Using fans as voice actors in Shenmue 3

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

Hello fellow Shenmue enthusiasts. This idea may or may not work, but it's worth a shot.

I along with many others would LOVE and I mean LOVE to be an actual part of the Shenmue 3 experience. Think of it this way, if Suzuki used some of the fans as voice actors he could save money and actually use of the of the money he saved by making Shenmue 3 a better experience.

How would we go about proposing this to Yu Suzuki? Even if it meant we would have to fund our own plane ticket to a recording studio, pay for a hotel, etc I would be EXTREMELY interested in doing that if it meant being a part of the Shenmue legacy and helping Suzuki-San out with some help he may need. It is a long shot, but I believe it is an achievable goal especially if a lot of members of the community get behind this idea.

PLEASE SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THIS TOPIC AND KEEP IT ALIVE, THIS IS A GOOD WAY TO SAVE MONEY ON THE SHENMUE 3 WE ALL WANT AND FOR FANS TO REALLY BE A PART OF THE EXPERIENCE

[Shenmuehua]

Why not?

Could be 1000 dollars reward.


For thugs voices for example. Lot of different voices

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

Exactly! Could be a pledge for $1,000 and have 20 or 30 spots open. First come, first serve.

But what if we would be willing to work for free? Use it as a way to fund the game by not having to have Suzuki-San hire voice actors? Either way!

[Rika]

I could see this working for say, NPCs, but not main characters. Maybe a fan can do a video on Youtube and upload it showing the details of how it went?

[Ninja Trigger]

I could see this working for say, NPCs, but not main characters. Maybe a fan can do a video on Youtube and upload it showing the details of how it went?

This I would not want to see this for main characters, but thugs, random shop keepers, NPC'S you have to go out of your way to find etc.

also it should be a reward for pledging a certain amount to the Kickstarter, how cool would it be for a handful of fans to make it into the game

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

Yes that is what I mean, for NPC's. I tweeted my idea to Yu Suzuki, not sure if I will get a reply. I'll make a video shortly!!!

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

C'mon guys this is a really good idea that would potentially change the size and nature of the game. People would up their pledges immediately if the option of being an extra in Shenmue 3 was there. Please, please keep this post alive and get as many supporters of this idea as possible.

[Ninja Trigger]

post a link to your tweet so that I can re-tweet it and favorite it (^_^=)

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

https://twitter.com/Captain_Gulag/statu ... 2621651969

[JaySw34]

For minor NPC voices it's a fantastic idea. It'd be awesome to be a real tangible part of the game we all love

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

For minor NPC voices it's a fantastic idea. It'd be awesome to be a real tangible part of the game we all love

Exactly my point. It would get fans pumped. And for some reason people in the Shenmue 500k group on facebook seem to be more receptive to silly comments than creative ones that would actually work -.-

[Sonne2]

This is a perfect idea!!

[FistOfTheNorthStar]

BUMP...THIS IDEA NEED TO BECOME A REALITY. MORE $ FOR SHENMUE.

[ys]

It's a nice idea and someone I know also talked about this and would like this.

Just some things that I thought of (not shooting down the idea) having worked with sound, from recording to mixing and mastering. For the English dub, fans would likely have to travel to a studio in USA or Canada where a lot of voice work is done. Using different studios close to people could result in different sounding recordings due to the equipment being used, recording technique etc. This sounds weird in game and I've noticed this in a few titles. Even with communication, the sound engineers might not always be able to replicate results from other places.
Having the director at one place is also better to guide everyone.

For the other games Yu made people fly to Japan instead so he could follow the process closely. The cost of this, and the directing got criticized though: viewtopic.php?t=40831

What happens though when they don't like the performance? Or a foreign accent which clashes with the native English voice cast? Quite difficult situation, especially when the fan has paid for it. Just using the voice as background murmur seems anticlimactic.

[Hyo Razuki]

Why not. Make it a $1000 - 3000 reward depending of how many words you get. No major roles for fans though, just extra roles. But yeah, could be a great reward for the Kickstarter and save some money on minor voice actors. For the big roles, however, you want really good voice actors.