@KateyKhaos: Can we have a short chat about the use of voice-filters to raise a skin's price?

5G8Nri0B54·1/24/2015, 10:25:13 PM·4 votes·2,627 views

As a customer we don't know much about the skin development process as skins don't get dev blogs the same way Capcom explains how a single SF character costs a bajillion dollars to create.

Therefore, any judgement we CAN make is based entirely on...

a) What you say b) What we get in-game

I'll take your word that altering a champion's voice can take hours of work to achieve perfection. I understand how** miniscule and trivial things can take WAY more work than a layman can possibly realize** (as someone learning to be a teacher, anyone saying teaching is an easy job should have their jaw broken)

BUT, and this is a semi-objective but here, the main problem I find about your use of voice filters is point b), what we get in-game. I feel that all that hardwork simply isn't as appreciable as snazzy new particles and animations are.

Let's look at animations/particles here. You can see them even if you have hearing difficulties, you can show them off by simply playing the game, sometimes it's an outright BUFF to the champion! (Pulsefire Ez's range increase, Blackfrost Anivia's AA animation being easier to work with, Mecha Kha'zix isolation being much easier to notice) With new particles and such, all that hardwork you guys put into designing them are there for all to see.

For voice filters, unless you're taunting/laughing you can't show it off. It's easily lost in an intense teamfight. And this is the objective part here, but you quickly zone it out unless the champion happens to say something really wacky and unforgettable in a specific context.

** e.g **- If Akali ever gets a Legendary skin, and when she buys Armor and Magic Penetration she says aloud "Alright Double Penetration baby!"

TL;DR - The work behind voice filters are not translated nearly as well as the work behind particles and animations as far as final product goes. You think there's a way to streamline the development of voice filters so that they can be cheaper? As a customer, seeing a cool skin go from 975 to 1350 RP is depressing just because you gave him/her smoke a pack of expensive tobacco.

PS - I am in LOVE with the idea of that Akali Legendary skin I just made up as an example. Please oh please make it happen along with that specific line. Now THERE is when all your work on champion voices can truly come to fruition.

8 Comments

Riotmoonstones1/25/2015, 9:10:20 PM5 votes

Hey there!

I think you're referring to what I'd said about Arclight Vel'Koz.

First things first, it's not voice a voice filter, it's voice processing. In Vel'Koz's case, our audio guys made the music/sound that is played behind his voice. After that part's done, it's mixed into Vel'Koz's base VO. Then, the audio guys spend time making sure the levels are okay, and the sounds aren't drowning out what the tentacle monster is trying to say.

We don't process every skin's voice because we reserve it for skins where the overall fantasy makes more sense if they sounded a bit different. Mecha is a prime example of this.

With that being said, that's not all that makes him a 1350 RP skin. He also has a suite of new sound effects that are different from his base.

You'll notice that when a champion has a bunch of new sounds, as opposed to a new model, texture and particles, it's often a 1350 RP skin. A couple examples of this would be Arcade Miss Fortune and Arcade Sona.

We've outlined a general guide for what kinds of new stuff each tier of will have included here.

Phife1/24/2015, 10:27:03 PM1 votes

if you have a voice in a template and want to alter it really only takes a matter of minutes to achieve what you want. Im a senior sound designer.

StevetheSkeleton1/25/2015, 6:20:21 AM1 votes

Bayonetta Akali skin is a go.