A voice actor script initiative has been created in an effort to help game developers improve the scripts of their games – and it’s completely free.
The new voice actor script initiative is a part of the post-production service The Halp Network, an organization centered on finding the right person for the right job in different areas of the entertainment industry. They’ve titled their new project S.W.A.A.T. – Specialized Workshops And Actor Tactics.
S.W.A.A.T. sets out to assist game developers with making sure their scripts are up to snuff and will work well for voice actors. They make a point of illustrating that some pieces of dialogue (which sound fine as written text) might not be the most ideal choice once you actually have an actor reading it aloud. S.W.A.A.T. sessions last for two hours, mostly as a table read involving industry professionals. They sessions are provided completely for free as virtual table reads. A maximum of two sessions are allowed per project.
S.W.A.A.T. already has a number of notable voice actors on board. Jennifer Hale (Mass Effect, Overwatch), Cissy Jones (Firewatch), and Sarah Elmaleh (Final Fantasy 15, Gone Home) will be serving as team captains in this voice actor training initiative. They are likely to add new people to the roster in the coming months and years. For the moment, S.W.A.A.T. is focusing on growing their organization slowly and bringing in new people to the team through referrals.
All of the actors involved in S.W.A.A.T. are currently part of SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists), a union that many professional voice actors belong to. Indie developers on a budget can breathe easy – there isn’t any mandate that they have to make use of union labor for their project.
Ultimately, S.W.A.A.T.’s table reads are intended to take place before a developer begins casting the roles for their games. If you’re a game dev and you want to make sure you get things right, you can find out more about the program by heading over to their website.
[via GamesIndustry.biz]
