.
CONFIRM:
A brief affirmative statement, accepting a request made by another player.
Yes sir. OK. Understood. Ten Four.
DECLINE:
A brief negative statement, declining a request made by another player.
No way! Not a chance. that's a negative. I don't think so.
RELOAD:
An exclamatory statement used when one is out of ammo for a weapon and could
use some cover as he/she struggles to reload.
I'm out of ammo! I'm out of bullets! gotta reload!
BATTLE CRY:
A phrase uttered as one is about to charge into battle, possibly against
overwhelming odds.
Charge! Here I go! Destroy! Lets rock! Kiiilll!
BRAG:
A boastful phrase declaring victory over a zombie.
Oh yeah, I rock! Hale to the king, baby. and that's how it's done.
TAUNT:
A taunting, heckling, belittling, or otherwise demeaning statement of
provocation against a zombie.
I'm over here, rot face. It's time to die! Right zombie, you're mine! I'm
gonna stomp all over you!
BECKON:
An authoritative request for another player to attend to your current
position.
Come this way! Hey, over here! front and center, soldier! C'mere, now!
FOLLOW:
A request for another player to follow you.
Follow me. On my mark. Come with me.
STAY:
A request for a player to remain where they are.
Stay here. Hold your position. Don't move! Wait right here.
GUARD:
A positive statement, promising defense of another player.
I've got your back. I'll cover you. Lets do this together. here's some
covering fire!
COVER ME:
A request for another player to provide assistance in a fight.
Cover me! Watch my back! I need some help! Can you lend a hand?
WARNING:
A sharp statement alerting another player to danger, or to be careful.
Be careful! Heads up! Tread carefully. Look alive. Watch out!
READY:
A brief phrase uttered when you're ready to embark on a mission, task, or
other venture.
I'm ready. Ready, lets go. I'm all set. What are we waiting for?
HOLD:
A brief statement requesting that team members give you some time to prepare
for a mission, task, or other venture.
Hold on a second. Wait up. Hold on. Not quite ready just yet.
PRESSURE:
A sharp exclamatory statement, urging team members to hurry up and perform
their duties.
come on, lets move! Hurry up! Lets get this done with! Go, go, go!
MISSION:
A celebratory statement, expressed after the successful completion of a
quest or mission.
Mission complete! Now that's how that's done. Hell yeah, baby!
MEDIC:
A statement delivered whilst injured, requesting urgent medical attention
due to trauma.
Heal me! Medic! I need help! I need a medkit! I'm dying' over here!
MAN DOWN:
A declaration of bereavement for a lost comrade, expressing either shock,
anger, or worry.
Man down! We've lost someone! He's dead, Jim. Oh my god, he's dead!
HURT:
A range of pain grunts, groans, and other similar noises uttered when
injured. Be sure to keep them fairly brief, but also do your best to act as
though you're being hurt. The more, the better.
Again, send submissions as either e-mail attachments or links to
swampau...@gmail.com.
Kai and Harp
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