We used 2 random number generators (human and machine, heheh!) to pick these raffle winners, who will each receive one of the following: a signed Tiger Eye novel, an advance galley copy of “A Wild Light” (to be released July 28), a collectible variant cover of  the “Black Widow” Marvel comic book, a framed signed cover of the next Dirk & Steele novel (“In the Dark of Dreams”), or Tiger Eye merchandise.  Here are the winners – there are 11 of them, the same number of people that comprises the PassionFruit team ;)  You should be receiving emails from us soon!

• Julie S.
• Megan W.
• Colleen T.
• Nicole H.
• Dian C.
• Charlotte C.
• Sharon K.
• Jennifer E.
• Rebecca C.
• Amy S.
• Alice S.

Congratulations!

1.       What’s your favorite part of your job?

My favorite part of any acting job, voice, tv, film or stage, is the chance to be something I’m not.  I find that especially with voice acting, where what you look like doesn’t matter at all, you can stretch yourself in so many different directions and become people you have no chance of being in real life.  Getting to voice a tall, buxom, blonde bombshell, for example, when in reality I’m a bit of a mouse, standing just under five feet tall, is kind of exciting.  Or reliving my childhood by voicing a whiny child is so much fun.

2.       What’s the most challenging voice character you’ve ever had to perform?

My first voice acting job ever was a video game.  I was playing the lead and hadn’t seen the script beforehand.  I showed up at the studio and basically had one take on each line – and the lines were out of context.  I only saw what I had to say, not what was being said to me before or after.  It was total on the job training!  There I was trying to cold read each line in one take and actually try to figure out in the split second before I read the line exactly why i was saying what I was saying!

3.       As a voice actor, do you do certain exercises or lead a certain type of lifestyle that keeps your voice in good shape?

I started off as a singer, before becoming an actor and then a voice actor, so yes, my lifestyle very much revolves around keeping my “instrument” healthy.  Singers notoriously carry two things with them at all times:  a water bottle, and a scarf – and I’m no exception.  When I’m working, I do a vocal warm up every day, and when I’m not, I usually do some kind of vocal work or singing a few times per week.  I also try to squeeze in a singing lesson at least once or twice a month.

4.       What are some differences between voice acting and stage acting?  Do you find one more challenging than the other?

The main difference between the two is subtlety.  With stage work, you can show so much more through means other than your voice.  Your eyes, your posture, your costume even, can add so much to what you are expressing.  With voice work, you have your voice, and that is all.  Every nuance in your voice counts, every detail.  I once had a director tell me that he wanted to hear more optimism in my voice.  He said that on a scale of 1-100, I was at a 6, and he needed me at a 7.  That’s how subtle it can be.  And of course, with stage acting, you are always limited by what you look like – with voice there is much more scope for possibility.  However, much like with film and tv vs. theatre, voice work lacks the adrenaline linked with live performace – something I just love about live theatre.  In that way they are very different crafts – one is much more about responding in the moment whilst the other is more about perfecting your creation.

5.       Any general thoughts on being the voice of DELA for Tiger Eye?

I’m thrilled to voice someone so well developed, who is both sexy, smart, sassy and vulnerable – it’s a gift to an actor to play someone so three dimensional.  I will also never forget recording all the love scenes with the producer, Melissa.  That was hilarious.

6.       It seems like a ton of people think they can voice act, but once they give it a try, it’s much, much harder than they thought.  What is some of the training you’ve had to go through to get where you are today?  What are some of the challenges voice actors face?

I’ve been extremely lucky when it comes to voice acting.  I was literally in the right place at the right time when my career really took off.  I did take a few classes, but most of my voice acting training was “on the job”.  I have also found that my background in singing has helped immensely – I’m very in tune (no pun intended) with how to work my vocal tone and where to place things in order to create different sounds.  Voice acting becomes a lot like finding the right notes to speak.  I think the main challenge voice artists face at the moment is an oversaturation in the market.  It’s a fantastic industry – talent is treated really well – and everyone wants a piece of that.  I don’t blame them. The hardest part is making yourself stand out in the crowd.

7.       Do you have any tips for people who’d like to get into voice acting for games?

I started my career in London, and over there it is a lot more complicated to get started as you have to really market yourself with a gimmick – something that sets you apart.  It involved a lot of cold calling which wasn’t fun at all.  But here in the USA it seems fairly more clear cut.  Cut a good voice demo – something that really shows off all you can do – and get yourself an agent.  It’s also worth calling smaller game companies to let them know you are out there and send over your demo.  You never know.  From there it is really just about whether you are right for the job or not.  That is one of the greatest parts of this aspect of the industry – it is so rarely personal.  With voice work your sound is either right or it’s not – there is rarely an in between.

Why are these playtesters so essential to a game’s development?  Simply because it’s extremely hard to accurately “judge” a game when you’ve designed and built it yourselves.  Things that seem super obvious to you (“of course you should try and pull that red lever we plopped in the middle of the screen!”) might not make any sense to a player (“red levers are NOT meant to be pulled – that was a straight path to suspension back in the day, lady!”).  Playtesters can often have a more critical eye than you – for the same reason parents always think their own kids are the cutest, we can sometimes hold a blind eye to certain, ahem, “problems” with our game.  (Luckily our playtesters are quick to point those out – thank you!)  And sometimes, a playtester will have a moment of brilliance and suggest a superb idea that we had never thought of!

So what happens, exactly, during a playtest session?  First, we ask the player general questions about her gaming background/preferences to see where she’s coming from.  (If she’s a relatively new gamer, we won’t be too worried if she hits a few hurdles in our game.  If she’s a seasoned veteran and can’t beat our first level, then we definitely have a problem.)  Then we pretty much unleash the game on the player, watching her play and answering any questions she may have along the way – but trying to interfere as little as possible, to more closely replicate the experience the player would have at home.  (Yes, some players get a little nervous with a bunch of us in the same room, watching their every move in the game… so we do have to take that into consideration.)  The session ends with a slew of questions for the playtester, asking about everything she liked or disliked in the game, any frustrations she had, and any opinions she had on the art, music, or any other aspect of the game.  Sometimes we’ll also show some screenshots of features we’d like to include in the future, just to get a general feel for how it’s received.  The whole process is usually a pretty enjoyable experience for the tester, assuming we don’t scare them too much (hey, giving your opinion to listening ears should be fun!).  And we always learn a ton.

Anyway, we’re already gearing up for our next milestone… and soon we’ll be able to (finally) officially announce the title of our game… check back in mid-December!

We just finished up three days of voice auditions for the four main characters that will be in the game. It was a grueling process! Okay, it was probably more grueling for the actual voice actors, but still – reading, directing, and listening to the same lines over 46 sessions eventually starts driving you a little (more) crazy.

What qualities were we looking for in our actors? In order of importance:
1. Delivery – how believable did their lines sound? Were they able to insert emotion into their reads and really captivate their audience?
2. Directability – how flexible were they when we asked them to take a different approach with a line?
3. Quality of voice – did their voice sound like the right age range for the character they were auditioning for? Was their voice pleasant to listen to?

We’ll be choosing our cast this week! We had some amazingly talented people and it’s definitely going to be tough to pick the best matches.

• crazy
• steamy
• friendly
• appealing
• fruity
• PLUS it can’t be too complex or ugly and the colors have to be just right and it’s gotta look good on letterhead as well as a black and white version and augh!

Considering all this craziness, we’ve got some good stuff going!  We don’t have anything final yet, but here’s our closest contender… whatcha think?

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