According to Baldur's Gate 3 actress, players value voice actors far more than developers do

The Golden Joystick Awards took place this year. Besides the standard award ceremony, we could, of course, count on many interesting insights and comments from industry professionals. Among them was Samantha Béart, known for her role as Karlach in Baldur’s Gate 3.

Loved by players, ignored by developers

The actress shared her thoughts on the role and importance of voice actors in the video game industry and how they fit into the game-making process. Their role is limited to recording lines (some also participate in motion capture recordings, like Neil Newbon, but this is not standard). Since they're only involved occasionally, they're not really seen as part of the core development team.

That's why it seems they are not entitled to any special privileges that could assist them in further promotion and career development. Voice actors have to rely on self-promotion to have a better chance of making a name for themselves, which seems strange considering the respect they enjoy among fans.

Voice acting is definitely all the rage right now. You can really see it by how interested people are in these offers when they're signing up for modding projects. No other job in such a project seems to be as highly sought after as this one.

This is undoubtedly related to the immense satisfaction that often accompanies the opportunity to hear a character speak with our own voice. It's a rewarding profession, but it's not very structured, which means there aren't clear standards and there's a lot of room for misuse, especially now that AI is becoming more prominent in the market.

Baldur's Gate 3

August 3, 2023

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• gaming industry
• Larian Studios
• Baldur's Gate (franchise)