[In Development] FF8 Voiceover Project

[Shard]

This mod will be available for all PC versions of FF8 (original, Square re-release, and Steam re-release). No release date is set.

We will be voicing all mandatory dialogue. That is, all the dialogue that the player has to view in order to get to the end of the game. Some additional dialogue will be voiced, especially dialogue which builds on the characters' histories, explains the game's lore, or just happens to be humorous. Much of the dialogue will be edited to fix localization issues, or to improve scenes that were previously lacking in emotional depth. While much of the game's dialogue will be different, the overall point and feel of each scene will be unaltered. We're still telling the original story in the same way, and almost all of the game's most memorable lines are untouched. Yes, Seifer still calls Zell a chicken-wuss.

We will also be adding new dialogue to the game that will play as you explore the world and carry out your missions. This will make many of the more boring areas of the game a little more fun to play through. In addition, you may find some alternate dialogue that characters will sometimes speak depending on how you've treated those characters with your dialogue choices earlier in the game. We will also voice over most of the game's battle dialogue, in the hopes that someday we will have the ability to modify battle scripts. The total size of the download is estimated to be between 500-600 MB before compression.

I'll post updates on my twitter feed for projects @ShardFenix

Cast List
Squall - Steven Kelly
Rinoa - Kawaii_Ash
Zell - SenorCape24 (BTVA)
Quistis - Guildencrantz (BTVA)
Selphie - Elle Boleyn Dekkard
Irvine - Christopher Dooley
Edea - Amy Perkins
Seifer - Joey Martin
Laguna - Ben Albright
Ellone -
Cid - MicTheMatt
Fujin - Bluewind61
Raijin - gameusurper (BTVA)
Odine - Alex Beckham
Dr. Kadowaki - Rose Franklin
NORG - Aussieroth
________________________________________________________
Completion Progress
Scripting: ~90%
Lines finished: 3631 / 6649 (54.6%)
________________________________________________________
Videos
Tech demo ft. Rinoa and Zell
Annoyance dialogue demo
Squall's Speech
Squad Assignments
________________________________________________________

Original announcement and audition threads:
http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showthread.php?91813-Final-Fantasy-8-Voiceover-Project
Audition Thread 2
http://voiceactingalliance.com/board/showthread.php?99892-Final-Fantasy-8-Voiceover-Project-(wave-2)

[Covarr]

Man, if this were FF7, I'd audition for Reno in a heartbeat. He's always been my favorite FF character, and my Quinton Flynn impression is pretty decent (and let's face it, he nailed that role, no need to reimagine it).

For FF8... I'll consider auditioning. Maybe for Seifer (though probably not with a Will Friedle/Kingdom Hearts 2 impression). Probably not though, this role is a bit bigger than I want to commit to.

[dkma841]

.

[LeonhartGR]

Please contact Shudo Ranmaru aka FFVIIIVoices aka Selfie. She is a great voice actress and there is such a project on YouTube as well but only with video editing. She can provide you with high quality dubs for the first disk.

Here is her channel:
[Teaser] Seifer & Cid: New Cast Members!

[Fandub] Final Fantasy VIII - Episode XIII

And Ruppert Scarr is the perfect voice for Squall.


I have set up a project for the main videos for the Steam version. You can look it up here and help if you want. I just need the dubbed sound (37800HZ 16bit Stereo) for the Replicator's upscaled bink videos.

[Shard]

There are problems with using existing dubs. I would have to get the same actors/actresses to do the rest of the game, and that may not be possible. Additionally, I'm editing some of the game's dialogue to sound more natural when spoken (and to fix some awkward translation issues), so they would have to re-record a lot of the dialogue anyway.

Also, I can dub FMVs without replacing them (in fact, I'm adding voice credits to the opening movie).

[LeonhartGR]

I still insist you contact Shudo about your project,,, she's been the only person to approach FFVIII dubbing in a professional manner at first place. Cast has already been selected and I think they will be really interested in your project. They just don't have any idea it even exists.

Also since you are dubbing the FVMs as well I will replace my project with your's @Steam so tell me if you are interested in making you a moderator in our guide there to edit the already existing post;) Thanks for dealing with VIII! Such a project is part of a childhood dream to me

[Shard]

For FF8... I'll consider auditioning. Maybe for Seifer (though probably not with a Will Friedle/Kingdom Hearts 2 impression). Probably not though, this role is a bit bigger than I want to commit to.

There are much smaller roles that I will probably have trouble filling. People with limited time are very welcome to submit auditions. There are some roles that will only need to read like five lines for the whole game. Remember, I'm voicing EVERY mandatory line in the game, and FF8 is a loooong game with a lot of NPCs.

I still insist you contact Shudo about your project... Cast has already been selected

I actually have a creative problem with that part. I disagree with some of the castings used in those dubs. There are castings I really like, but it's not worth compromising for. I want this project as high-quality as possible, not as easy as possible.
I have a specific vision for how this project will end up, and I feel that starting from scratch is the best way to get there. There are some actors that have done dubs who I would love to approach if they don't audition, but walking into another person's project and saying I don't like half of their casting isn't the way to go.

[LeonhartGR]

I pointed out your project on steam because a user was interested:
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=206018584&tscn=1394770915

[Shard]

Thanks. I think I also started a discussion there, but it's always good to get the word out!

[Tekkie.X]

I might try for Odine, I can do a camp German cartoon villain voice, Kinda like Nolan North's Edward Richtofen From the Call of Duty Zombies mode.

[LeonhartGR]

Hey mate! Sorry for bumping... any updates?

[Shard]

Auditions are still open, I won't have any updates until July 4th-ish (when I hope to have at least the major roles cast). I've taken a little break since I finished everything I needed until the casting needs to be done.

Technically, the only problem I've run into is how I'm going to package the mod. I want to only distribute the edited dialogue/script files and have a program that imports them, but nothing like that exists. I'll probably end up making my own, possibly one flexible enough to mass import any type of field file so other modders could use it too.

[LeonhartGR]

What about Deling?

[Shard]

It doesn't have a mass import feature for partial fields. It only imports fields in full (which is bad for file size, and also illegal if I distribute it that way). FF8's file structure is something like this:

• Top level : field.fs. (ie basically the whole game)
• Inside field.fs, each area in FF8 has its own fs file (bghoke.fs, gpbigin4.fs, etc). Deling can mass import these, but they're big and illegal to distribute in full.
• Bottom level: Each field has one script file, one dialogue file, and a bunch of other files I'm not using. These are what I want to distribute, but Deling doesn't import these en masse, so it's not a very good installer.

[genesis063]

If I'm not to familiar with the characters and don't have a set favorite can I just addition and you go with who you think my voice would go better with then I'll read up on that character and give it more life to it?

[Covarr]

I'd said I'd consider auditioning, and after weighing the amount of time involved against how much I cared, I was all but ready to write it off... but then I listened to some of the auditions on Behind the Voice Actors. There's a few gems in there, but a lot of piss-poor microphones, rushed lines, mismatched voices, and generally sloppy deliveries. This project deserves MUCH better than some of these. I'll audition as soon as I get home for Chicken-Wuss Zell and Seifer.

[LeonhartGR]

...Chicken-Wuss Zell....

[Shard]

Like covarr said, there's some real talent from many of the auditioners (not just at BTVA, but also from the other forums and from the email inbox I set up for this). A good Seifer or Zell would please me very much, because those are the two main character nobody's really gotten close to.

I'll most likely end up having a second round of auditions for some of the minor roles, especially the ones with unique voices (Raijin, NORG, etc). So for those of you who auditioned, if you don't get a part on July 4th, you could still get one later.

If I'm not to familiar with the characters and don't have a set favorite can I just addition and you go with who you think my voice would go better with then I'll read up on that character and give it more life to it?

Absolutely. I will explain your character and/or the story to you (unless you want to research on your own), and the script explains what's happening in every scene you'll read.

Just send me or link me to a demo reel of some voices or characters you can do. The only requirement is that you have a decent microphone (voice sounds clear, no crackling, no hisses, no static, etc) and have the time to record all of your assigned dialogue. The only thing I ask is that your demo reel contain multiple voices. It's hard to tell what someone can do if they just use one voice.

[Covarr]

Okay, my auditions are up on BTVA. I'm a little happier with my Seifer than with my Zell, and I've come to the conclusion that "WHOA!! OHHH YEAAAAH! AWESOME!!!!" is impossible to deliver well. It's a bad line, period, the end.

I actually took a peek through a complete FF8 script, and there's stiff and unnatural lines all over the place. As a whole, the game reads fine for text only, but it really falls apart when you try to imagine people actually saying some of these things.

[LeonhartGR]

Nice!

[Shard]

I actually took a peek through a complete FF8 script, and there's stiff and unnatural lines all over the place. As a whole, the game reads fine for text only, but it really falls apart when you try to imagine people actually saying some of these things.

I'm one step ahead of you. I've rewritten lines like that so they're more natural to say, and/or made them phrases that English speakers actually use.

[LeonhartGR]

I was listening to genesis063 stream and I believe his voice matches perfectly for Squall! I hope he joins in!

[genesis063]

I'll get some lines tonight and record and record and submit it tomorrow.  Unless Shard do you have someone set for Squall yet would you like me to get someone else dialogue?

update: also will be do combat voicing as well.

[Shard]

I haven't cast anything yet. There's another month and a half of potential auditions to listen to. Only one person has hit a character dead on so far, and that character isn't Squall. If I don't think your voice fits someone, I may cast you as something else, or I may ask you to read another character as the deadline is coming up.

There will be no combat voicing (I assume sounds like "UGH" and "HIYAA" is what you meant). We don't have the capability to edit battle scripts yet. I will probably voice battle scene dialogue, though, despite the forum posts saying otherwise. Eventually the battle files will be understood and I'll be able to voice over some of the in-battle cutscenes. I'll just hold onto those sounds until that.

[genesis063]

Coo because if I can hit the character good might as well go the extra mile.