Thursday, December 29, 2011

Star Wars: The Voice Acting Republic

Preface: I have been playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, an MMORPG by Bioware that launched on December 20, 2011. This post pertains to certain voice actors used in the game.



I have restarted the bounty hunter quest-line several times -- either because I didn't like a choice I made, I rolled on another server, or otherwise -- and each time, I keep coming to the same conclusions: the Male Bounty Hunter voice acting is credited incorrectly on several websites.

I've looked around, and it seems that early discussions indicated that Steven Blum (who also voices a several other characters in the game) was confirmed as the Male Bounty Hunter voice...but then I found that the credit on a few websites (such as IMDB) is being given to someone I hadn't heard of -- Tom Spackman -- who is basically a watered-down Don LaFontaine (the "movie voice guy").

None of the voice-acting lists I've seen have been fully confirmed, and I tend to treat IMDB as I would Wikipedia -- that is, don't trust it unless I hear it from the horse's mouth. But I am curious to find out if anyone else thinks that the voice is Steven Blum emulating David Hayter (who also worked on voices in the game).

Here are some clips the demonstrate my point:


Steven Blum
as Spike Spiegel from "Cowboy Bebop"





David Hayter
as Solid Snake from "Metal Gear Solid" (various titles)





SW:TOR Gameplay
on Hutta, the Bounty Hunter starting zone
(discussion starts at the 8:40 mark)





And finally a link to the page of the alleged voice actor
Tom Spackman



I mean, it's still early, so people are trying to attach names to voices (and so-on) but I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! I listen to the snark and tone, and hear a combination of Spike and Snake. The playable character is a Bounty Hunter and a Mercenary, which SCREAMS to be an homage to both of those characters.


Anyway, just a passing thought I thought I'd share!