So, I’m quite honored to present you all with this interview with the voice behind the lady in red, Sally Cahill. I hope you all enjoy it! A special thanks to Mortal Kombat Online’s Senior Editor, Tony Deklan, who made this possible for us. So make sure to check out Mortal Kombat Online after you read this!

Q: What was the catalyst for you pursuing a career in acting and establishing yourself as an actress?

Wow, that first question is a big one. I have many reasons and inspirations  in my earlier years. One I can tell you is my parents took me to the ballet when I was six or seven. I loved the dancers but there were actors in small roles as mimes in it, too. One actress opened a gift and discovered a beautiful feather boa, then proceeded to saunter about the stage, upstaging  every one else with her antics. On the way home my parents asked me if I was interested in ballet. I said no, I want to be  that actress with the boa!

Q: How did you initially obtain the role of Ada Wong back in Resident Evil 2, was it via a referral or did you audition for the part?

I think I had done some other work for the company. And I remember doing some Japanese dialogue totally in phonetics for the voice over director, so they all knew me a bit. Then I auditioned and got the part. They thought I had a sexy voice. I guess I did!

Q: During the process in the beginning and throughout establishing Ada’s voice, were you allowed to take any creative liberties with the role, in terms of her voice and her general demeanor, etc?

Well, to an extent, but so much of the work is done in the casting to begin with. The sound and edge you bring is taken care of well before you approach the line creatively. Then they are on you then for every line, every inflection. It’s all very important as you only have your voice to convey what they need to get across in the story. In between all that I get a chance to offer what i think Ada should give to the line and sometimes there is a debate back and forth from the mic to the control room..but it’s certainly not all my way! It’s give and take.

Q:  What was your favorite aspect of voicing Ada? Do you also feel anything relatable with her or anything you can identify with?

Oh, I love Ada. I love her resilience, her strength with still being sexy and very female. I like to feel I am that way, too . I find her coolness and intelligence also attractive.

Q: What is it that you think defines Ada as a character and sets her apart from her female peers in the franchise?

To me she is much more of an oddity, and a mystery. Not all is played out. She holds her cards close to her body and only lets you see so much. Now and then bits and pieces of her break through in the dialogue and the read, even the crack in my voice. Some gamers are so adept though, it amazes me how they can gleen on these things!

Q:  What was the decision to not give Ada her ‘real’ voice in Umbrella Chronicles? Was it Capcom’s decision or were you tied up with other commitments?

That question has been asked many times. I’m not sure of the answer, all i know is they did that one totally in L.A with a new V.O director and venue, with actors situated there. It could be money, convenience of local (?). I’m sure they all did a great job.

Q:  How does the voice recording process work? Are you generally in a sound studio alone, or is it also acted out with the other actors to give the dialogue a more authentic finish?

I am often alone. Though I might see another actor in the green room or “waiting room.” But for the most part I am alone . I am watching a tract, with wipes on a screen. I’m usually in the dark with headphones filling my ears with sound effects, watching Ada and trying  to become her. It’s a very unreal experience sometimes.

Q: Have you ever played any of the Resident Evil games? If so, which is your favorite? We are guessing Ada’s Seperate Ways campaign in Resident Evil 4?

Right ON!!

Q: We know you cannot divulge any information of upcoming Resident Evil games, but personally how would you rate Ada’s chances of returning in a future game, more importantly re-hiring your voice talent?

Well as I get older my voice lowers, so at some point I don’t know. I’m not sure what direction RE will take now. It’s been a great run and I loved her. Many who have played the game  have told me there will never be another Ada Wong the way I voiced her and created her and that makes me feel terribly thrilled and grateful for the chance to have played her at all. So many new games are being developed but I think Resident Evil will be remembered as one of the most popular.

Q:  Outside of the Resident Evil universe, where may we have seen some of your work and what has been the highlight of your career thus far?

Oh, that’s a hard one. I loved so many things. Much of my work is done in Canada. I just finished a historical thing for the CBC and also a Murdoch Mystery which aired recently, and shot a commercial yesterday. I love working in Prague for the Composers Series, playing  characters in Road to Avonleaea and Wind at my Back for Sullivan Entertainment will always be a highlight. As was the seasons I spent at the Stratford Festival. It seems I’m always in a period piece wearing  a corset. I think that’s one thing I really loved about Ada. She was a totally hip, modern, kick ass femme fatale who could handle weapons awsomely…and no corset!

————————————————————

Well, hope you all enjoyed that! It’s always nice to learn more about the voices behind our favorite characters in the world of survival horror, so I hope you all gained even more love for Ada, and Sally, after having read this. Again, a special thank you to Mortal Kombat Online. Go check them out! And yeah, who would’ve thought a Mortal Kombat-centered site would’ve granted us the ability to publish this, right?!

An interview with the lady in red, Ada Wong is a post from: Rely on Horror

Jorge Bocanegra

The Big Cheese.

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Little Amy must be protected by Lana in a terrifying world inhabited by infected human beings. Here’s the kicker: Lana is also infected, but Amy has a mysterious gift that dampers the spread of the sickness when the two hold hands.

Amy is a survival horror game about teamwork in a tension filled environment. A lot of us here have been really interested in the game since it was announced, and we have had a chance to interview the team behind AMY. Check out the full interview below.

How would you describe AMY? Is it more in tune with classic survival horror, or modern? What sort of titles inspired it?

When you think of the survival horror genre, what you have in mind are the classic psychological horror games on the one hand (Silent Hill) and the “modern” action horror games on the other hand (Dead Space). In Amy, you’re often weaker than your enemies and you only have melee weapon. Hence, it could be consider closer to classical survival horror games.

But we don’t really like labels and we believe AMY, while being closer to classic survival horror games is something quite different. More than focusing on sheer “fear”, we tried to manage “tension”. In addition, its very specific gameplay is based on several elements that may appeal to a wider audience than mere survival horror fans.
The special relationship between Amy and Lana (the character you play), might appeal to those who liked ICO. The fact that you’re often weaker than your enemies and can often decide to hide rather than fight might remind of classic horror games but also stealth action games.

Last but not least, the fact that you’re infected and fight against a virus that threatens to transform you into a zombie might appeal those who are looking to experiment new gameplays.

Can you describe to us Lana and Amy’s relationship and how will this affect the game experience?

This is a very important element of the gameplay and we have just released on video that describes the relationship between the two characters.

What was the reason for releasing AMY digitally rather than physical retail?

There are many reasons to that. One of them is that a few years ago, it was possible to launch a good indie game, as long as it was good enough. Today, it’s harder and harder to have a success in retail when you’re not a $60M game with a very strong franchise and a huge marketing budget. On the other hand, digital distribution is emerging in all entertainment fields (video games but also music and movies). We believe this is the future of distribution. We know some players prefer having a box, but back in the time is was hard to go from vinyl discs to CDs and from CDs to mp3. We would all consider it a nightmare if we had to use vinyl every time we want to listen to a song. For video games, digital distribution even brings major good things for the players: innovative games are blooming and good games can now be affordable (the disc replication process is very expensive).

AMY looks like a substantial game. Approximately, how long is it?

We carried a lot of playtests, and the average length depends on the player. The quickest tester finished the game in 8 hours and the slowest in 13 hours. So overall, it’s about 10 hours of gameplay.

Is there a chance that AMY could become a series? Perhaps branch into different mediums?

We invested a lot in AMY and we do hope to go one exploring its universe. Before finalizing the scenario of AMY, we worked quite a lot on the other characters and the background story so that there are yet many things to unveil. Overall, it will depend on how AMY works. So we keep our finger crossed.

What are you hopes for AMY?

First of all, we truly hope to do a good game and that those who will try it will have a great experience.
If we achieve that, it would be much more than half the way. Because we’re a small team, our key focus is about making the game and we can’t afford spending as much effort as we would like on communication. As per how we see Amy’s future, it’s always hard to predict the success or failure of a game. Some great games never found their audience when weaker ones were very well marketed. What gives us hope is that during our playtests, all those who tried AMY wanted to go on playing and gave us a great feedback. In addition, we’re really pleased to see that the game is gathering momentum with more and more fans and increasing press awareness. It really encourages us. One last word: if you want to support us, please check out (and like) our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/amy-thegame. Thank you!

Thanks to VectorCell and Lexis Numérique for the interview!

Interview: Making AMY is a post from: Rely on Horror

CJ Melendez

I'm a college student with a huge passion for gaming; horror being my favorite genre. I love being afraid to turn a corner or turn around in my games. The creepier the better.

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If you’re a die hard Silent Hill fan, check out the interview to find out some interesting bits of info that you might not have known. You might be pleasantly surprised by some things Clifford has to say!

ROH: Silent Hill 3 released in 2003, and Silent Hill 4 in 2004, what have you been doing since then? Any other voice acting jobs or did you take a different career path?

CR: Well, first let me start off by saying that I wasn’t involved with Silent Hill 4. I know many people seem to think I did the Jasper character, but that’s not true. I auditioned for it twice, but in the end, I didn’t get it. I don’t know where the mixup came from, but I’d like to help resolve it. But to answer your question, shortly following SH3 I did the Kirk Levin/Ark character for the mech game Murakumo, with Jeremy again directing the voices. I was working fairly heavily up through 2004, doing a number of commercials, educational voice overs, and small roles in 2 Japanese films. It was the birth of my daughter in late 2003 that took me in an altogether different direction regarding career. During my time in Tokyo I was becoming more and more passionate about the coffee industry, particularly espresso machines, so we returned to the States by way of Seattle and I spent the next 6 years working in that field. Now, strangely enough I’m back in Japan living a much slower life in the country.

ROH: That’s interesting about Jasper. A lot of fans swore you were him; thanks for clearing that up!

So, after Silent Hill 3, you did some work in the acting field, the coffee industry, and then moved back to Japan. I hear that many places in Japan are quite peaceful.

I’ve been told that you have some control over the Bela Lugosi property or rights? Tell me about that. That’s pretty interesting.

CR: It’s not quite like that, though the work trying to promote the character image was fun. I’ll try to be brief about how it all came about. I approached Kurt Hanson of KH Media in Tokyo about partnering on the Bela project. It turns out Kurt helped Art Clokey get his Gumby characters picked up in a licensing deal with Sony Character LIcensing, and Bela Lugosi Jr. as Art’s lawyer was closely involved. Bela Jr. asked Kurt if he could do the same in Japan for his father’s image, for percentages. I in turn would get percentage of percentage of any deals completed in Japan. Basically it was permission to promote, and start negotiations. I owned no rights. We did this actively from about 2000-2004 only as the return for our time and investment was little.

We did however get quite creative, with demos, a faux commercial and a re-invisioned video game proposal.

ROH: A video game with Lugosi? That would have been interesting. You don’t see many emotionally driven games anymore. Vampire games especially are slim at the moment. The Legacy of Kain was pretty good and I’m still waiting for a sequel, but I doubt that will ever come.

What are your thoughts on the Silent Hill series. Whether it be 1-4 or the newer titles not made by a Japanese team? Have you been following the newer titles?

CR: Well, we thought it would make for a good psychological horror game at the time, but we couldn’t really convince anyone in Japan to take that risk.

When I was hired to do SH3 I knew nothing of the game series. I guess up til then as a player I leaned toward shooter action, sometimes puzzle. Stuff like Tomb Raider, Halo, Medal of Honor series, 007, etc. I think this actually helped me, as I wasn’t influenced by what had gone on before and the SH atmosphere. For me personally, the Silent Hill series ends after game 4. I know the world continues to this day, but Team Silent’s vision and all the passion that I could sense with our team at the time made it quite a special experience. I know nothing of the titles after The Room. If different people are making it, then it’s a different creature wouldn’t you say? I hope all the best for whatever new titles come out. It’s possible that Jeremy may be involved with one, and that can only help.

ROH: A lot of fans don’t like to consider the newer titles “worthy” of the series. Silent Hill: Origins was pretty faithful to the classics. Shattered Memories was one of my favorite games in the series. While it was farther from supernatural, and closer to psychological, I still preferred it. It had a nice tale to tell. The newest title, Silent Hill: Downpour seems pretty good so far.

Tell me a little about your experience working with the team on Silent Hill 3. How did you go about creating Vincent’s mysterious and coy manner?

CR: The work was done very quickly, but yet thoroughly and with sense of perfectionism. There were very clear ideas about what made for acceptable takes. Not just, OK we got all the technical elements taken care of.

My schedule was 1 day motion capture, 2 days voice. Everything, all the scenes scheduled fairly tight, so not much time wasted in waiting around. We came in on a personal scene schedule, left when our individual scenes were completed. The production team knew their craft well, so it was an element that didn’t distract through any delay or arguments. When I showed up for the motion capture, after dressing in the black spandex and reflective balls, the main person I communicated with was Jeremy. His thorough understanding of the world, and characters, the team’s vision and what was needed was clearly evident. Though I know Akira was around here and there, especially during the voice days, if there was something that needed to be expressed to me it came through Jeremy. We did a run through of a particular scene mainly for tech checks, position, and timing. Then a real take. Most times, because all during the process little tidbits or suggestions were being given, we rarely needed a 3rd or 4th. For motion, I know we really didn’t need to worry so much about our voice takes or having a filled performance as the only important capture was a bunch of stick figures. But everyone gave their all none the less. Having a 100% performance really helped to quickly get back into character when we finally did voice, which was more than a week later. We could watch our video playback in the booth.

There really wasn’t much to go on to create a character. It’s different when someone plays the game. They get to see the whole picture, they get the whole story. I’m not sure I planned him to be as you say he comes across. I didn’t have an entire script, you see. I had these snippets of character interaction. Only my scenes, only the character’s lines without direction. Possibly location was indicated. First time I ever read them, I was like holy shit, what is this? This is some messed up stuff! And, outside of the audition (2 days) conversations, I think I talked to Jeremy once about character. So, I had to analyze what I had, what was said. Trying to find the need in each scene, what I was trying to get from the other person. And the character is trying to cover all his bases, with different parties, so there is that sense of, when is he being honest or not? He won’t get what he wants by being direct. His lines help a lot with this manner. Most people don’t really talk as he does, I think. It was like playtime toying with people. Incredibly fun to be someone so out there, so maybe that comes across in the performance. I found out what Vincent needed for the scene, I worked off the reactions of the other actor, and I used myself in a lot of it, and played, and then those things were refined by elements Jeremy would add, or say to pull back on. Jeremy had to make sure that it worked, or that the scene added to the whole.

ROH: With news of the Silent Hill HD Collection releasing, what are your thoughts? Will you be picking this re-release up? And what are your thoughts on the voice acting change/drama as of yet?

CR: I think it great that the collection will be released. Of course, great if the original voices are included. Ha ha. I wouldn’t be too pleased to find out after all the effort, they scrapped the inclusion idea. Won’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want it if I can’t see and hear the original Vincent. I’m waiting to see if it truly will happen or not. They still need the final go-ahead from the top, and the top is so far removed from all the emotion that it seems a longshot. But yes, having all the games together on one disc would be a great way to enjoy the series. A lot of sleepless nights for a while. Probably get more sales if the price is right.

Well, from what I’m hearing the controversy or drama seems to be winding down. I think if given a moment to think, all the original voice actors would get on the same page with this thing. They realize that in the long run, it can only be a good thing. How else will it ever live on? That doesn’t take away from legitimate arguments that I’m hearing, and that I have myself. But regarding the new voices, I’m not going to diss them for the work. I wouldn’t have turned the job down. I just think re-recording voices in the first place wasn’t exactly the best idea. A disconnect from the fan base that made the game what it is. Of course new fans wouldn’t necessarily know or care. I’d be curious to see if it seems like a dubbed movie, as all the motion capture came from the initial voices. I’m just assuming they kept the original motion capture, but I could be wrong.

ROH: It is certainly great that the Collection has the potential to have the old and new voices. In my interview with Troy Baker, the new voice of James Sunderland, he said that they indeed have to voice over the original motion capture. So it’s a little difficult. He compared it to an anime.

Has Konami contacted you in regard to re-using your performance for Silent Hill 3? Have you kept in contact with any of the other cast members?

CR: Yes, Konami got in touch with me through Jeremy. I signed and sent out my release earlier this week. That takes care of my voice, but still leaves a few for SH3 remaining. Not that they wouldn’t sign, probably just they don’t know about it as they can’t be found yet. One thing I will say about the release, is that for most if not all of us in SH3, this is the first time we’ve signed anything ever regarding our voice work.

No, no contact at all recently. Right after SH3, I had short gig with Donna Burke on an English CD but that was it. I would see Matt Lagan around now and then up through 2004. Now I hear he’s in Los Angeles working in the film industry. Other than doing Murakumo with Heather, I have no idea where she is now. I would be nice for a reunion of sorts, but definitely incomplete without Richard.

ROH: How has fan interaction been? Are you in contact with many or hoping to be? Monica, Guy and Donna are on Facebook with fan pages of their own.

CR: You know, fan interaction has been almost non-existant due to a bad call on my end. I really wanted to chime in all along, as I started to see a small fan base grow for my character. I was certainly aware of people mentioning things about Vincent or myself. I activated long time ago a Youtube page to respond to certain comments, but never really did anything with it. I think I was influenced by some things said to me by Konami right as we were completing the voice work. Not to reveal information about the work, the plot, the script, the characters, etc. I just kept my mouth closed, too closed for too long. So, yeah, now I’d love to have more contact. Hope so. I had been avoiding even making a personal Facebook page for so long, but I guess I should re-think that and start one up. Just hope the fans forgive that I’d been so silent.

Thanks to Clifford for giving his time for the interview.

Interview: Clifford Rippel on his role as Vincent in Silent Hill 3 is a post from: Rely on Horror

CJ Melendez

I'm a college student with a huge passion for gaming; horror being my favorite genre. I love being afraid to turn a corner or turn around in my games. The creepier the better.

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Troy discusses his thoughts on the original James Sunderland’s actor Guy Cihi; how he started voice acting; his relationship with the Silent Hill series; as well as how much fun he had working on Catherine (Catherine spoiler at 16:10 – 16:16)

Sit down, and take a listen to our audio interview.

Host: CJ Melendez
Interviewee: Troy Baker

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Podcast Interview: A chat with Troy Baker is a post from: Rely on Horror

CJ Melendez

I'm a college student with a huge passion for gaming; horror being my favorite genre. I love being afraid to turn a corner or turn around in my games. The creepier the better.

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I had a chance to interview the man behind the punk: Steve Blum. Keep on reading, pendejo!

Garcia Hotspur is a tough as nails Mexican punk, how did you go about formulating his voice and attitude?

That was an interesting process. They had originally recorded him with a Spanish actor. I loved his accent – it made Garcia a bit more exotic. They told me they were leaning more toward a more Mexican attitude and speech pattern, so I sort of melded the two where I could. I’ve been ripped for the accent, but it was actually quite intentional. I felt it helped to sell the cocky swagger. Hmmm Cocky Swagger… good name for a band!

What were some of your favorite lines as Garcia?

Don’t remember any verbatim, but anything with cussing (English and Spanish) was pretty damned fun. Oh yeah, and the boner jokes never get old.

How much improv freedom where you given to come up with lines?

More than I expected! Growing up n L.A., I have a lot of friends from all over Latin America, so of course the first Spanish phrases I ever learned were creative ways to swear. I was happy to finally put them to use. Because I came in after most of the animation was complete, a big part of my job was to make the words fit into the mouth of the character. They encouraged me to change things up for the funny (and for context) and I loved the challenge of fitting it into the lip flaps.

What are the qualities of the character Garcia that you liked and disliked the most? Can you say that he actually have some similarities with your personality at all?

Ha ha! What’s not to like? I have to find something in common with every character I voice. As much of a hardass as Garcia is, he is also a very passionate dude. The passion is where I started with him. Whether it was love or violence, he invested himself fully. I may not be as violent, but I certainly am willing to put myself out there fully in other areas.

In reality, do you think you will actually become good friends with “Garcia Hotspur” if he was a real person?

I’d like to, but I think he’d be too busy constantly hunting demons! I’m sure we’d meet for a beer once in a while tho!

Do you have any funny stories while working on the recordings for Shadows of The Damned?

It was pretty funny watching the creative team have to seriously debate things like whether they wanted to call a drippy, exploding demon a puta or pendejo. Ya just don’t hear conversations like that in normal life.

Since you have also worked on a few voices in Killer 7, what was it like working on another Suda 51 game?

Wow, that was a while ago! Often I have no idea what company I’m working for or even what the game is called because everything is so top secret. I honestly can’t compare the two! This one, was a great experience. Honestly don’t remember where the hell I even was when working on Killer 7!

What sort of horror media do you enjoy? Whether books, films or games.

I’m not a gamer, but I appreciate good horror in all media. I used to work for the company that made ReAnimator, so I have a special love for the campy crazy too.

Who is your favorite character that you have voiced throughout your career?

Like casually mulling over which of your children to drop into a shark tank. Can’t choose one! Love them all for different reasons.

Are you a fan of the Big Boner, or the Hot Boner from the game?

Hmm… God thinks all Boners are beautiful, so I guess I do too.

Thanks to Steve for his time!

Interview: Steve Blum, the voice of Garcia Hotspur is a post from: Rely on Horror

CJ Melendez

I'm a college student with a huge passion for gaming; horror being my favorite genre. I love being afraid to turn a corner or turn around in my games. The creepier the better.

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Silent Hill 2 set the bar for survival horror, so it’s only fitting that to this day it’s talked about. Read on for the full interview.

Silent Hill 2 had how I can only describe as “sleepy” vocals. As if the characters were all in a dream like state. Was this part of the role? Were you and the other voice actors instructed to add such a tone to the acting?

GC: The actors were all ‘dialed into’ the story, the setting, and the characters. There was a sense of supernatural strangeness ever present in our minds. I don’t recall specifically being asked to sound ‘sleepy,’ but the directors were always there guiding our performances.

I think it’s important to point out that all of Silent Hill 2 was performed and recorded live on large motion capture stages with all actors present. Unlike most RPGs, when you see two or three SH2 actors on your screen, it means that there were two or three SH2 actors performing live together at the time of recording. That close proximity created tremendous dynamic tension between the actors and allowed us to play off each other’s emotions. The relationships in SH2 wouldn’t have been nearly as intimate had we recorded body movement and dialog at different times. I was told by the director that it was the first time synchronized mo-cap had been done for such a large scale production.

You provided both the voice recordings and performed the actual motion capture for James, correct? Which did you prefer, the voice performance or the motion capture?

GC: I enjoyed it all but, as I say; we performed all of the scenes live on stage in front of multiple cameras, directors, and crew. It was similar to recording scenes for a movie. The main difference being that we weren’t wearing costumes; we were wearing skin tight body suits with nodes attached at key points. Some of the motion cameras were magnetic and others were laser type. Video cameras were always present to capture our facial expressions and allow the editors to synch the sound recordings with the body language. I don’t really think of my work as voice recording because the recording work only took about four days to complete whereas the stage performances took almost four months. For me it was like performing in a strange movie. Several days were spent exclusively for capturing my walking, running, hitting, and dying. I was sore for weeks after those dying days. Every time you let James die and hit the ground, I swear it still hurts me!

Have you been following the Silent Hill series since your work as James? If so, what do you think of the series as of today?

GC: I haven’t been following the series. What I know is only what I have gathered from SH2 bloggers and webmasters who contact me. It seems that the series has grown spotty over the years. I read that a Silent Hill movie was released but I didn’t watch it. The reviews were pretty bad. I read recently that Sony is working on a second SH movie titled Silent Hill 2. Some bloggers have written that it would be good to idea to stick to the original SH2 game theme and characters, but I don’t expect the director and writer will do that. They seem to prefer doing their own thing. You might be able to find a trailer for the new SH2 movie if you Google “Silent Hill 2 Trailer.”

Silent Hill 2 is known for having one of the most deeply twisted stories in gaming history. Did you read the script prior to recording? If so, did they keep the endings secret, making your reactions more real to the experience? Or did they give you a complete synopsis of the game so you could deliver a proper feel?

GC: Was it just luck, or did fate put that deeply twisted script in my hands? Hmm…. No, I did not read the entire script before recording. The directors kept the endings secret. I’m not sure if it was to affect our performances, or because they were still working on it as we progressed. In any case I can tell you that they were quite specific about what they wanted in terms of pathos and torment. Acting James was cathartic. I was recently divorce at that time and still very close to my pain. I was able to deliver tears and sadness on demand. I went through hell with my ex and at times was near suicidal. If it weren’t for my children, I’m not sure I would have made it through. I couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them alone with only her to raise them. Forgive me if this is getting too personal. What I mean to say is that if the directors asked me for tears or anguish, all I had to do was dredge up some dark memory and it was right there with me again – the sadness. I’m generally a happy go lucky guy. One of my talents is the ability to forget painful experiences. Performing James reminded me that we never really forget our pain. We just hide it away – if we’re lucky that is.

Do you think video game acting will ever be taken seriously enough to be awarded Oscars?

GC: Definitely! It’s only a matter of time. The gaming industry is already much bigger than the movie industry. I think the next phase of the gaming industry will see an increased emphasis on character and story development. The tech aspects should become increasingly more open and available and hopefully that will usher in a generation of indie games. The problem that I’ve heard over and over in the packaged game industry these days is that the ‘model is broken.’ Games have become too expensive to produce. I remember Hollywood said the same thing about movies and then a slew of indie productions came out and rewrote the book. I expect pretty much the same thing will happen for games.

Which scene was the hardest to play, or the one that needed the most takes?

GC: The hardest scene to play, and the one that had to be redone the most, is a scene that occurs late in one of the alternate endings. It’s the scene where James picks Mary up from her deathbed and then turns and carries her away. I was quietly crying each time I lifted my wife’s lifeless body up from that bed but creating the emotion wasn’t the problem. The problem was that it was taking me too long to get Mary up into my arms and turned around. No matter how many takes we did it, the directors said it was too slow. As I lay in bed one night after shooting, I replayed the problem over and over in my mind. Finally I remembered a “trick” I learned in college acting class. It’s a stage trick for carrying a ‘dead’ body. The next time we shot the scene I nailed it on the second take. I wonder if anyone reading this interview knows the, ‘how to lift a dead body trick?’

You’ve always seemed very involved with the fans of the series, which many voice actors and actresses tend to stray from doing. What are your personal thoughts on maintaining contact with the fan base? Is there any message you have for us?

GC: My ex-wife is a Japanese movie and TV performer. Our wedding was covered by all the major TV networks and she even sold the location rights for our honeymoon. I learned firsthand that being famous basically sucks. You can’t go anywhere without people pointing and whispering. I’m happy to interact with SH2 fans provided they are polite and well behaved. Having said that, I can tell you that SH2 fans are some of the nicest and most decent people I have ever had the pleasure to communicate with. What is it that SH2 fans have in common because I’ll tell you what, whatever it is, the rest of the world could sure use a big dose of it! You guys are the best!

If Konami were to revisit the role of James for another game, would you have any interest in reprising your role?

GC: Sure, why not? It was fulfilling and that’s what life is supposed to be about. If you feel you want Konami (or Sony) to hire me again, there’s a guy in L.A. you can write to named Michael. He’s a super guy. So if the spirit moves you, write to Mike and let him know how you feel. He’s always happy to hear from SH2 fans.

HD: How do you feel contributing to a legendary game? In the part, “Leave us alone, leave us both the hell alone!”, I know that I heard that in a movie before, what were you going for? I heard that Mary/Maria’s voice actor had a very emotional reaction to the game, even so much as crying during the letter part, was the emotional impact of the story strong for you as well? Did you “connect” with James? If so, how?

GC: Legendary? Wow, thanks!

I feel great about my role in SH2 mainly because of wonderful fans like all of you.

In the part where I scream “Leave us alone…” I think I was going for a tormented screaming version of Greta Garbo’s famous line, “I vant to be alone.” Remember, I did James long before that kid ever recorded his infamous “Leave Brittany Alone” video. He was copying me; not the other way round.

Monica (Mary/Maria) and I both felt very strong emotions all throughout the acting and recording sessions. She’s a fantastic talent. To this day when I hear Monica read the letter I get all choked up.

Yes, of course I connected with James! The reason I got the part was because the director said I was James. More specifically he said that I was just the way he pictured James in his mind. As I said, I had some emotional issues at the time and that helped me portray James’ anguish and pain. Fortunately, I’m not haunted by anything close to the heavy dark stuff that James is.

Do you see James as a tragic character? Was he a victim of circumstance? Was he selfish and did he murder his wife to make his life easier?

GC: James is absolutely a classic tragic character. Yes, he was a victim of circumstance but his situation was necessary for his karma; his life’s problem to solve. Was James selfish? Yes, and no. He has a lot of hurt and anger inside but he’s also kind and very protective. I can’t talk about it easily. It’s painful going back into that mind again. Anyway, it’s you the players who get to answer these questions. There’s a variety of possible endings and you can choose the one you want to believe. I won’t say which ending I believe in, but I will tell you that dog ending was just plain dumb. I told the director it was dumb and that I didn’t want to do it. He said it was a Japanese thing and he asked me nicely to just play along. What could I do? I’ve seen it on YouTube and I still think it was dumb.

Have you ever been recognized by fans of the game since 2001? If so, what was it like? If not, do you wonder if people will?

GC: Yes, I have been recognized. Not by my face but by my name. Once when we were making introductions at a business conference in Seattle, a fellow outside our group overheard my name. He came over to our group and stood there staring at me with a huge grin on his face. After a while he introduced himself and asked if I had done James in Silent Hill. When I said yes, he got out his camera and asked me to please take a photo together with him. He was just about to leave when suddenly he turned round and blurted out, “do that chainsaw thing!” I had no idea what he was talking about. “You know,” he said, “the part where you raise the chainsaw above your head and do that primal scream.” I obliged him but I have to tell you in all honesty, I must have been really tired that day on the set because I don’t remember taping that scene.

Often business people I meet for the first time will ask me about SH2. Whenever they do, I know it’s because they Googled me before our meeting. They usually ask, “What was that video game thing you did?” Each time I tell the story I am reminded again of how powerful it is. James’ deep regrets following the ‘mercy’ killing of his wife never fails to capture rapt attention. Perhaps this powerful basic story is the reason for SH2’s long term success more so than its technical merits.

Here’s another example in testament to the strength of the story. A while back I met some fellows from California in the electric vehicle business. They came to Tokyo for the auto show and some meetings with me. At our second meeting, sure enough, one of the fellows asked me, “Tell me about that video game thing you did?” (He must have Googled me the night before…) As I was retelling the SH2 story, his partner suddenly perked up and said, “Hey, I’ve seen that game! My kids played that all the time. It’s one of their favorites!” After that, he wouldn’t leave without me taking a picture with him to show his kids. See what I mean? Even though the fellow had never played SH2 himself, he remembered James and Mary’s tragic story.

This interview was reposted. Thanks to Guy Cihi for the interview opportunity.

Guy Cihi Interview, The voice of James Sunderland is a post from: Rely on Horror

CJ Melendez

I'm a college student with a huge passion for gaming; horror being my favorite genre. I love being afraid to turn a corner or turn around in my games. The creepier the better.

Website - More Posts

Mike: Hello?

Mclain: Hello, Mike? This is Ellen Mclain!

Mike: Hi! How are you doing?

Mclain: I’m fine!

So far so good, my heartbeat was returning to a somewhat normal pace. Immediately she calmed me down with her ecstatic attitude and sweet, charming voice. We spoke for a few minutes, exchanging pleasantries and getting to know each other until we began the interview.

Mclain: You know you’ve been so patient and I really appreciate it. When you first contacted me I was in a show and I’ve been overwhelmed with a show, you know, performing every day, and just had to wait until my schedule cleared out.

Mike: Not a problem, I understand you’re very busy. I personally wanted to thank you for taking the time to do this for me, for us at Rely on Horror. It really means a lot to me that you’re willing to do this.

Mclain: Oh! Well I’m pleased to do it! It’s no trouble at all.

As the interview progressed, I became more and more aware of how genuine Ellen Mclain was and just how informal the interview had become; not in a bad way because I was realizing that it was more of a friendly conversation between two people who had never met, yet had so much respect for each other. Finally my demeanor was relaxed and excited rather than nervous, which I owe to Ms. Mclain entirely.

Mclain: So you write for a website?

Mike: Yes, relyonhorror.com, (referred to as ROH from this point on) and we focus on films and video games, more of the scary type (laughter), which obviously ‘Portal’ doesn’t fall into, but…

Mclain: (laughing) No! I don’t think GLaDOS is very scary!

Mike: No, but she holds a special place in our hearts

Mclain: Well I’m glad to hear that!  So Mike, what is it you would like to know about? What can I help you with?

Mike: Well first off, as a stage actress and singer, how did you ever become interested in doing voice-work for video games?

Mclain: Well my husband, John Patrick Lowrie (well-known voice actor with many video game credits including The Sniper in Team Fortress 2), is completely to blame, (laughter). He first started doing voice-overs for games in like ’98-’99, he has a huge list of games he’s done voice for.

Mike: Yeah, I’ve definitely heard his name before.

Mclain: You know, for years he kept telling me, “You need a voice demo, you need a voice demo, you need a voice demo,” and finally in 2002, I went to a studio out here…I went to John’s agency and they needed some female voice talent at that point, so they picked me up as a voice actor and then got auditions through email. We record MP3 files and send them in and you know, I had worked with Valve before on ‘Half-Life 2,’ so the folks at Valve knew me so when they asked me to record an audition for the ‘Portal’ game, they at least knew about me. And the directions were to sound like –well, they had been using this computer-generated voice, which is copyrighted, and they couldn’t continue to use the voice in the game, it would’ve cost them too much money.

Mike: Yeah.

Mclain: So they wanted somebody to sound as much like this computer-generated voice as possible. So I was able to get as close to that sound as possible and I guess I beat out some other people. (laughter)

Mike: (laughing) Well you did a fantastic job!

Mclain: Well thank you!

Mike: Seeing the previews for ‘Portal,’ I was very much intrigued by just the idea of it and to have a character like that guiding you through the game and it being done so well, it’s stuck with me, my sister and my friends (and obviously millions of other people), you were definitely the best part of that experience.

Mclain: Well thank you. I think the clever thing about the game is that you don’t think it’s a computer assisting you, and then you start to realize… ‘oh wait a minute.’ (laughter)

Mike: And that’s the cool thing, that’s one thing about GLaDOS that ROH is focusing on. ‘Portal’ in and of itself isn’t horror, but when you turn GLaDOS into what she is, it definitely would create a terrifying experience were it to happen to someone in real life.

Mclain: Mmhm, and I thought it was also funny that the way she starts to go crazy is that she starts spouting recipes.

Mike: She’s perfect.

Mclain: And that’s all Erik Wolpaw, he’s the principal writer. He’s a very funny fellow.

Mike: As fans we have to miss out on the production and only get to see the finished product. What’s it like to do voice-work and not necessarily know how it’s implemented until you see the final product?

Mclain: Well on ‘Portal’ it was interesting, I had worked with Valve before. When I started recording the copies for it, I was still sort of in the dark, I was still like, ‘tell me what to say, tell me how you want me to say it.’ And it wasn’t really until almost the end of creating the first ‘Portal’ that I really kind of understood what was happening in the game and what this was being used for. The writers and the producers started telling me more about the game because they realized as well that the more I knew about how this voice-work was going to fit into the game, the better it would be. On ‘Portal 2,’ in contrast, I knew from the beginning exactly how it was going to be used, they’d show me artwork, they’d tell me the arc of the game and they’d tell me when the game was changing as well. For ‘Portal 2’ they’d make changes and do rewrites and they’d bring me in and say, ‘Okay, Ellen, we’ve changed this part of the game, this is what’s going to happen, now we want you to say this. This line’s too long, it doesn’t quite fit into this part.’ As they created ‘Portal 2,’ they really changed the game quite a bit as they went along; you know, they did a little with the first one, but that one was pretty mapped out from the beginning and had a MUCH lower budget

Mike: Definitely, well it was more of an experiment at first…

Mclain: Well there’s a school out here called DigiPen and these students talked to Gabe Newell to get feedback on their game called “Narbacular Drop,” I believe, and he hired them all on the spot! It’s really a Cinderella story!

Mike: That is pretty amazing.

Mclain: So he brought them all on and it became ‘Portal,’ but there wasn’t a whole lot of variation on that and there were fewer recording sessions because it was a much shorter game…

…Erik Wolpaw and Kim Swift were telling me about this Jonathan Coulton, this songwriter, and they wanted him to write something for this game and they didn’t even know what. The creative process of how it all came together…no one, nobody expected ‘Portal’ to be a hit. They thought it was going to be a little extra for “The Orange Box.”

Mike: And that’s really what’s interesting about it is that it was this little game in a collection of five great games and, like you said, it was the game with the smallest budget and it just took off. It really has to be an amazing feeling to see something like that happen.

Mclain: It sure is and I’ve told many people this before, and certainly the people at Valve, the ‘Portal’ games are the coolest things I’ve ever done and probably the coolest things I ever WILL do. You know, to be at this stage in my life and suddenly be famous, is pretty surprising!

Mike: Well you’re kind of a heroine! You’re a highly respected actress not only in theater, but now in video games. It definitely launched you into the stratosphere!

Mclain: Well my nephews were impressed, and anything they like I think is pretty cool.

Mike: So what were your thoughts when you first laid eyes on the first game? What were you thinking when you first saw it?

Mclain: Well it was one of John’s nephews came up to visit us and we took him to the Valve studios. The people at Valve gave him this wonderful tour …they sat him at a computer and he was playing the game! And I was like, ‘Oh, that’s my voice!’ …He was quickly taken to the end of the game and I got to see GLaDOS be destroyed and hear Jonathan Coulton’s song, “Still Alive” and I thought the whole thing was so incredibly clever and certainly nothing I would’ve dreamed of in a million years. (laughter) So, it’s like everybody’s grandmother is sitting there going, ‘wow, did I do that?’ (laughter)

Mike: That had to be awesome.

Mclain: Well it was fun! And of course, my favorite part of both games was the singing I got to do.

Mike: Definitely!

Mclain: It’s what I’ve always done since a very little girl and I wanted to sing and getting to be able to sing for a bunch of people has been the best part for me.

Mike: And I must say that at home, I do a little video and audio editing and I have recently compiled a “top 20” songs in video game history and I will say “Still Alive” is on that list.

Mclain: Oh great! I’m glad to hear that! I think it’s an absolutely charming song.

Mike: It’s icing on the cake (both laughing)

Mclain: Indeed! Yes, appropriately put!

Mike: So when ‘Portal 2; was announced, were you excited to try GLaDOS on again? You knew what they were looking for –vocal wise- so where you excited to relive her character?

Mclain: Oh yes. I was so pleased. When I heard the first ‘Portal’ was a hit I thought, ‘oh my gosh, I hope they do it again!’ (laughter) …And we did another tour at the Valve offices and it was at that point that -I had not been told yet- Erik Wolpaw told me we were doing another one. I said ‘well that’s great news!’ They had talked initially about doing a prequel.

Mike: Oh really?

Mclain: Yeah, and I think that was the first idea the company was working on. But I don’t think that lasted particularly long.

Mike: I think the way ‘Portal 2’ turned out was the best way it could’ve.

Mclain: And you see some back-story on Caroline, Cave Johnson, and Wheatley –the new wonderful character- …you find out a little about Aperture Science’s early years.

Mike: So they wanted to do a prequel…it’s cool because they worked that into the sequel and you get to see some of that. You get some back-story and I think that’s really cool.

Mclain: Yeah! And I love the arc of the second game, to see GLaDOS humbled. (laughter)

Mike: It was fun to have her on your side for a little bit!

Mclain: Absolutely, she had to be! Well she didn’t have a choice. I don’t think she did it out of the goodness of her heart! (both laughing)

Mike: Nope. That’s why she’s so lovable.

Mclain: Actually, I don’t know when it’s coming out, but I just finished doing some work for an add-on to the two-player game.

Mike: Really? I’ll have to keep a look out on that.

Mclain: I think it’s very funny! I haven’t gotten to see much of the two-player game, but you know, the Laurel and Hardy little robots, those two just crack me up. Blue….Orange….Blue….Orange….(both laughing)

Mike: Well it was awesome being able to hear GLaDOS speak again in a much more fleshed-out experience. As much as us fans loved the first game, it was obviously short –but it left such an impact that we wanted more.

Mclain: Well my husband and I are still playing the game…Have you played the two-player game at all?

Mike: Oh yes, I love it!

Mclain: Which color are you?

Mike: I like orange, P-Body, he’s my favorite.

Mclain: I think GLaDOS was a little harder on orange, (both laughing)

Mike: Yeah, I don’t think she appreciated him as much, but that’s okay. It’s the somewhat cruel things GLaDOS says that makes her so lovable.

Mclain: Well you know, there were some things in the recording sessions that I refused to say.

Mike: Oh yeah?

Mclain: Yeah, there were one or two sessions where I was like, ‘okay I’ll record this, but I REALLY think this is over the top,’ and I think they listened to me.

Mike: That’s good! I can definitely understand that; I think as GLaDOS becomes more and more of an icon, maybe them over-doing it would have been a bad thing.

Mclain: Well I feel GlaDOS has to be funny…

Mike: Yeah.

Mclain: …and if it really gets into the cruel zone without the funny, then I don’t think that’s GLaDOS.

Mike: No. She definitely has a humoristic take on herself that it allows her to be sadistic at the same time.

Mclain: Well I think that she’s sadistic in a harmless way (both laughing)

Mike: She cares so much for testing!

Mclain: That’s right! And testing is her first love! That is true.

Mike: So now we’re on the tail end of the second game, obviously it’s a hit. How does it feel to be the voice of one of the most beloved characters in video game history?

Mclain: I feel incredibly lucky, Mike. I thank all kinds of powers outside myself because I had very little to do with it, you know, I’ve always tried to do my best work and the more I worked with the Valve people, the more nervous I’d get. When I did the first game, I did what they told me to do and I’d go home and forget about it, but after the first game was a hit and actually into the second game I thought, ‘oh! This is popular, I need to be good!’ And it made me a little more intimidated. I’m very pleased people like it, I feel incredibly lucky.

Mike: We are thankful for your contributions and you did a fantastic job. It is always a pleasure to hear your voice while we’re playing.

Mclain: Thank you!

We spoke some more about future projects and had a nice conversation about how she acts and the kind of work she likes to do. Expect to hear Ms. Ellen Mclain in some future games, (of which we cannot mention). I really enjoyed talking to Ms. Mclain and she is one of the most real, intelligent and fun people I have ever spoken to. For her to take the time to do this interview for me speaks volumes about her character and generosity. So, Ms. Mclain, if you’re reading this, I thank you again for a great conversation and I hope to speak to you again!

ROH Exclusive: An interview with Ellen McLain is a post from: Rely on Horror

Mike Angileri

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ROH: Had you been a Resident Evil fan before playing Chris in Resident Evil 5? If so, how far back does your experience with the series go? All the way to the original game, the newer ones, or somewhere in between?

Honestly, I didn’t have to much experience with the RE franchise prior to landing the role of Chris’ voice. I had dabbled with RE4 a little bit, but I didn’t get too far into it at that time. I know this kills fans of RE to hear that one of the character voices really didn’t know to much about their beloved series, but I was a bit of a loser in that way. I just didn’t get on the RE train until I was at about the halfway point in the recordings for RE5 and I remember asking Liam O’Brien about the series. I was like, “Hey, this is gonna be kind of like, a big game and stuff, eh?” I think he responded with, “Duh.” So, yeah, I was the only guy on earth that didn’t realize the scope and popularity of Resident Evil. Not one of my proudest moments…

ROH: Did you feel that voicing a character who is nearly twice your size in muscle intimidating or that you might under-perform? (Joke question!)

I’m only 5’5” tall, so over-compensating for things comes naturally to me—So I can totally relate to Chris. Given the size of Chris’ arms, I’d say he’s clearly over-compensating for something, I just don’t know what. Daddy issues? Wasn’t hugged enough as a kid? Was bullied a lot and is gonna make the bullies pay someday by squishing their heads in his biceps? I dunno. I just know someone spends a little too much time in the gym and he might wanna back off the bicep curls for a bit and focus more on anger-management. Maybe yoga. Meditation. He seems a bit stressed at times, am I right? Y’know, he gets to a door before Sheva and just instantly starts yelling, “HURRY!” It’s like, dude, relax a bit. Gotta find your happy place, Chris. You need to just chill…

ROH: What were your views on the movie version of Chris played by Wentworth Miller?

Sadly, I’ve not seen the movie version. I’ve heard mixed reviews from lots of folks. Either way, it keeps the franchise alive and relevant, which is great for the games—which is really all I’m concerned with.

ROH: Since you’ve reprised Chris in the most appearances that any of his actors have to date, is it safe to assume that you are the permanent voice of Chris Redfield?

Wow, I wish. This is one of those situations where the reality of the business-side of this industry comes into play. I’ve got ZERO control over what anybody does with this character. I’m an actor hired to do a job and lots of decisions are made by lots of different people for lots of different reasons way before I step into a booth to voice a role. While I’m immensely proud of the work I’ve done and honored to have all the opportunities I’ve had with the character of Chris, I’ve got no say in who gets to voice the character. My job is to show up ready to go when the phone rings and hopefully the phone keeps ringing. So, I’d love to say I’ll keep on as Chris, but I’ve got no clue if/when there’s gonna be another phone call for work as Chris.

ROH: Have you had a lot of contact with fans so far? Have you been received well into the Resident Evil community?

Love the fans! You guys are some die-hard folks and without you guys this franchise would be nothing! It wasn’t until my first convention after the release of RE5 that I saw first-hand how passionate the fans of this series really are. It’s no wonder they can be successful with RE movies, games, spinoffs, etc. There’s a massive group of fans that support the brilliant minds that have created this world of RE.

As far as how I’ve been received, I’ve felt very welcomed at the conventions. But, I suppose that’s from the fans that like what I’ve done. I’m sure there are folks out there that dislike my portrayal of Chris, just like there are folks out there that do like what I’ve done. In general, though, it seems like a lot of folks were pleased with RE5 and nobody’s been unkind or rude or anything like that. So, I’m thrilled to be a small part of this RE universe and it’s awesome meeting fans dressed as the characters from the game at cons. Lots of Weskers at these things, too. Everybody always likes the bad guy, eh? And to that I say, “Suck on this, Wesker.” Man, that’s just a rude thing to say to a dude before launching a rocket into him. I mean, the dude was in lava. Ya gotta add to his torment? Again, relax, Chris. Calm down.

ROH: What are some tips that you could give to someone that wants to be in the voice acting business like you? Like where to start?

Education. Take a class and get to know the ins and outs of commercial voice acting. There are lots of ways to educate yourself about the world of voice acting. The internet is a great way to start researching. So, get some education under your belt and then the next bit of advice—GO FOR IT. At some point, you need to go out and just start trying to drum up your own jobs. You’ve gotta learn from experience, make mistakes, and keep falling forward. Some folks stay in the educational-phase of getting started way too long. Eventually, you’ve got to just take a deep breath and see how the industry receives you. You’ll learn soon enough if you’re cut out for voice acting.

ROH: We know you can’t say much about Revelations, but how’s recording for that going?

Gee, uhhh, I have no idea what you’re talking about. What is this “revelations” you speak of? Well, sir, I certainly don’t know anything about it. I can assure you of that. I’ve no clue what you’re talking about and even if I did I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to discuss it. Ahem.

ROH: Being a voice actor of many voices, have you ever just sat down and had a discussion as Chris, Ezio and Sonic?

Ya know, I tried that once at a Starbucks. Yeah, I was waiting for a friend, so I sat down with my mocha at a table in the corner. My buddy wasn’t there yet, so I figured, “might as well entertain myself by carrying on a conversation as all three of my highest-profile video game characters, right here in this public place.” So, after my friend had to bail me out of the local mental hospital, I realized it’s not worth it to try that.

ROH: Have you voiced any other characters in the Resident Evil series so far? If not, what type of character would you like to voice in addition to Chris?

Wesker. Everybody, including me, loves the bad guys.

ROH: Just how many eggs DO you need?

C’mon! You can never have too many eggs. They’re incredible and edible. Gotta love ‘em. Watch out for the brown ones, though…

Thanks to Roger form giving his time for the interview.

Chrrrrissss! Roger Craig Smith Interview is a post from: Rely on Horror

CJ Melendez

I'm a college student with a huge passion for gaming; horror being my favorite genre. I love being afraid to turn a corner or turn around in my games. The creepier the better.

Website - More Posts

ROH: It must have been a surprise to see the trailer become a sudden internet phenomena! How has the team been reacting to the popularity?

Sebastian: We knew from the beginning that we had something special with this trailer. But seeing how this trailer exploded all over the internet and the media coverage afterwards was really exciting for us! We are all extremely happy to get such positive feedback on our work.

ROH: Many people were quite moved by the trailer, but are a bit worried if this emotional approach will be held in the actual game. It has been said the story is to be full of mystery and drama, do you suspect there are scenes in the game that may emotionally impact players like the trailer has?

Sebastian: Yes. It’s violent, fast, revolting and there are gut punching emotional scenes. But of course in the context of the game they work differently compared to the trailer. A trailer has to work in 2 minutes. The game has to hook you for hours, even weeks.

ROH: The project went silent for a few years and it’s interesting to see some before and after shots of the game. Can you comment on any interesting changes in the project between now and then?

Sebastian: We shifted the focus quite a bit. We wanted to make this beautiful and strange island an open world experience, with a lot of close combat to bring the survival feel to a new level and add seamless multiplayer to multiply the fun.

ROH: Speaking of old ideas, some early screens showed the character driving a vehicle though we haven’t heard anything on this with the recent information. Did this have to be cut or can you still drive in the game?

Sebastian: If you find a car, that is still working, you can drive it! This will help you to get around in the wider areas. This will not be possible everywhere, some areas are just too crowded to drive around.

ROH: What kind of soundtrack do you have prepared for this game?

Sebastian: Our soundtrack is amazingly versatile! Ranging from ambient sounds over heavy metal riffs to rap. And even though this combination may sound strange, I’m sure zombie fans will love it!

ROH: About scaring players and fear, did the development of the game take any focus on making the game scary to an extent, and if so what direction of fear are you guys going for?

Sebastian: In short: Blunt brutal survival terror. It’s not a game that makes you afraid of what’s around every corner. In Dead Island you will see a horde of zombies feasting on a corpse and the fear will come from the obvious questions: How the hell I am supposed to survive this? Can I run away? In what shape is my baseball bat? Is there still a Molotov cocktail in my backpack? These pressing questions cause the terror in you.

Of course when we brought the player to this point it’s fun to add this additional surprise attack!

ROH: What types of enemies can we expect to see in the game? Is there a bigger variety or is the focus more on a horde rather than variety?

Sebastian: The horde is very important as it is a well known terror from all zombie media. But for the sake of variation we added more types as they change the gameplay in a big way. If a behemoth-like guy is standing in the middle of the horde, the above mentioned terror gets pushed to the next level. And they are not only varying in size, you will hear and see that something bad is waiting for you.

ROH: What were some inspirations for you guys while creating the game?

Sebastian: As you will see in the various types of the undead and the areas in the game we tried to get as much zombie-movie inspiration in as possible. Dawn of the Dead, Night of the Living Dead, Cannibal Holocaust, 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead comics, Versus, Tokyo Gore Police…The whole team was into this topic and we tried to get the best stuff out of all areas to create something unique.

ROH: Might the player be able to take part in some recreational activities out of slaying zombies? The website mentions things like fishing, for example. Is that simply part of the pamphlet-like wording of the passage or will players actually be able to go fishing?

Sebastian: Grenade fishing for zombies would be the only thing that comes to mind =). And no, that wouldn’t be very recreational. If you feel tempted going fishing on the Dead Island you definitely did something wrong!

ROH: Since the combat in Dead Island is going to be more melee-centered what’s going to go into the gameplay mechanics to differentiate the game from Dead Rising and Left 4 Dead 2, which also shed some focus on melee.

Sebastian: We took the classic shooter design and translated it into the closed combat. Instead of ammunition- a weapon degrades. Instead of reloading- stamina needs to be recovered. Aiming stays the same, but the resulting impact is much bigger and has much more effect.

You will break arms to reduce the danger of the zombies, cut off legs to immobilize it or the best solution- simply smash or cut off the ehad to kill it instantly.

In Dead Island you will find a whole arsenal of close combat mechanics ensuring the enjoyment of smashing every head by yourself.

ROH: Can you tell us a little more about 4-player Co-op? How is it going to work in the game?

Sebastian: In the desperate fight for survival we can only say: the more the better. The game has more than enough items, skills and features that let the 4 players work together. Multiplayer will be extremely important to Dead Island therefore it will be very user-friendly to join another game. No need to stop playing your own campaign, just join and leave whenever you like.

ROH: Is there anything else you would like to share with the fan base? A comment, advice, anecdote, correction or criticism?

Sebastian: Never ever eat zombie meat. No matter how desperate you are!

Interview: Dead Island, “Never, Ever Eat Zombie Meat” is a post from: Rely on Horror

Jorge Bocanegra

The Big Cheese.

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Also, please check out his Facebook page here.

ROH: What were some of the greatest inspirations to creating Dead Space music? Dead Space has a musical style that switches between softness and loud, jarring, intense pieces at a sudden rate. What train of thought led to have music of this style?

JG: The main objective I wanted to achieve with the music for the whole Dead Space franchise is to scare the listener as much as possible. That may sound simple, but it is quite the contrary! The style switches you speak of, between soft and loud, is the key to keeping things fresh and changing it up. It’s the quiet pieces of music that make the loud ones seem that much scarier.

Along the same idea, I tried to make the music as abstract and “non-musical” as possible. I had an idea that the less recognizable the music was the scarier it would be. I didn’t want dark melodies or harmonies playing when you see a Necromorph, you know, some kind of theme or tune that you could hum.  The idea was that the music would be completely abstract, visceral and unrecognizable. It really acts more as a sound effect than music.

I think the perfect metaphor for the score is to compare it to the Necromorphs themselves.  They were originally human beings who have been transformed and mutated by some sort of virus. So I took a classical orchestra and transformed it into one giant musical Necromorph.

ROH: This is more of a question of the first soundtrack, but were there any vocals used in the first game soundtrack? Not as a prominent feature but some of the background audio of the song. To this day it still sounds like someone speaking gibberish in the background of some of the more “insane” pieces, like “Manual Survival Mode Seven” for an example. It can be hard to tell, but was this just clever use of instruments or was some of form of vocals that were used for effect in the music?

JG: Yes, there were some subtle uses of vocals in the first score. Most notably was the solo alto singing in various parts of the score. But there were also some full choir textures that appeared periodically. The piece you are specifically referring to does in fact have the choir in the background. However, they are not speaking gibberish. I gave them a list of words and phrases that has significant meaning to the first Dead Space and then instructed them to read them rapidly with intense, scary intonations. They only pop up here and there, but that’s what makes them so effective!

ROH: Was there any piece in the original Dead Space you were particularly proud of? Something that just sticks out in your mind as an accomplishment for yourself?

JG: Honestly, the entire score really feels like one big accomplishment for me personally. I’m sure it all makes sense and seems like a logical progression when you are listening to the final version, but in fact it was a day by day struggle to figure out the most effective way to continue scaring people over and over again. After a while, you tend to build up a thick skin! I guess that’s a good thing, because by the end of the game I think the music sounded a lot scarier than when I first started.

ROH: Isaac has more of a character in Dead Space 2 than he had in the original. Did this influence any choice scenes in the game and it’s music? Did the direction of Isaac facing this head-on rather than merely being thrown into circumstances beyond his control change the direction of the music as well?

JG: Absolutely. There was such a sense of vulnerability to Isaac in so many of the cut scenes. He was really more of an errand boy in the first game, and this time around he not only has a voice but a character arc as well.  I chose a string quartet to represent this side of Isaac. It has this intimate, emotional sound that is immediately recognizable without calling too much attention to itself. On the other hand, it can turn on a dime, twist itself up and scare you to death.

ROH: Given the amount of freedom you are given with composing, how often do you have to actually “tweak” a track or score to fit it in with the game?

JG: We had already laid a lot of groundwork going into Dead Space 2. EA and I both knew we wanted to essentially pick up where the first one left off, all the while keeping it fresh and not too repetitive.  However, I was working with an entire new audio team at EA. I was basically the only one left from the first game. But just as it was the first time around, everyone was a joy to work with and amazingly professional.

There were a few specific pieces of music I ended up doing some corrections on for Dead Space 2. One was the epic zero G set piece when you align the solar array.  What it really came down to was the fact that we wanted to tweak both the gameplay and how the music interacted with it once I had already delivered my tracks.  As far as corrections go, it was very easy and straightforward.

There was also a specific boss battle I wrote a track for. Once EA heard the music, they decided it would be perfect for a different boss battle I had not composed anything for you. So it was simply a matter of composing a second track for the original boss.

I think that was about it as far as corrections go! To be fair, every game is different. But I do try to work my hardest, listen to what the developer tells me they’re looking for and communicate with them as much as possible. That tends to keep my corrections list on any game very short.

ROH: We noticed you mentioned you took breaks between working on the music for Dead Space. So did the recording for Dead Space 2 got done in segments as well or did you go and record the tracks at one time?

JG: The recording sessions for Dead Space 2 were produced in the same way as the original game. The idea here is that the sounds and effects I’m using to build a score have to be recorded beforehand. I’m basically creating the puzzle pieces before I assemble the puzzle. We had three different recording sessions for Dead Space 2, each one around six months apart. I recorded the orchestra performing all these crazy effects and then returned to my studio with the recordings. I sift through everything, edit down, cut it up and use it to build the basis of everything here in the score.

ROH: A question we have to ask every composer. There are many instruments out there all with different uses and beats for different settings and soul, but if you had to pick a few favorites, what would your personal favorite instruments be?

JG: Well, I’m a drummer so naturally one of the first instruments I would pick would be some sort of a drum set or percussion instrument. However, I’ve also been playing piano for as long as I can remember. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an amazing pianist! But it is the main instrument I use for composition before I flush it out into the full orchestra. So if I had to take a few favorites, I would probably have to say a piano and a drum set.

ROH: Call this a curious question based on the recent Dead Space 2 advertising campaign, but do you believe your mom would hate Dead Space 2?

JG: Ha ha, I know for a fact that my mom would hate Dead Space 2! I took her to London last week for the world premiere of the game.  They unveiled the first fifteen minutes of gameplay and I got to watch her make faces and cover her eyes for most of it. I think it’s fair to say that most people’s moms are not the target demographic for Dead Space 2!

ROH: How many tracks return from Dead Space or Dead Space Extraction?

JG: Without giving too much away, there is a specific level in the game that has nothing but music from the original Dead Space. I was delighted when I heard of the audio director’s suggestion. I think it works really well in the game and provides a musical link between the original and the sequel.

ROH: Finally, is there anything you want to share with the fanbase, a comment/advice/anecdote/correction/criticism?

JG: Thanks for listening! Dead Space 2 is easily the biggest project I’ve worked on yet.  I would love to hear anyone’s thoughts on the score, both in the game or on the soundtrack release. I have a Facebook page, “Jason Graves Music,”  so please become a fan and tell me what you think!

Dead Space 2 Composer Interview is a post from: Rely on Horror

Dominik Mayr

Webmaster/Owner I got into Horror due to Resident Evil and had a fansite called "Resident Evil Horror" for almost 10 years. In late 2009, i decided to open the gates for other horror aswell. Here we are in 2011, Rely on Horror, trying hard to offer the best content in horror entertainment with a strong focus on games. I hope you enjoy your stay! ~ Dominik Mayr