Funny you should bring up Gabriel Knight. I was just thinking of that myself. Tim Curry's GK1 is noticeably different than his GK3, and there were only about five years between those two games. I wouldn't envy Farmer and Jameson if they DID have to try to reprise their roles after this long. They're not Sam & Max -- they're two guys who voiced Sam & Max 13 years ago, with a lot of other voice work in between!
(And as an aside - GK2 is my favorite of the series, also. )
GK2 the best? Uh oh, now I'm scared
I'm just not a fan of live action games I guess, I thought the first one was the best, and the 3rd was good, and I played and beat 2, but it was my least favorite of the 3.
Great story telling in that series though, its a shmame Seirra only makes SWAT games now.
Didn't the original actors do the voices for the Freelance Police trailer? If it was them, the 13 years passing argument is bull. If not, Telltale should hire those guys.
Unless by some odd method, LEC was able to piece together the voices from Hit the Road.
Unless by some odd method, LEC was able to piece together the voices from Hit the Road.
Hey! Isn't it possible to synthetisize someone's voice from two minutes of recorded speech nowdays? Let's rip their voices from the original game and generate the dialogue on computers!
Didn't the original actors do the voices for the Freelance Police trailer? If it was them, the 13 years passing argument is bull. If not, Telltale should hire those guys.
It was the 'original voices' in the Freelance Police trailer, and yess, they still sounded like Sam & Max 11 years later.
As far as getting Farmer & Jameson back, I'd hazard a guess that the money sitting in the Lucas Empire vault is a tad more than in the coffee jar at Telltale.
Also it's a huge commitment for an established actor (especially one as busy as Jameson seems to be, what with his role on LOST, etc) to be available every month or so to record a new game dialogue. So maybe it wasn't money, but simply scheduling impossibilities that has meant the former voice actors are unavailable this time around.
If Telltale do end up casting actors who don't work out so well, at least we know they're not squeamish about giving them the axe before the next episode is out! [>:)] )
Hey JP why can't telltale tell us why they couldnt get farmer & jameson tho? if it was because of scheduling conflicts..or didnt have the budget to include them..you wouldn't think it would hurt to let everyone know :-/
There's always a reason behind why someone does or doesn't want to do something...
But, HieroHero, depending on the reasoning, it could/would be unprofessional of Telltale to publish details of the negotiataions with Farmer & Jameson.
And everything I'v eseen so far from the company shows me they would and do not deal in anything less than a totally professional manner at al times.
I figured the silent majority should speak up here too
I will admit to my own initial disgust at the voices in the trailer, but that was purely because they weren't the voices I was used to hearing. The ones in my head were apparently from the TV show, because I reinstalled "Hit the Road" and they sounded wrong too.
So I took a while to think, paced around for a few hours and then listened to the trailer again with a more open mind and I have to admit that Sam's voice is right on.
But as more people have pointed out in this thread, Max still needs a bit of work. I think what sells the little rabbity thing in the previous incarnations is that he speaks faster and in a higher pitch, it kinda suits his smaller size. Like how small dogs yap in a higher tone than the big ones.
I also have to say that I love the kind of...slobbering quality that Max' voice has in "Hit the Road". It really does sound like he's spitting out the words and I love the juxtaposition of the inherent cuteness in that tone of voice to the threats of doom and death in the actual words he says.
In my mind, Max is supposed to look and talk cute and cuddly, but actually act more like the Killer Rabbit from Monty Python.
That Killer Rabbit was funny. I see a toy company (can't remember who) recently made a plush toy of the killer bunny. It looked like a lame old plush toy, but when you opened its gaping mouth it had all these huge teeth and a flippen' HUGE cavity for a mouth.
Ok everyone, lets all come to some common conclusions here:
I dont care what anyone here says, i bet you, with 99.9% certency, that those voices in the trailer will be the voices of Sam & Max in the new game series, so we can all quit saying "I think so and so should do so and so".
As for things like timing and volume of voices. Well, it was pretty obvious by watching that trailer, that it was made to be a trailer.
Those graphcis were more than likely gameplay, but I dont think any of it was actual game play footage. So to say the timing was off there, is kinda pointless, it was something put together to have something to show for the game. Final timing and script writing in the game, I'm sure is something more easily improved upon.
Again, if you really think, that having different voice actors than the ones that were in the game 13years ago, is going to totally ruin it for you, then I'm sorry to say you miss the point of the game. Sam & Max are comic book characters, they didnt even have a voice at their conception, and the fact that its different now, shouldnt take away from the game.
Besides, the voice actors from 13 year ago would probably sound different to you all by now anyways. 1) theyre 13 years older and 2) They probably dont even remember how to sound right
For example, Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, great game, excellent, Tim Curry did an amazing job as the voice of Gabriel. Second game came out in the "live action" era, and kinda sucked, mainly cause it lacked the same feel as Sins of the Fathers did. Then, Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, the 3rd game, came out, and Tim Curry reprised his role. He still did an excellent job, but as someone who played Sins of the Fathers for probably 100 hours, I could tell the voice sounded a little different, BUT THE GAME WAS STILL GOOD.
My point is, alot of you are whining like the game is going to suck because your choice for a voice actor isnt in it.
Hate to say it, but too bad, watch the trailer, and get used to em, cause thats what youll be hearing. And I think its still going to be great, if you dont...well then....
Lucas Arts has a new Indiana Jones game in the works full of puzzles that involves throwing people at cars and beating them with objects, maybe thatll be more your style.
You're being unfair. A lot of us have given good reasons why we don't like the voice acting, on the basis of comedic performance. It's not just that they're different.
I made an account just to make this post - I just want to say that I was very pleased with the trailer. It made me laugh - not very hard, but then, neither did the LA trailer. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the voices. They sound right for Sam and Max, to me. Sam sounds like a noirish detective and Max sounds like a deceptively cute rabbity thing. I'm not being blinded by wishful thinking, here - I honestly like them.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I only played through Hit the Road for the first time quite recently, so for me this has nothing at all to do with nostalgia. I liked the voices from Hit the Road a lot, but I like the new ones too. The new Sam is about on par with the old one for me. Max isn't quite as good - it could do with a little more venom - but it still works. I'm astonished to see people saying they wouldn't buy the game because of Max's voice - do you really think it's that bad?
After watching the trailer a few times, it wasn't really the voice tone that bothered me. Yes they where 'off' from what I know of the cartoon and the game, but they where not so off that it ruined it.
They where just different.
What I caught me the most was the timing, and that it sound like a script being read instead of words being said. Of course that could be explained by saying that the people doing the VOs in the trailer are new to doing the voices of Sam & Max and have not yet 'worked out' the characters, and theye may not have been multiple takes (or lots of practice) of the VOs done due to getting the trailer done for E3.
On the whole, I though the trailer was pretty good, especially the "shoot up the place" bit, as that felt right.
Now if you compare the voices to what is in the new trailer, the new one is much much better. The quality is better. The voices have much more style to them. It's like going from listening to something on a scratchy old record to cd.
Keep the old voices in your head as good memories. Let the new people behind it create something updated.
Keep the old voices in your head as good memories. Let the new people behind it create something updated.
I suppose you're right. Renedrivers for president, Renedrivers for president - 'Don't change horses midstream', that's what I say.
The problem is that it's not midstream. The stream has dried up and telltale is attempting to dig it again. So much in the same way you could never have the exact stream again, you can't ever have Sam and Max the exact same way again. The best you can hope for is that the stream runs as nice and has as clean water as before.
Alright, there really isn't going to be much production done if people whine too much. 1) the Hit the Road and Freelance Police actors are off to bigger and better things, God Bless them, and hope they have many fullfilling and lucrative endevours. 2) screaming at Telltale isn't going to get much done, constructive criticisms do. Be very thankful that TTG is a small enough company that they can take the time to listen to their fans and take notes. Trust me, if we said something to LucasArts or other huge companies, they'd take the comment and toss it right into the refuse bin. 3) The actors in the trailer have already been given a cheque from TTG, and are more likely to accept another one from them, thus, rather than try to throw out what has been built, let's try to give helpful suggestions.
I'll admit, I only heard the Hit the Road voices once or twice, as I could never get the sound and the game working at the same time, thus, most of the voices were merely mental images projected to the characters. I also only have seen a few episodes of the cartoon, and mostly dismissed it as Steve Purcell not sure who his audiance was, the twenty something geeks who read The Adventurer, or the little snot nosed kids that Fox was trying to sell to. So, I guess I'm more concerned over script, which looks like it'll be as bizarre as the comics I remembered, "Hey Max, you know when they said not to shower and blowdry your hair at the same time? They weren't kidding!"
Now if you compare the voices to what is in the new trailer, the new one is much much better. The quality is better. The voices have much more style to them. It's like going from listening to something on a scratchy old record to cd.
Keep the old voices in your head as good memories. Let the new people behind it create something updated.
Oh, now I'm sad ( . Well, can't do anything with the cancelation of a game. There have been a few more cancelled games I would have liked to play. I see what you mean with the voices. The freelance trailer made me laugh more then any of the other trailers for sam & max though. )
I loved the first Sam and Max game and for some reason anyone else doing the voice of Sam other than who did it in the origional game just seems wrong...just the way the voice actor delivered the lines. I don't think he talked as fast as the actor in the toons, I guess thats why I did not like the toons as much as the game. I really did not like the actor in the e3 trailer. His voice acting is TOO flat and at times sounds like he is reading from a script in monotone. Sam has to have that edge of boredome in his voice but it can be taken way too far. I wish I could be more clear.
I think the people who think we're whining too much and not being constructive need to go to some other forums for just a minute or two and then report back to us. This is nothing.
Back when I first played Sam and Max it came on floppy disks and you didn't even get any voices, except at the beginning with the mad scientist. The fact that I didn't hear Sam and Max all the way through didn't stop me enjoying the game and it's not going to stop me enjoying the new one if they don't sound just like I want them to. I think what they say is more important than how they say it and if the voices are really that bad you can just read the subtitles.
After saying that I do think the voices in the trailer do need more confidence. Then they'll stop pretending to sound like Farmer and Jameson and start sounding like Sam and Max.
After saying that I do think the voices in the trailer do need more confidence. Then they'll stop pretending to sound like Farmer and Jameson and start sounding like Sam and Max.
Yeah, that's a really good point you brought up there. The problem with these voice actors is that they try too hard to sound like the Hit the Road voices. I loved those, but I also loved the cartoon voices, so if they just give it their best shot without forcing it, the voices should end up being good.
Oh my gosh, guys, I just heard the most perfect MAX voice ever: listen to VINCE VAUGHN'S voice in DODGEBALL.
I guess when Telltale is a multi-billion company and the episodic games are more popular than Lost and Prison Break, they could get Vince Vaughn. [=D>]
Sam's problem is the delivery. People have been saying that it's more deadpan, or that it's a movie gumshoe voice... but that's ALWAYS been Sam's schtick. The only difference now is that it's much more of a bland reading. Hit the Road worked because you had a sardonic deadpan, but with killer timing. Get this guy to work on his act or hire someone... well, funnier.
Ah that's right, but that sentence is flat out wrong then. It's missing "may" or "might" or some other conditional, as in "For all you know Vince Vaughn might like Sam & Max". You can't write 'for all you know' without a conditional. The above information is incorrect and written by a stupid person
"for all you know" = "maybe"
The absence of that word got my non-native english speaking self all confused. |)
Comments
GK2 the best? Uh oh, now I'm scared
I'm just not a fan of live action games I guess, I thought the first one was the best, and the 3rd was good, and I played and beat 2, but it was my least favorite of the 3.
Great story telling in that series though, its a shmame Seirra only makes SWAT games now.
Unless by some odd method, LEC was able to piece together the voices from Hit the Road.
Hey! Isn't it possible to synthetisize someone's voice from two minutes of recorded speech nowdays? Let's rip their voices from the original game and generate the dialogue on computers!
Ha ha ha
It was the 'original voices' in the Freelance Police trailer, and yess, they still sounded like Sam & Max 11 years later.
As far as getting Farmer & Jameson back, I'd hazard a guess that the money sitting in the Lucas Empire vault is a tad more than in the coffee jar at Telltale.
Also it's a huge commitment for an established actor (especially one as busy as Jameson seems to be, what with his role on LOST, etc) to be available every month or so to record a new game dialogue. So maybe it wasn't money, but simply scheduling impossibilities that has meant the former voice actors are unavailable this time around.
If Telltale could have got them, they would have.
But, HieroHero, depending on the reasoning, it could/would be unprofessional of Telltale to publish details of the negotiataions with Farmer & Jameson.
And everything I'v eseen so far from the company shows me they would and do not deal in anything less than a totally professional manner at al times.
I will admit to my own initial disgust at the voices in the trailer, but that was purely because they weren't the voices I was used to hearing. The ones in my head were apparently from the TV show, because I reinstalled "Hit the Road" and they sounded wrong too.
So I took a while to think, paced around for a few hours and then listened to the trailer again with a more open mind and I have to admit that Sam's voice is right on.
But as more people have pointed out in this thread, Max still needs a bit of work. I think what sells the little rabbity thing in the previous incarnations is that he speaks faster and in a higher pitch, it kinda suits his smaller size. Like how small dogs yap in a higher tone than the big ones.
I also have to say that I love the kind of...slobbering quality that Max' voice has in "Hit the Road". It really does sound like he's spitting out the words and I love the juxtaposition of the inherent cuteness in that tone of voice to the threats of doom and death in the actual words he says.
In my mind, Max is supposed to look and talk cute and cuddly, but actually act more like the Killer Rabbit from Monty Python.
You're being unfair. A lot of us have given good reasons why we don't like the voice acting, on the basis of comedic performance. It's not just that they're different.
Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I only played through Hit the Road for the first time quite recently, so for me this has nothing at all to do with nostalgia. I liked the voices from Hit the Road a lot, but I like the new ones too. The new Sam is about on par with the old one for me. Max isn't quite as good - it could do with a little more venom - but it still works. I'm astonished to see people saying they wouldn't buy the game because of Max's voice - do you really think it's that bad?
They where just different.
What I caught me the most was the timing, and that it sound like a script being read instead of words being said. Of course that could be explained by saying that the people doing the VOs in the trailer are new to doing the voices of Sam & Max and have not yet 'worked out' the characters, and theye may not have been multiple takes (or lots of practice) of the VOs done due to getting the trailer done for E3.
On the whole, I though the trailer was pretty good, especially the "shoot up the place" bit, as that felt right.
http://www.lucasarts.com/products/freelancepolice/images/movies/trailer_1.mov
and here is them from hit the road:
http://ia300202.us.archive.org/1/items/012181/012181.asf
Now if you compare the voices to what is in the new trailer, the new one is much much better. The quality is better. The voices have much more style to them. It's like going from listening to something on a scratchy old record to cd.
Keep the old voices in your head as good memories. Let the new people behind it create something updated.
PARTY!
I suppose you're right. Renedrivers for president, Renedrivers for president - 'Don't change horses midstream', that's what I say.
The problem is that it's not midstream. The stream has dried up and telltale is attempting to dig it again. So much in the same way you could never have the exact stream again, you can't ever have Sam and Max the exact same way again. The best you can hope for is that the stream runs as nice and has as clean water as before.
I'll admit, I only heard the Hit the Road voices once or twice, as I could never get the sound and the game working at the same time, thus, most of the voices were merely mental images projected to the characters. I also only have seen a few episodes of the cartoon, and mostly dismissed it as Steve Purcell not sure who his audiance was, the twenty something geeks who read The Adventurer, or the little snot nosed kids that Fox was trying to sell to. So, I guess I'm more concerned over script, which looks like it'll be as bizarre as the comics I remembered, "Hey Max, you know when they said not to shower and blowdry your hair at the same time? They weren't kidding!"
Anyhoo, I seem to be rambling now.
But my psychiatrist told me to stop listening to the voices in my head! Ever since the "accident"...
Oh, now I'm sad
Just the way he speaks normally is PERFECT for MAX'S voice! If Telltale could nab him to do voices, they'd have struck GOLD! GOLD, BABY!
WOOHOO!
After saying that I do think the voices in the trailer do need more confidence. Then they'll stop pretending to sound like Farmer and Jameson and start sounding like Sam and Max.
I guess when Telltale is a multi-billion company and the episodic games are more popular than Lost and Prison Break, they could get Vince Vaughn. [=D>]
He does? The man has taste.
Then again, there is something similiar in the Frat Pack movies and Sam & Max.
Ah that's right, but that sentence is flat out wrong then. It's missing "may" or "might" or some other conditional, as in "For all you know Vince Vaughn might like Sam & Max". You can't write 'for all you know' without a conditional.
The above information is incorrect and written by a stupid person
The absence of that word got my non-native english speaking self all confused.