Professional Video Game Voice Over by Dean T. Moody
I love creating characters for videogames! A couple of years ago I was asked to portray the 7-foot-tall, pop-culture-quoting cyborg mantis weapons expert named Bob for the game Space Punks from Flying Wild Hog (the game was unfortunately discontinued in 2023). Still, a great character!!
I recently have been fortunate enough to voice the character of Charles Perlman, the bad-guy bureaucrat in the popular game Zenless Zone Zero from Hoyoverse.
In recent years, Videogames have become an even bigger market than movies, music and TV combined! Not only are they great fun to voice (even if only battle shouts), but they’re just as fun to play! I’ve played several games such as Myst, Infamous, Red Dead Redemption, several versions of Call of Duty, Dishonored, Portal 1 & 2, Grand Theft Auto V, God of War, and LA Noire. I love losing myself in a good game!
It’s incredible how much the gaming industry has grown! The fact that it has surpassed movies, music, and TV combined speaks volumes about how immersive and impactful, as well as a dominant entertainment medium games have become. Some I’ve played myself showcase a fantastic mix of storytelling, open-world exploration, and creative gameplay mechanics. Games like Myst and Portal excel in puzzles, while titles like Red Dead Redemption and GTA V pull players into rich, sprawling worlds. Plus, Dishonored‘s stealth elements and LA Noire‘s detective work add variety to your gaming experiences. Whether playing or voicing, games are an amazing medium for creativity and storytelling.
Voice acting in video games is such an exciting and evolving field! It plays a huge role in making characters and stories feel alive and immersive. Unlike other forms of acting, video game voice work often involves unique challenges and creative processes:
- Range and Versatility
Actors often need to perform a wide range of emotions, accents, and even roles in a single project. From dramatic dialogue to exaggerated combat sounds like grunts, screams, and yes—battle shouts—it’s a true test of vocal control and stamina. - Performance Capture
In many modern games, voice acting is paired with motion capture, where actors physically perform their scenes while recording their lines. This adds another layer of realism, as seen in games like The Last of Us or Red Dead Redemption. - Interactive Dialogue
Games often have branching narratives, so actors must record multiple variations of the same scene or line to account for player choices. This can mean voicing hundreds (or even thousands) of lines for one character. - Atmosphere and World-Building
Even minor characters or background voices help create a game’s world. Think of NPCs yelling, merchants selling their wares, or radio broadcasts in games like Grand Theft Auto V. These little touches make the game feel alive. - Improvisation and Creativity
Sometimes, actors are asked to create sounds or emotions for scenarios that don’t exist in the real world. For example, voicing alien languages, mystical chants, or exaggerated reactions to fantasy or sci-fi elements.
But Why Are Videogames So Darned Fun?
There have been many studies over the years to figure out what is so attractive about Videogames. Some of the reasons scientists have discovered are these…
Experience Other Realities
Firstly, they allow the player to “try on different hats,” or imagine what it would actually be like to be someone else in a different time or reality. A fan of the WWII games like Call of Duty can learn to appreciate, in a very small way, what their ancestors might have experienced in real war. I think that’s a pretty valuable experience right there. Of course, sometimes it’s fun to just imagine you’re a time-travelling assassin, a Wizard with magical powers, or an astronaut stranded on a distant hostile planet teaming with nasties. What’s not to love?
Videogame Videos
Charles Perlman - Zenless Zone Zero - (Hoyoverse)
BOB in Space Punks (Flying Wild Hog)
Several Characters - FORGOTLINGS (Throughline Games)
The Push to Achieve
The drive to succeed at something is essentially inbred in the human brain. When we are faced with a challenge, even one that’s imaginary, our minds are chemically driven to want a blast of dopamine, that pleasure-giving jolt that comes when we achieve some new level in a game. (Of course, we also get jolts of dopamine when we go gambling, so suffice to say, there can be a dark side!)
Immerse Yourself!
The technical aspects of good games are worthy of note all by themselves. I am always blown away by the visuals (mind you, most of the games I’ve played were either PC or on my PS3, so I know they’ve gotten even better in recent years). Not to mention the Audio—the sound design in videogames is an industry unto itself. The layers of sound effects, music and voice work are some of the real reasons that videogames are so immersive. Put on a pair of good headphones, and you’re gone, baby. One of the reasons why I love doing voice work for games–I get to be a part of creating that world, building that reality that will draw the next player in. Finally, the writing. The storylines are downright astounding, rich with multiple character arcs worthy of great novels, or several seasons-worth of lush period-piece television. These immersive qualities really make one understand why the industry has taken off in the last decade or two–you can really get lost in them. I’ve noticed that when I get involved, hours go by like nothing–and I look up at the clock and it’s already 2am!