If in the cinema it is the actors who become divi, in video games the attention is all for the characters. This, at least, until recently. In the last decade, the growing quality of digital acting, the improvement of motion capture and dubbing, and the interest of fans for every detail of the creative process, have changed the rules of the game: Today who gives voice and body to virtual heroes finally have a face. And a fanbase.
The success that overwhelmed the cast of Baldur’s Gate 3, the role -playing game of 2023 inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. Astarion, CuoreScuro, Lae’zel are characters who entered the legs tense in the collective imagination thanks also to the performance of actors such as Neil Newbon, Jennifer English and Devora Wilde, Today real icons of the videogame sector. Just think that, at the last edition of Milan Games Week, there were long rows of fans, willing to pay from 80 to 100 euros to have autograph and selfies of the supermented actors. But Baldur’s Gate 3 does not represent an exception. From Troy Baker (The Last of Us, Death Stranding 2) to the cast of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33the videogame sector is experiencing a new awareness by the public: behind the digital characters there are actors in flesh and blood, with increasingly recognizable stories, faces and skills.
And in Italy? Despite the great tradition in dubbing, our country still seems behind in enhancing the voices that populate video games. To deepen the theme and understand how the videogame dubbing in Italy really works, Fanpage.it interviewed Federico Violaone of the reference figures in the sector. His is the voice of iconic protagonists such as Eivor in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and V in Cyberpunk 2077.
The video game in which Italian monuments become monsters, Ivan: “I’ll tell you how Stonemachia was born”
Video games dubbing | The actresses and actors behind the characters of Baldur’s Gate 3.
How are Italian voice actors placed compared to foreign ones in videogame production?
In Italy the same level of recognition as the American or Japanese voice actors is not reached. I mention in particular the Japanese, because in the Japanese culture There is a culteven exaggerated in some cases, of the voice actors. They are considered superstars.
Why doesn’t the same happen in Italy?
We do not have a productive culture not only for video games, but also for cinema and animation series. What little we produce remains in the national borders. In Italy, the most recognizable productions are imported from abroad. America and Japan are the main markets, but lately many countries are investing in the videogame sector. Poland comes to mind with The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, or France with Clair Obscur and plague such. Abroad the voice actor is often involved in the production process. It contributes to characterizing a character created from scratch.
No longer only with the voice, among other things
Yes, for ten to five years now, the actor lends not only the voice, but also the body, through Motion Capture. So it is part of the video game itself. Instead, we buy the products and locate themlet’s take something that has already been done by someone else. We recite and reinterpret only and exclusively for the Italian public.
Video games dubbing | Motion Capture (or Mocap) is a technology that records the movement of people or objects to create digital animations. Here Melina Juergens plays Senua of Hellblade.
It is not obvious, given that the Italian language often lacks video games. How come?
As a company, it is decided to dub and locate a video game if, from market analyzes, it will sell, will not sell, will sell a lot, or will not sell enough to justify a further economic effort. In this case, Italy represents a small market. In addition, it is increasingly downgraded from the attractive point of view of companies, not only because we do not produce, but because we buy less and less. This leads to localized video games without Italian language, not only in dubbing but also in texts. And it’s serious.
Why do we find ourselves in this situation?
There is no culture of institutional support that instead I see in other countries, such as Germany, France, Poland, the United Kingdom. The video game is an art form, which is inconceivable in Italy. I resume the example of Clair Obscur: Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic, publicly turned the congratulations to the Sandfall Interactive Studio for having contributed to spreading French culture through the videogame medium. In Italy it is unthinkable that a politician can speak well of video games.
In our country they are often demonized
Or the other vision predominant concerns video games as a pastime for children. We are a very old and backward countrytherefore the conception remained truly in the seventies. He has never evolved, while video games yes, a lot. In this, the public must also do its part.
What do you mean?
As a consumer I purchase a video game at full price at launch or aspect that the price drops in the following months, without various tricks to pay less, because I want to support that video game. This is an unthinkable culture for the average Italian, which must save as much as possible. On the one hand it is understandable, given that Italy is experiencing various problems on the economic front, starting from stopping wages.
Video games dubbing | The congratulations on Instagram of President Macron in Sandall Interactive, the study based in Montpellier who created Clair Obscur: Expedition 33.
You can see that you are very taken from these themes
I speak above all as a video gamer, because I am even before the voice actor. On the contrary, It was my passion for video games since I was brought to know the world of dubbing. So having a video game that speaks your language, it changes to me a lot. Video games, films, TV and animation series are all the products we use to experience emotions. Being empathetic with characters who speak your language is simpler and more powerful. Approach cultures.
We talked about cultural and economic differences. What changes on the technical front instead of foreign productions?
Actually very little, because The dubbing of video games is standardized. It has not changed compared to its origins, when, with the advent of 3D graphics in the nineties, and therefore with the principle that then led to the current photojournalism, the characters needed a voice.
Can you explain to us the difference compared to the dubbing of the more traditional media?
In the films you will duplicate your character, which you will see, you will feel, of which you will have a script adapted and translated by a dubbing adapter. Ditto for TV series and animation. The dubbing in the video game, on the other hand, is done while it is still in production. This is because the recent titles are hundreds of times larger than even ten years ago and require a very long amount of work. For the dubbing of Cyberpunk 2077, we took more than a year. Ditto for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, it was a huge job.
What happens inside the dubbing studies for video games?
When we dub video games, we don’t see anything. We only have the lines of dialogue that have already been engraved by the original voice actor. This applies all over the world. I make the example of Cyberpunk 2077: English was the basic language, for which the Anglophone voice actor played the character without having references, indeed he created them with the help of the Durse Director, a figure who supports with the acting and directs the actor in the creation of the character, who then must be maintained for all lines of dialogue. The other languages then adapt to this version.
Video games dubbing | Federico Viola is the Italian voice of V, a male protagonist of Cyberpunk 2077. The original voice is instead of Gavin Drea, Irish actor.
What is the essential element for making a good videogame dubbing?
A great knowledge of the product by the Durse Director is needed, because When there is no visual reference, they must tell you. You have to interpret something by imagining the world that will be, the people you will talk to, even at what distances.
How much does it help you in your work to be a video game?
To me personally a lot. They are also quite updated on how the sector moves and on new outings, so often when they call me I know very well what I am going to meet. This helps me to imagine better what I can’t see later. Having said that, It is not mandatory to be a video game for dubbing video games.
By now your voice is recognizable, what is your relationship with the public?
For a period I was invited to the comic and nerd culture fairs around Italy. On these occasions I have had the opportunity to meet many people, who though They recognized me more for my roles in Japanese animation than for video games. Not only for the discussion made at the beginning that does not allow to obtain recognition, but also for the fact that video games have a higher aging rate than other productions.
Meaning what?
As soon as the title comes out, everyone talks about it, everyone plays us, but then we move on to something else. Video games bring visibility on the spot, but then leave the time they find for me.
What is the most beautiful thing for you to dub a video game?
If you watch a movie and suddenly remove the volume, you stay the actor. If you do the same thing as you look at a cartoon or play a video game, it remains a drawing or a pixel cluster. The voice allows you to give soul to intangible characters.
