@Riot - Voice Overs

Oleandervine·Sep 21, 2016·1 votes·3,506 views

I'm curious. Why wouldn't it be possible for you guys to invest some effort and energy into fleshing out or replacing the vocals on slightly older champs like Ashe, Lissandra, Karma, and Trundle in order to bring these champs that look good and have good kits into modern audio standards? If Legendary and Ultimate skins can completely replace the voices of champions, then why couldn't similar energies be invested in making the basic roster sound just as good as new champions and skins?

9 Comments

RiotVonderhamzSep 21, 20165 votes

This question comes up quite a bit - It's something we would love to do! I'd love to go in and update old sounds and particles and all that too. The reality is that right now, we just don't have the bandwidth to accomplish something like that in audio, and a few other areas too. I'm in audio, so I've gone through the process a few times.

To revamp the VO of a champ, we'd need to write a new script, make sure it still feels like the champ, find a record date with a voice actor, get a studio and record, edit recordings, process them, send the way we processed them out to localization, implement them in game and make sure everything works the way we intend it to, make sure everything gets localized in a ton of languages, and more. There's a ton of people that are involved in something like this. Doing the VO for a new champ or Legendary skin actually takes a few months!

So this is why I love the Champ-Up team. Any time they do a full rework they do all of this. It's actually a ton of fun watch them search for the perfect actor for a champ and then test out a ton of different lines.

OleandervineSep 21, 20161 votes

{quoted}

This question comes up quite a bit - It's something we would love to do! I'd love to go in and update old sounds and particles and all that too. The reality is that right now, we just don't have the bandwidth to accomplish something like that in audio, and a few other areas too. I'm in audio, so I've gone through the process a few times.

To revamp the VO of a champ, we'd need to write a new script, make sure it still feels like the champ, find a record date with a voice actor, get a studio and record, edit recordings, process them, send the way we processed them out to localization, implement them in game and make sure everything works the way we intend it to, make sure everything gets localized in a ton of languages, and more. There's a ton of people that are involved in something like this. Doing the VO for a new champ or Legendary skin actually takes a few months!

So this is why I love the Champ-Up team. Any time they do a full rework they do all of this. It's actually a ton of fun watch them search for the perfect actor for a champ and then test out a ton of different lines.

Thank you for your input! I figured it went with ChampUp, but my concern in that regard is that champions who currently don't need major VGUs will essentially be backburnered indefinitely and won't ever receive any touch up work until the many years later when they become the new Urgot or Galio; are there any plans for ChampUp to do some side work that isn't full scale VGUs for the less needy champions?

UltîmaSep 21, 20162 votes

Except that sometimes even VGU's don't get voice-over updates (looking at you Fiora and Shen). These characters got full-scale reworks with regards to gameplay, art and audio except for the line recordings. They even got new lore, but nothing in that department. Are they basically just never going to get expanded lines to match the quality of newer champions?

I'm only asking because - like you said - Legendary skins get their share of new scripts. Why not the champions?

Edit: I don't even know how many times I've asked this question over the years now (Since MF's rework and lore event which gave her no new lines), I guess this'll never get answered.

SecondComingSep 22, 20161 votes

{quoted}

This question comes up quite a bit - It's something we would love to do! I'd love to go in and update old sounds and particles and all that too. The reality is that right now, we just don't have the bandwidth to accomplish something like that in audio, and a few other areas too. I'm in audio, so I've gone through the process a few times.

To revamp the VO of a champ, we'd need to write a new script, make sure it still feels like the champ, find a record date with a voice actor, get a studio and record, edit recordings, process them, send the way we processed them out to localization, implement them in game and make sure everything works the way we intend it to, make sure everything gets localized in a ton of languages, and more. There's a ton of people that are involved in something like this. Doing the VO for a new champ or Legendary skin actually takes a few months!

So this is why I love the Champ-Up team. Any time they do a full rework they do all of this. It's actually a ton of fun watch them search for the perfect actor for a champ and then test out a ton of different lines.

I see. It is something that should be definitely done someday though imho. It feels really unfair for the champs who barely say a line (Miss Fortune, Alistar, Vladimir, etc) compared to the new releases/big updates/legendary-epic skins. I'm pretty sure everyone or at least the overwhelming majority (99,99%) of the playerbase would like that.

GaleWinUnleashedSep 21, 20162 votes

Well if you're aiming to add new audio to champs that already have good kits, you'd better leave Karma out of the list.

[slayer-jinx-catface]

OleandervineSep 21, 20161 votes

{quoted}

Well if you're aiming to add new audio champs that already have good kits, you'd better leave Karma out of the list.

[slayer-jinx-catface]

She doesn't need new audio - mostly. She just feels incomplete. She needs lines for some Ionian champions considering she's the leader of Ionia.

L RayquazaSep 21, 20161 votes

Well, Karma and Trundle got full relaunches in.....2012, just before and after Lissandra came out respectively, here are even their original champ spotlights https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1CIWW1MEbUY https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7UJr0TWR6vo

I miss old Karma jungle, and I still use Traditional Trundle anytime I play him, but these two were my jungle picks season 2, still play Trundle here and there, not Karma as much anymore

Ionian StarChildSep 21, 20161 votes

Karma never needed a new voice actor. I thought the previous one embodied so much of what she represents as a character and what fantasy she offers; a calm and experienced combatant in both politics and warfare (new Karma). At the end of the day though, it's Riot that makes the call based on their vision for their game, and I'm at peace with that. However, I agree that it's time to update some of the champions, including Karma, as far as their voice overs go. They need new lines that breathes life into their character and lore, like how most of the new champions have lines that reflects not only their lore but their relationships with other champions.

OleandervineSep 21, 20162 votes

[{quoted}](name=Ionian StarChild,realm=NA,application-id=6kFXY1kR,discussion-id=dUTWB4Aq,comment-id=0001,timestamp=2016-09-21T04:44:20.756+0000)

Karma never needed a new voice actor. I thought the previous one embodied so much of what she represents as a character and what fantasy she offers; a calm and experienced combatant in both politics and warfare (new Karma). At the end of the day though, it's Riot that makes the call based on their vision for their game, and I'm at peace with that. However, I agree that it's time to update some of the champions, including Karma, as far as their voice overs go. They need new lines that breathes life into their character and lore, like how most of the new champions have lines that reflects not only their lore but their relationships with other champions.

I actually love the current VO for Karma, I love the infusion of 90s Storm from The X-Men cartoons with Gaia from Captain Planet; that being said, her voice lines feel incomplete.