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Playing a Klingon
colonelmarik
Member Posts: 2,200 Arc User
I've played this game a good long time, but it's been a long while since I played through most of the early missions. Boy, I'd forgotten how AWFUL the acting is in this game.
I mean, every single klingon sounds like a barking dog. They're all closing off the back of the throat and grunting their lines with pursed lips. It sounds ridiculous (and tiresome), and it's not even what klingons sound like. In the entire history of Star Trek, dating back to Kor in Errand of Mercy, there's been perhaps 3 or 4 who spoke the way they're ALL doing in the game.
It's the same with the Ferengi, all squeaking like Grand Nagus Zek, instead of speaking normally, the way EVERY other Ferengi in the history of the show has done.
Then there's all the villain characters, from Dr. Cooper, to every Vorta in the game, and on and on. They should all have moustaches to twirl like Snidely Whiplash, because their lines are all delivered with melodramatic pauses and emphasis. Even Denise Crosby's work is that way, sounding like an adult reading a fairy tale to a small child.
As an actor myself, I'm pained by these performances. Perhaps they should go back and rerecord these.
I mean, every single klingon sounds like a barking dog. They're all closing off the back of the throat and grunting their lines with pursed lips. It sounds ridiculous (and tiresome), and it's not even what klingons sound like. In the entire history of Star Trek, dating back to Kor in Errand of Mercy, there's been perhaps 3 or 4 who spoke the way they're ALL doing in the game.
It's the same with the Ferengi, all squeaking like Grand Nagus Zek, instead of speaking normally, the way EVERY other Ferengi in the history of the show has done.
Then there's all the villain characters, from Dr. Cooper, to every Vorta in the game, and on and on. They should all have moustaches to twirl like Snidely Whiplash, because their lines are all delivered with melodramatic pauses and emphasis. Even Denise Crosby's work is that way, sounding like an adult reading a fairy tale to a small child.
As an actor myself, I'm pained by these performances. Perhaps they should go back and rerecord these.
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This game needs detailed crafting, exploration and interaction systems.
This game needs detailed crafting, exploration and interaction systems.
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Comments
Grunting Klingons are just so frustrating to hear constantly.
Same with the "adult reading a fairy tale to a small child." It's so immersion breaking fighting big battles while being treated with exaggerated voice intonations and other completely cringe lines.
This is futuristic space war, ships full of crew being obliterated by the dozen in the most violent of ways, over and over. "Keep Fighting!" Like, yeah thanks, I almost forgot, good thing mommy drill sergent is there to spoon feed the obvious.
"They'll Take a Miiinutee to Commee Baaaaaaaaack!." Okaaaaay thanks, glad the crazy Terrans are regrouping after vaporizing them all to dust, and for the reassurance they will do so with so much certainty and enthusiasm lest our limited attention spans go elsewhere!
after hearing it enough times it begins to sound like Kermit Here, personally I think Hakeev's voice acting is perfection, I just love how he chews up every scene he's in.
Got to remember that they revamped the early missions.
As for Zek, his 'squeaking' is most likely a product of age. He was literally the only 'elder' Ferengi we ever saw.
Acting and voice acting are very different things, something I wonder if VA directors understand, but I also agree they are just doing it wrong. They often come off as caricatures and overdone stereotypes rather than believable.
That's the thing - Voice Acting requires a bit of a different acting skill set and some good TV/Movie actors just don't have a knack/can't make the adjustment well. <--- there's also times when a good voice director can REALLY make a difference and help such an actor find their VA 'voice'.
I have to think that in the beginning Cryptic was just happy to have an actual Star trek actor agree and show up; and as a result, I don't think whomever was doing the voice direction (if there really was any) was just cheerleading to keep the actor's spirits up. (IE - No matter how they read the line - the Director's response was "That's GREAT! - thanks.")
It could also be the type of lines because there are a few scenes where Denise Crosby does okay to great; but yeah overall her intonation and overall delivery are poor to absolutely abysmal.
but yeah, overall I have to believe it's a combination of poor voice acting ability and really poor voice direction for a lot of it.
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Some others were variable in quality but not to the same extreme as Worf.
I do think that the actors for Gowron, Grilka, Kahless, K'mtar, Kurn, L'Rell, Martok, Sirella, and Tenavik all did a very good recreation of what they (or somebody else in the case of Kahless and Tenavik) did in the show. Gowron and Martok were especially good.
The voice acting for the STO original Aakar (obviously), J'mpok, J'Ula, Kagran, and Koren are all well done. Other recurring and one-off Klingons are not so good though.
Norway and Yeager dammit... I still want my Typhoon and Jupiter though.
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Does he have range to pull it off though and not end having every Klingon sound the same as result, he's a good actor sure but it takes a special kind of actor to play various roles that interact with each other and not have it seem like you're talking to yourself.
Remember what Sam Witwer himself said in Ten Foward stream, it's not just a voice but rest of the character as well that's needed for a truly good performance (which why Sam Wiwer was glad to have had Kenneth Mitchell coach him on Tenavik).
I'd say Koren suffers from the "a warrior must always be angry" stereotype I mentioned, though when she's allowed to show other emotions she's well done. J'Ula also suffers a bit from that though not as much as Koren, probably as it makes more sense for J'Ula to sound angry.
Worst offenders of the "always angry" stereotype are either generic NPCs (seriously why does a shopkeeper sound like they're about to bury a met'leth in my head not ask what I want from the shop) or earlier Cryptic originals like Torg or B'Vat.
I second Sam's sentiment wholeheartedly. You want to talk about someone who embodies the warrior spirit, take a good look at Kenneth Mitchell. Major league Qapla' to that man.
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True but your typical generic Klingon not that different from Torg, instead of sounding more like Chang. It kind of diminishes the "danger factor" of your typical Klingon opponent when they sound like a blustering fool, who is so incompetent you almost feel sorry for him.
Gorkon managed to sound dangerous without sounding angry.