Behind The Voice

Markus and Olli from Poets of the Fall join the podcast to talk about their journey as a band from Max Payne 2 to Alan Wake 2. They talk about how the formation of the iconic Late Goodbye song, working with Remedy and making a fictional band Old Gods of Asgard as well as the making of one of the longest video game songs, Herald of Darkness, for Alan Wake 2.What's your favorite song from Old Gods of Asgard and Poets of the Fall?00:38 Late Goodbye wasn't meant to be04:42 Success of Late Goodbye07:07 How Old Gods of Asgard happened10:13 Old Gods vs Poets of the Fall11:55 How songs are made for Remedy?15:55 Reacting to their songs in-game20:10 Alan Wake 2 musical 25:48 Longest guitar solo28:39 Shooting live action & music video32:24 Old Gods of Asgard album wasn't planned35:55 The Game Awards almost didn't happen40:07 Herald of Darkness impact on Poets42:49 Input on Old Gods of Asgard characters44:19 Fav music video45:30 Touring as Old Gods of Asgard?47:10 Fav Remedy game48:57 Use of unusual intruments51:59 VR in Olli's latest song

Jennifer English joins Behind The Voice to talk about her iconic role as FemShep in Mass Effect trilogy, Jean in X-Men 97 and much more. She also shares her feelings towards AI and tells people to use AI and participate in AI because that's the future. She also opens up on the use of AI in games and with voice actors. She also talks about how singing was her original passion and how she did her first voice over role. It was incredible to know from the iconic actress who has worked on multiple projects, both video games and animated series. I also tried to get some more details on KOTOR Remake & X-Men 97 Season 2 but wasn't successful.

Alanah Pearce talks about how surprised she was to see the popularity of Dispatch game, how she thinks anyone could play the role of Malevola and how she never expected fans to say one thing about her character. She also talks about her career through IGN, acting in Gears & Cyberpunk and a lot more. It was incredible to get the opportunity to talk to Alanah Pearce who I've been following for some time now and just talking about content and being a part of the industry was wonderful!

Charlotte Hoepffner, the performance capture actor of Maelle in Expedition 33, joins Behind The Voice Podcast and talks about her experience working on the game. This was her first video game role ever and she's genuinely surprised that video game acting can be so intense. She describes what it was like working with Estelle & Maxence, which was overwhelming at first, but she became friends and now she's very comfortable working with them. She dives deep into the making of certain scenes and what each scene means to her. Charlotte is truly brilliant and she lived her role as Maelle in the game. She has a plan of finally sitting down and playing the game and saying goodbye to the character.Timestamps:00:00 Charlotte forgot about the game01:24 Performing live on stage02:56 Charlotte on fan interactions04:10 Charlotte almost didn't audition05:47 Playing video games06:42 First scene as Maelle08:32 Doing motion capture for the first time10:43 Scenes that Charlotte improvised12:23 The first Maelle nightmare scene13:51 Maelle & Gustave's relationship14:29 Couldn't stop laughing while shooting16:23 Burying Gustave scene18:57 Multiple takes of Gustave's death scene21:59 Video game stories are so real?23:13 How did Charlotte brought frustration to Maelle25:37 Impact of this game on Charlotte's life28:21 Charlotte's fav lines31:11 Maelle & Renoir arguing scene32:32 Does Charlotte relate to Maelle's story?33:12 Charlotte's plan to saying goodbye to Maelle35:05 Charlotte wants more video game work36:35 Clashing cameras during performance capture37:43 Hardest scene to shoot39:52 Is Maelle's journey over?40:29 Shooting emotional scenes42:02 How did Charlotte portray Maelle?43:08 What inspires Charlotte as an artist?45:15 Charlotte on hearing Jennifer English's voice

Erika Ishii, the actress of Atsu in Ghost of Yotei, joins Behind The Voice Podcast to share her honest reaction on being a part of this game. When I showed her some of the scenes from the game, she was unbelievable shocked at how good it was and also a bit shy as she was looking at herself and acknowledging that its her voice and her face. She also praised all the other actors involved like Feo Chin, Judy Alice Lee & Noshir Dalal. Timestamps00:00 Erika's reaction to the game's release01:47 Erika's cosplay as Atsu03:34 Fans reaction to Erika's performance05:20 Erika shares her audition story06:59 Leading a playstation game08:38 The process of bringing Atsu to life10:15 Erika on doing stunts and posing13:56 Atsu's humor16:00 Behind the scene story of the opening scene17:46 Killing the first Yotei 621:21 Erika's shocking reaction to this cutscene22:48 Mesmerized by Lord Saito's actor28:28 Elgato Black Friday Sale29:14 Erika's reaction to *SPOILERS*32:52 Atsu's emotional journey34:07 Erika loves to do emotional scenes36:49 Erika shares her feelings towards *SPOILER* moment39:14 Blown away by people's reaction40:05 Brother and Sister relationship45:01 2K Blockbuster Collection45:44 Erika reacts to another *SPOILER* scene46:56 Erika reveals her feelings towards Atsu48:46 Paying homage to Japanese samurai films51:27 How Ghost of Tsushima prepared Erika?52:07 Life lesson from a video game52:46 Fav character outside of Atsu53:50 Fav weapon as Atsu54:07 Experience working on this game

Dying Light franchise director, Tymon Smektala, opens up how they underestimated the fans and the community and made decisions that the players didn't really need. He talks about bringing Aiden in Dying Light 2 instead of Kyle Crane. Why Dying Light is different to Dead Island and the real story of why they changed publishers. He also talks about what makes Dying Light special and how they missed it in Dying Light 2 and fixed it in Dying Light The Beast.

Silent Hill f Rinko's voice actor, Frankie Kevich, talks about how dark this game was and how overwhelming it was for her to play this role. She describes what she had to go through to portray her and shares her opinion on various Rinko moments that shows how 'evil' her character becomes by the end. She also talks about how incredible the storytelling of the game is and how she was surprised by what was going on, especially with Rinko. And also the fact that maybe Frankie & Rinko would not be good friends.

Rebecca Hanssen, the voice actor of Eve from Stellar Blade & Ciaconna in Wuthering Waves, returns to Behind The Voice and talks about what its like to play these characters. She reveals why she can't let go of Eve from Stellar Blade and how Ciaconna was similar to Alfira from Baldur's Gate 3. She also talks about her recent role as Olivia in Dying Light The Beast and what it was like to work with Roger Craig Smith.

Former Halo story director, CJ Cowan, made a new horror game with Probably Monsters studio, called IRE A Prologue. In this episode, I asked him why he moved from Halo to a horror game. He also talks about how this game is basically Silent Hill PT on a boat in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. He also answers what makes this game different from any other first person walking simulator horror games, and how the focus of this game is on the storytelling and relatability. A big thanks to Probably Monsters for sponsoring this episode!

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 lead writer, Jennifer Svedberg-Yen, joins Behind The Voice to reveal how she and Guillaume (Director) made the story. It's so interesting to know that a big part of the story came from a dream she had. She also reveals the difference between the studio's first game, We Lost, and Expedition 33 along with why there were 4 GENERATIONS of Gustave's family written. I also tried to ask her about Clea's real purpose but she didn't say much. What is your fav moment from Expedition 33?

Carina Conti, who plays Isabella in Mafia The Old Country, joins Behind The Voice Podcast to talk about how this role was the highlight of this year for her. She talks in-depth about specific scenes, whose writing she absolutely loved, and how much she was mesmerized by the kind of the story this game was telling. She also reacts to specific scenes in the game and breaks down how they did the scene, including a discussion around whether you should drink wine with your eyes closed or not. Carina loves this beautiful love story and shares how much she would like something similar in her life. Mafia The Old Country in the end is a beautifully structured love story in a Mafia setting.

Cronos The New Dawn lead writer, Grzegorz Like, talks about how horror video game storytelling should be done. He mentions how Cronos The New Dawn's main focus was storytelling and its characters but also how monsters were able to give a far better experience than other horror games. He also talks about the best way to make a creepy horror games without using too much jumpscares and why characters are more important.

Sophie's voice actor, Billie Fullford-Brown, talks about her role in Expedition 33. He reveals what it was like to record the gommage scene, Gustave and Sophie's relationship and how Sophie wasn't meant to be playable. We also talk about why the gommage scene made so many people emotional.

In this episode, Echoes of the End game director, Halldór , talks about how the studio with only 40 employees made an ambitious narrative driven game inspired by games like God of War, Uncharted and The Witcher. In this episode, we will explore how they built a game from ground up, scanned Iceland to give the most realistic visuals, made their motion capture studio to bring life to the characters and more!Have you played Echoes of the End yet?

Aldís Amah Hamilton, the lead actress of Echoes of The End, shares her experience on working in video games for the first time. She mentions how challenging and frustrating it can be to do motion and performance capture but also mentions how actors from video games should be recognized even more. She's been working for Echoes of the End for 7 years, bringing the character of Ryn. She also worked on Hellblade 2 alongside Melina Jurgens and also talks about how different that experience was.

Winter Solider voice actor, Eliah Mountjoy, & Psylocke's voice actor, Alpha Takahashi, from Marvel Rivals join Behind The Voice Podcast to talk about handling the pressure of playing Marvel characters in a video game. They also mention the incredible fan interactions, going to San Diego Comic Con and cosplaying as their characters.They also touch upon preparing for the role, what their characters ambitions are and how closely are they connected with their characters. We spoke a lot about personal connection, things they learned and a lot more!

Zenyatta's voice actor from Overwatch, Feodor Chin, shares his opinions on the state of Overwatch 2. He also mentions how they recorded more lines and scenes that just havne't been released. Feodor also talks about his emmy nominated episode of Love Death & Robots Season 4, Spider Rose, and how it was like to work with Blur Studios. We also talk a bit about his experience with Ghost of Tsushima & his opinions on Ghost of Yotei

Estelle Darnault, the motion and performance capture actor, talks about how she played almost every women in Clair Obscur Expedition 33. She auditioned for the role of Lune but ended up playing Sophie, Sciel, Aline, Alicia & the Paintress. Estelle breaks down the iconic gommage scene and why she added the extra "I know" line. She also talks about Lune & Gustave moments, THAT Moment and many other scenes in the game.

Clair Obscur Expedition 33 game director, Guillaume Broche, reveals all the secret to how they crafted the storytelling of the game. From the opening gommage scene, to the characters, realistic dialogues, maelle's flashbacks, major twist in the game and also the endings.Together we dive deep into the decision making process of why certain scenes were presented the way they were presented. At the same time, we also talk about few gameplay mechanics that we had to cover, including boss battles and trials.Check out Behind The Voice Newsletter: https://behindthevoice.substack.com

Jesse Faden voice actor, Courtney Hope, talks about her experience working with Remedy on Quantum Break, Control & Alan Wake 2. She breaks down how she got the role in Quantum Break, doing her first video game, acting beside Shawn Ashmore & wanting more of Beth & Jack story. She also talks about how different her experience was with Control and how many changes they did for the lines along with getting to come back to Alan Wake 2. To my surprise, I found out that Courtney is a huge fan of video games and loves Life is Strange games. I also ended up recommending a new game called The Alters, which I think is fantastic. Courtney also talks about what might happen in Control 2 but I'm sure she couldn't say much, so I didn't press onI've also launched a new Behind The Voice Newsletter where every 2 weeks, you will get exclusive behind the scenes content, snippets of the next conversation, game recommendation and a lot more. Check it out at https://behindthevoice.substack.com