The Jimquisition: Performance Matters

As someone working in the game industry, this rings very true. There's a lot of work for voice actors to take on, even while working on multiple projects (And even across mediums). But I didn't have the time or energy to bounce around on different game projects while doing contract work myself. Hell, if I even tried to do something on my own, I had to make sure that the project was started before my start date at a company and wouldn't conflict with my employment at the time as a competing product. However, if a project fails I could've been out of a job. If it succeeds, I saw nothing extra. Maybe some cake on a Friday and some small glasses of champagne. The only bonuses handed out to the employees I've worked with and myself were for recognition of the extra dedication to the team. Spending extra hours to wrap up a feature, taking on more responsibility than my job description states. I understand the concern, but let's not shirk the devs outright. Are voice actors the very paramount of examples we should be discussing here?

ALBINO LULLABY, NOW I HAVE TO BUY IT!

Sorry Jim but i have to disagree on this one. Sure we can all agree that voice actors should be treated fairly and that they often offer valuable contributions to games, but thats not really what this is about. This is about actors getting special treatment over the rest of the dev team. Voice talent is hired on contract basis – not as full time employees, and once they have fulfilled their job they dont have to worry about getting canned or the studio shutting down etc. Their are not working for years and years on something that might not turn out in the end and dont have to suffer with that amount of pressure and stress that a regular dev in a studio is under (trust me, ive been there and done that). Working in games can be great but its also hard as fuck and you never know whats actually going on or how things are gonna pan out. Voice actors can swoop in and do the job and get out without most of that grief. Should they be entitled to a bonus for an entire project, after a month or less of recording because they have a strong union? And dont get me started on how non-union devs cant keep lines recorded early on in the process in the final game because of union restrictions. This practice is actively hindering game development and causing further grief. Yes im sure that you can find examples of voice actors being treated unfairly but giving them a mandatory bonus wont fix that. Plenty of regular devs are getting the shaft too. This is a misguided campaign and you should enlighten rather than jump on band wagons. Keep it up regardless!

Soren Andersen

I think the noise may be an action figure banging Abe's arse, which sadly isn't something I get to say every day.