Voice Acting in games - breaks or makes it?

CodeCell

Hi Hello,

I am someone who has to make something special or unique. My current Ipad game is coming along, still months away, but it was missing that characteristics a player could connect or relate to. Since the game is quite atmospheric, I thought to myself, should I be spending the extra money to get voice acting done. My initial thoughts were that it could only improve the gaming experience. The voice acting follows a story or as guide, similar to what is done with portal 2. They sort of entertain why telling and guiding the player through the game.

Then I tried a few Gamesalad games that claim they do voice acting and I was shocked. Almost all the games were deleted. It just broke the game and lowered the quality.

Is it worth the risk, or play it safe and just put text boxes in or none at all. Anything that has been done well or I should avoid doing?
Or am I the only one who thinks like this and people really just dislike voice acting.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

See our game Puck It we do play by play in it. Anything you do in a game should be done well or not done at all. Would you want to listen to terrible annoying voices in a game? Be advised sound files can take up lots of MB so be frugal with how much you put in.

Hopscotch

@CodeCell said:

Or am I the only one who thinks like this and people really just dislike voice acting.

People react deeply to the human voice in games and it usually draws you them in, connects with them, and gives the game character.

It is a double edged sword though, it has to be done well.

If the voice sounds unsympathetic or irritating (which can be subjective and differ from person to person), it can break your game.

Armelline

If it's done well it can be extremely effective. But I play 95% of games with the mute button on so I'm not the best person to ask