Trailers and Teasers – Duraz 2.0

Kris Takahashi Trailers and Teasers 4 Comments

There are probably tens of thousands of Skyrims out there that run this mod. Tens of thousands of Old Hroldans filled with Hjalti’s ghost friend, Asteria the bard, and the precocious boy who gets pissed off when you spill mead on his rug (those mead stains are fucking tricky). And in every single one of those games there’s one other common denominator. An Orc. One who, despite having a name, has less to say than the bandits and peddlers that spawn across Skryim. In fact, she hardly says anything at all. She just sits on a bench and stares wordlessly at the wall.

Yet at long last, her internal, voiceless nightmare may be coming to an end. Duraz may finally get her say.

I never intended Duraz to be the only female Orc in the mod – or at least the only one with more than a handful of lines like Lagdu and Shelur. It’s just that given the difficulty finding a voice for Duraz, adding another Orc on top of that seemed rather foolish. This is why the next two hundred or so NPCs were at times female, and at times Orcs, but never both.

That may change in the future, but we shall see. The first hurdle will be getting Duraz herself voiced, and as I mentioned, things are looking up. The role has been cast and our chickens are halfway hatched. Now mind you, we’ve been down this road before. I even released a trailer for Duraz after half the lines were finished, only to have the actor vanish as quickly as she arrived. However, this time I’m somewhat optimistic.

Here is a GIF expressing my cautious optimism:

1016Okay, maybe I’ve already counted my chickens. Maybe I’ve already sold them to the local distributor to be chopped and Kentucky Fried. I’ve spent next week’s paycheck, I’ve seen the future, I’ve spiked the ball. Sure, we’re still on the fifty yard line, but the offense is moving and the great Jessica Osborne is playing tailback.

As far as voice actors go, Jessica is fantastic. Good, prompt, and steady. I’ve got her doing a couple of large roles for the mod, so you’ll be hearing more from her in the future. I’m absolutely sure of it.

Trailers and Teasers – Melea Entius

Kris Takahashi Trailers and Teasers 8 Comments

Here is the revamped Melea for v3.04.3. Although the original actor did a wonderful job, her voice was probably a little too old for this character, not to mention the dialogue itself needed some fine tuning.

The problem with an older voice, of course, is that it gave the impression her death was more of a natural turn of events, as opposed to something tragic. EvilSeedlet’s rendition sounds mature and worn down but not necessarily feeble, and it really gives a better sense that Melea is dying far too young.

Notes and Stuff

Kris Takahashi Other 2 Comments

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Here’s some news, notes, and other things I want to mention while I have the chance:

Maligree is the latest wiki editor to join the ranks, but unlike all the previous folks I’ve brought on, she’s managed to finish a quest page, which you can view here. In contrast to the lazily written pages I put together, she’s added detailed summaries, nice screenies, and even filled out the tables. To put it in perspective, not even the legendary Blauwvis, who did maybe fifty or so character pages, dared try her hand at this overwhelmingly exhaustive task.

In short, Maligree is a true hero of our times and anyone who says otherwise is dead to me.

The second thing I want to address is the ongoing overhaul of old NPCs. Often times, when I approach actors about refurbishing their lines, they aren’t having it, and I completely understand why. Given how expansive the dialogue is, it can be a lot of extra work for little to no gratitude. That’s why I’m thankful to those who are willing to do it. Lila Paws has not only be working hard on Anum-La, but also found time to re-take Morviah. The difference I think is staggering, and should really help this NPC shine. Take a listen to Morviah before and after:

Lastly, I want to once again thank those who have donated their hard earned money as well as those who have removed AdBlock to help support the mod. After all, I like money. It is a relationship I think is going places. But in all seriousness, the extra bit of scratch does help pay for upkeep as well as better resources for actors, composers, and the like. I think outside of that bathtub vodka experiment, for the most part I’ve spent the money in ways that will improve the overall experience for you.