4 ms·

Arc Raiders and The Finals got some controversy lately for using AI voice acting. Those games don't have any "normal" vocal performances.

by tapoxi 11mo ago

antisthenes 11mo ago
Those games are shooter-slop anyway. I can't remember the last time I cared about voice lines in Quake or Unreal Tournament or any other multiplayer shooter. It's not an RPG or a rich-story genre game, so who cares.
- tapoxi 11mo ago
  Arc Raiders has NPCs in the game hub which deliver quests and exposition, its not entirely within the context of a raid.
- ryukoposting 11mo ago
  I kinda see your point. The warm feeling of knowing a real human told me "die, bitch!" isn't a feeling I've ever taken away from playing UT. On the other hand, lots of AI-generated VO is very easy to spot, and sounds awful. It stands to reason it could meaningfully take away from even a completely plot-free game. If I were a voice actor, I'd feel insulted that anyone would find it comparable to my work.
  - mikkupikku 11mo ago
    It really depends on the voice. For some reason, AI impersonations of Dagoth Ur are remarkably accurate even though Dagoth Ur has only a few sentences of dialogue. I've listened to several audiobooks made with his voice and they're very close to dead on, just with some cadence issues and occasional heterophone fumbling. Other voices cloned with the same tech are usually much worse. There's something about the nature of Dagoth Ur's voice in particular that makes it work well.
    - throwup238 11mo ago
      That’s what I’ve been missing in my life. Dagoth Ur reading Go the Fuck to Sleep to my kids.
    - nottorp 11mo ago
      I don't remember Dagoth Ur's voice but I'm guessing it had effects applied to it to sound ominous? So it was artificial already.
      - mikkupikku 11mo ago
        I could be wrong but I think it was just voice acting. However he sounds very eloquent speaks clearly with good pronunciation.
        nottorp 11mo ago
        No, if anyone is wrong it's me. I played Morrowind ages ago. I also have an OpenMW playthrough ongoing (for the last 4 years) but I haven't made it to Dagoth Ur yet :)
        antisthenes 11mo ago
        > I also have an OpenMW playthrough ongoing (for the last 4 years) but I haven't made it to Dagoth Ur yet :) You can make it to Dagoth Ur in about 4 minutes :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeSAOxCk8dY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeSAOxCk8dY
        nottorp 11mo ago
        Oh come on, it took longer than that to set up openmw on mac, extract the game files from the steam windows distribution and doing various config/plugin tweaks. Now I'm cleaning up the whole map as a leisurely pace. Now and then not every week. I might be done by 2028-29.
    - ryukoposting 11mo ago
- falcor84 11mo ago
  I don't know if that's what you were already referring to, but for me, the shout-outs for "Double Kill, Multi Kill, Ultra Kill, MONSTER KILL!!!" account at this stage for probably a majority of the nostalgia for the original Unreal Tournament. Of course it didn't hurt that the game was phenomenal and a great fit for its time, but still, I think that the quality of voice lines can make or break a game.
diath 11mo ago
Arc Raiders has 160k Steam reviews (which is a lot) and 90% of them are positive. It also has an estimated >4M owners despite a high price tag and is currently the #4 most played game on Steam globally. The AI nay-sayers are a vocal minority - and likely just terminally online Twitter people that do not even play the game, the rest of the players are too busy enjoying the game regardless of whether it's made with AI or not.
- meheleventyone 11mo ago
  I think it's more that the use of AI is in an unimportant part of the game. They could have zero AI voice overs without impacting the game in a meaningful manner. They're pretty bad though and I've definitely seen them getting mocked.
- myrmidon 11mo ago
  What do you mean by "high price"? "Normal" price for a AAA game is more like $60, and Arc is 40. Sure, indie/2D can be had for less (like Factorio or Silksong), but I would not expect an <$40 price tag for a 3D game like that. Helldivers 2 which services the same niche goes for the same price.
- nottorp 11mo ago
  Is that some multiplayer only thing? I bet no one listens to the "AI" voices, they have the game muted and chat on Discord with non AI generated humans...
knollimar 11mo ago
I haven't seem a game voice every fucking item pickup or mini location callout like arc raiders, so it's a quality win for me. I didn't care about the voice performance of "lets head to the olive grove" ever
Ferret7446 11mo ago
The only controversy was from the dying games journalism complex trying to manufacture the controversy to save their sinking ship of exploiting gamers and developers for their political activism. The sales figures herald their impending demise.

Arc Raiders and The Finals got some controversy lately for using AI voice acting. Those games don't have any "normal" vocal performances.

by tapoxi 11mo ago

Arc Raiders and The Finals got some controversy lately for using AI voice acting. Those games don't have any "normal" vocal performances.

antisthenes 11mo ago

Those games are shooter-slop anyway. I can't remember the last time I cared about voice lines in Quake or Unreal Tournament or any other multiplayer shooter. It's not an RPG or a rich-story genre game, so who cares.

tapoxi 11mo ago
Arc Raiders has NPCs in the game hub which deliver quests and exposition, its not entirely within the context of a raid.
ryukoposting 11mo ago
I kinda see your point. The warm feeling of knowing a real human told me "die, bitch!" isn't a feeling I've ever taken away from playing UT. On the other hand, lots of AI-generated VO is very easy to spot, and sounds awful. It stands to reason it could meaningfully take away from even a completely plot-free game. If I were a voice actor, I'd feel insulted that anyone would find it comparable to my work.
- mikkupikku 11mo ago
  It really depends on the voice. For some reason, AI impersonations of Dagoth Ur are remarkably accurate even though Dagoth Ur has only a few sentences of dialogue. I've listened to several audiobooks made with his voice and they're very close to dead on, just with some cadence issues and occasional heterophone fumbling. Other voices cloned with the same tech are usually much worse. There's something about the nature of Dagoth Ur's voice in particular that makes it work well.
  - throwup238 11mo ago
    That’s what I’ve been missing in my life. Dagoth Ur reading Go the Fuck to Sleep to my kids.
  - nottorp 11mo ago
    I don't remember Dagoth Ur's voice but I'm guessing it had effects applied to it to sound ominous? So it was artificial already.
    - mikkupikku 11mo ago
      I could be wrong but I think it was just voice acting. However he sounds very eloquent speaks clearly with good pronunciation.
      - nottorp 11mo ago
        No, if anyone is wrong it's me. I played Morrowind ages ago. I also have an OpenMW playthrough ongoing (for the last 4 years) but I haven't made it to Dagoth Ur yet :)
        antisthenes 11mo ago
        > I also have an OpenMW playthrough ongoing (for the last 4 years) but I haven't made it to Dagoth Ur yet :) You can make it to Dagoth Ur in about 4 minutes :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeSAOxCk8dY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeSAOxCk8dY
        nottorp 11mo ago
        Oh come on, it took longer than that to set up openmw on mac, extract the game files from the steam windows distribution and doing various config/plugin tweaks. Now I'm cleaning up the whole map as a leisurely pace. Now and then not every week. I might be done by 2028-29.
  - ryukoposting 11mo ago
falcor84 11mo ago
I don't know if that's what you were already referring to, but for me, the shout-outs for "Double Kill, Multi Kill, Ultra Kill, MONSTER KILL!!!" account at this stage for probably a majority of the nostalgia for the original Unreal Tournament. Of course it didn't hurt that the game was phenomenal and a great fit for its time, but still, I think that the quality of voice lines can make or break a game.

diath 11mo ago

Arc Raiders has 160k Steam reviews (which is a lot) and 90% of them are positive. It also has an estimated >4M owners despite a high price tag and is currently the #4 most played game on Steam globally. The AI nay-sayers are a vocal minority - and likely just terminally online Twitter people that do not even play the game, the rest of the players are too busy enjoying the game regardless of whether it's made with AI or not.

meheleventyone 11mo ago
I think it's more that the use of AI is in an unimportant part of the game. They could have zero AI voice overs without impacting the game in a meaningful manner. They're pretty bad though and I've definitely seen them getting mocked.
myrmidon 11mo ago
What do you mean by "high price"? "Normal" price for a AAA game is more like $60, and Arc is 40. Sure, indie/2D can be had for less (like Factorio or Silksong), but I would not expect an <$40 price tag for a 3D game like that. Helldivers 2 which services the same niche goes for the same price.
nottorp 11mo ago
Is that some multiplayer only thing? I bet no one listens to the "AI" voices, they have the game muted and chat on Discord with non AI generated humans...

knollimar 11mo ago

I haven't seem a game voice every fucking item pickup or mini location callout like arc raiders, so it's a quality win for me. I didn't care about the voice performance of "lets head to the olive grove" ever

Ferret7446 11mo ago

The only controversy was from the dying games journalism complex trying to manufacture the controversy to save their sinking ship of exploiting gamers and developers for their political activism. The sales figures herald their impending demise.