I never used the word "royalties" -- actors do not get "royalties." They get residuals. They are two completely different things. Look up the meaning of the word "residuals."

Thanks.

Quote: Original post by VoiceActor
I never used the word "royalties" -- actors do not get "royalties." They get residuals. They are two completely different things. Look up the meaning of the word "residuals."

Thanks.

maybe you should just define them for us. cuz obviously i don't know the difference. thanks.

edit: ok... i looked it up. how would the residuals work? it seems for video games it would get more complicated. if i'm correct, Lucas gets a residual everytime a basic or cable network shows any Star Wars movie. right? so would the voice actor get paid by the number of games sold? or if his voice was in a commercial for the game? or both? some clarification for the ignorant please [grin]

I don't see a big problem with this. Residuals will be paid out after the launch of the game so the money will be there. If the game sells badly, then there won't be a lot of income and the actor might be paid less than with an (increased) up-front fee. They can't demand both residuals and more money up-front. Well, they can, but they don't just now.

I'm not sure what deal the voice actors is demanding, but I think will be beneficial for smaller game development studios if they can get great actors for less up-front money, and give the actors a share of the revenue instead.

The main problem is that they might be pricing themselves out of the market. If they demand more money than the game producers can afford then they won't get the job. Also - if the increased salary to the voice actors is made up with lower salaries for visual artists, programmers, composers, etc then there will be a problem in those sectors.

Several things may break a game, but voice acting alone can't make it. Bad programming (bugs), visuals and animation, gameplay, music or physics (or lack of) is at least as important as voice acting. I've played several games with little or no voice acting at all and they were more enjoyable than some that I've played with full voice overs. I've marveled at the graphics and had fun with physics in HL2 and other games with physics, but I usually don't pay much attention to the voice of the characters. That said, if the voice acting is bad I'd probably focus a lot more on that, so using the families of the programmers might not be such a good idea.

The only game I've played recently where I've paid any attention at all to the voice of the characters is SW:KOTOR2. I thought that the voice of Bao-Dur sounded weird considering how he looks, but it's not deterimental to my experience. I also though the HK droids sounded a lot like the doctor in Star Trek Enterprise and thought that was cool, but was saddened to see that I was wrong (checked it just now) [sad]. Overall I must say that the voice acting in KOTOR2 enhances the game experience and I certainly won't turn the volume down. HK's "Yes.. "Master"... AHH! I said it again" is masterful (certainly one case where you must hear it to appreciate it).


Some of you mentioned cartoon movies and such.. The problem with such comparisons is that game consumers don't look to the cast list before they buy a game. They look at the genre (fps, rpg, sim, etc) first, graphics next, gameplay, and perhaps even physics before they look at the cast. This may change in the future, but right now they don't. see NOTE1


All said, my opinion is that everyone in game development should get residuals. I'm not sure how it is now, but if it cost 10 million in salaries to make a game, and the game brings in 100 million then everyone who was involved in making the game, from game designer to QA assistant should see some of that dough. If not, what's the point of doing your best to make it a GREAT game as opposed to a merely GOOD one. I mean, the publisher will get ALL the dough, and they're doing the least work of all (simplification, I know...)


NOTE1: To be 100% accurate replace "they" with "I". And add "some" in front of consumers.

Quote: Original post by VoiceActor
I never used the word "royalties" -- actors do not get "royalties." They get residuals. They are two completely different things. Look up the meaning of the word "residuals."

Honestly, I don't see how "residuals" defined as "payments that are paid for every repeat showing made to a performer, writer, or director of a media application". Residuals is also often used synonymously with royalties.

Quote: Original post by frostburn
All said, my opinion is that everyone in game development should get residuals. I'm not sure how it is now, but if it cost 10 million in salaries to make a game, and the game brings in 100 million then everyone who was involved in making the game, from game designer to QA assistant should see some of that dough. If not, what's the point of doing your best to make it a GREAT game as opposed to a merely GOOD one. I mean, the publisher will get ALL the dough, and they're doing the least work of all (simplification, I know...)

That's not quite true. Publishers heavily invest in projects they deem profitable. Their investment pays the salaries of the 100 or so people working on a game, and they take care of the cost of marketing, which can amount to more than ten times the cost of production. From a business perspective, the publisher is risking far more than the developer; therefore, the publisher is entitled to a larger share of the profits.

Quote: Original post by Adraeus
...Publishers heavily invest in projects they deem profitable. Their investment pays the salaries of the 100 or so people working on a game, and they take care of the cost of marketing, which can amount to more than ten times the cost of production. From a business perspective, the publisher is risking far more than the developer; therefore, the publisher is entitled to a larger share of the profits.

I agree but having a larger share of the profits doesn't necessarily mean that the developers aren't allowed or even unable to get some kind of residual/royalty. Does it?