I’ll give you that it’s probably the best way to do it, I still don’t think it should be done. They can frame it as a way to “honor their work” and all, but at the end of the day, they’re still using it for a commercial product and they have a distinct profit motive to have it sound like the original VA instead of hiring someone new.
This is literally an example of AI taking someone’s job. Without the use of the AI model, they would either have to disuse the character and pay a writer to make that make narrative sense or pay someone else to do the voice.
Yeah, I can see that. And it’s good they sought permission from and compensated the family, too.
Though I worry there’s some sneaky clause about them getting to use his voice and likeness in perpetuity or something, because that seems to be the way media production is going. I worry about the precedent it sets and if clauses requiring permission for this kind of action will become boilerplate in voice actor agreements.
I get it’s a challenge for media production teams of all kinds when talent dies and I see how the AI model offers a solution to this, but I’m not comfortable with its use, personally. Though, the world will change without my explicit permission plenty.
The point of video game development is to produce a video game for people to play. It is not to make video games as expensive as possible and create a maximum amount of make-work, employing as many people as possible.
Otherwise, heck, go build models for areas that one never actually sees, because that would require more modeling work. Build the sets in reality and record sound on them, because that would require construction workers. Disallow the graphic artists from using computers to do their work, because it requires more graphic artist work to create the artwork using only pre-computer techniques. There are an infinite number of ways to generate greater labor requirements in making a game; there’s nothing unique about synthesis of a character’s voice. The game might cost thousands of dollars a copy, but its creation would, no doubt, employ a great many people.
I dunno about all that. They’re not making a video game for the sake of our entertainment, it’s not some artistic altruism, it’s to sell a product and make money. It’s just one of the many avenues to do so.
What you’ve said is hyperbolic and ridiculous. What you’re talking about making is a movie, and, yeah, professionally built sets and models tend to look nicer on the screen than CGI.
And while there’s probably precedent for synthesizing a dead person’s likeness for use in commercial media, it’s still fucking weird to me.
I mean, it sounds like you care more about the job than about the art piece. Just because writing out the character wouldn’t necessarily be good (especially without Voice lines to involve the character!), and nobody is ever happy about a recast.
I think given the circumstances any of the options would be acceptable, including the one that Saphophyte described, just because no matter which option was chosen someone was leaving the table unhappy.
Yeah, I think, in general, I’d say the livelihoods of people matter more to me than media and art.
That said, you’re right that it’s hard to think of a solution to talent dying before the end of a project that both completes the project to it’s original intent and makes everyone happy.
I’ll give you that it’s probably the best way to do it, I still don’t think it should be done. They can frame it as a way to “honor their work” and all, but at the end of the day, they’re still using it for a commercial product and they have a distinct profit motive to have it sound like the original VA instead of hiring someone new.
This is literally an example of AI taking someone’s job. Without the use of the AI model, they would either have to disuse the character and pay a writer to make that make narrative sense or pay someone else to do the voice.
I think one reason I’m ok with it is because that character already existed and had a voice, and this is an update.
If they made a new game and synthesized his voice for a new character instead of hiring someone new then I’d have more of an issue.
Yeah, I can see that. And it’s good they sought permission from and compensated the family, too.
Though I worry there’s some sneaky clause about them getting to use his voice and likeness in perpetuity or something, because that seems to be the way media production is going. I worry about the precedent it sets and if clauses requiring permission for this kind of action will become boilerplate in voice actor agreements.
I get it’s a challenge for media production teams of all kinds when talent dies and I see how the AI model offers a solution to this, but I’m not comfortable with its use, personally. Though, the world will change without my explicit permission plenty.
The point of video game development is to produce a video game for people to play. It is not to make video games as expensive as possible and create a maximum amount of make-work, employing as many people as possible.
Otherwise, heck, go build models for areas that one never actually sees, because that would require more modeling work. Build the sets in reality and record sound on them, because that would require construction workers. Disallow the graphic artists from using computers to do their work, because it requires more graphic artist work to create the artwork using only pre-computer techniques. There are an infinite number of ways to generate greater labor requirements in making a game; there’s nothing unique about synthesis of a character’s voice. The game might cost thousands of dollars a copy, but its creation would, no doubt, employ a great many people.
I dunno about all that. They’re not making a video game for the sake of our entertainment, it’s not some artistic altruism, it’s to sell a product and make money. It’s just one of the many avenues to do so.
What you’ve said is hyperbolic and ridiculous. What you’re talking about making is a movie, and, yeah, professionally built sets and models tend to look nicer on the screen than CGI.
And while there’s probably precedent for synthesizing a dead person’s likeness for use in commercial media, it’s still fucking weird to me.
I mean, it sounds like you care more about the job than about the art piece. Just because writing out the character wouldn’t necessarily be good (especially without Voice lines to involve the character!), and nobody is ever happy about a recast.
I think given the circumstances any of the options would be acceptable, including the one that Saphophyte described, just because no matter which option was chosen someone was leaving the table unhappy.
Yeah, I think, in general, I’d say the livelihoods of people matter more to me than media and art.
That said, you’re right that it’s hard to think of a solution to talent dying before the end of a project that both completes the project to it’s original intent and makes everyone happy.