Gaming Hosts Ryan and Josh are back and we’re heading back to the awesome world of voice acting. We’re joined by the one and only Melissa White. Melissa is an accomplished voice actress who gives us insight into the world of voice acting, what its like to work with video game studios, how voice acting differs between gaming and anime, the anxiety that comes with an audition, and what voice actors do on a day to day basis when they aren’t at the microphone recording. This episode is an awesome insight into the video game world of voice acting and packed with the video game chat you love! Thanks to our MYTHIC Supporters: Redletter, Ol’ Jake, Disratory and Gaius Melissa is asking for help to support those recovering from the LA Fires: https://secure.projecthope.org/site/SPageNavigator/FY25_01_Multistep_Test_LO_12872.html?autologin=true&mfc_pref=T Connect with the show: Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/videogamerspod Join our Gaming Discord: https://discord.gg/Dsx2rgEEbz Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/videogamerspod/ Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/VideoGamersPod Subscribe to us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCU12YOMnAQwqFZEdfXv9c3Q Visit us on the web: https://videogamerspod.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Chapter 1: What insights does Melissa White provide about voice acting?
Hello fellow gamers and welcome to the Video Gamers Podcast. We've been diving into the people behind the games we all know and love and there's nothing quite like that character on screen brought to life before our very eyes. We share their story in a way that movies just can't mimic. We are part of their story, part of their struggles and we are there with them.
A lot of times we are them and that's the beauty of gaming. But there's a gap between an on-screen character and the people that are playing them. And that gap is bridged by the amazing men and women that voice the characters on the screen. On this episode, we're diving a bit further into the world of voice acting to get an in-depth look at the people that help bring our games to life.
But first, some introductions are in order. I am your host, Josh, and joining me, he'll never forget that one time he was sick and nailed that perfect Kratos impression, and now he has it at the top of his resume.
It's Ryan. Death can have me when it earns me. Yeah, that's not as good this time. See, I gotta get that frog, and then it gives me the Barry White voice, and then I can go from there, but...
It's okay. You did it once, Ryan. That's all that matters. I haven't saved. I have the one.
I'll just go on that.
And joining us, she is actually a voice actor with experience in games like Dragonair, Silent Gods, AFK Arena, Fortnite, and Genshin Impact. It's the incredibly talented Melissa White.
Well, what an introduction. Thank you for having me. Right? I hope I can live up to that hype. I'm here.
I was hoping you were gonna do Kratos there.
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Chapter 2: What are the challenges of being a voice actor?
Don't try it. We need your voice for this episode.
Maybe by the end of the episode.
There you go, right? Awesome. Well, Melissa, thank you so much for taking time out of your day to hop on the podcast with us. We are very excited. This is going to be a good time. Our listeners, you know, it's one of those things where voice acting is always... It's just near and dear to gamers, man. I don't know what it is, but it's like I have never heard a gamer talk poorly about just the...
like the, the whole of voice acting. I mean, sometimes I think gamers can be a little critical and say, I didn't like the voice acting in that game, but it's like, as a whole, like gamers, we just, we respect it, man. And I like that. So thank you so much for coming on here. And, uh, I did mention some of the games, uh, that you have been in, but let me just repeat those for people.
Cause this is awesome, man. So dragon air, silent gods, AFK arena, uh, a little game called, I don't know, Fortnite. I think people maybe have heard of that. And then another little kind of indie game, maybe called Genshin Impact. Uh, You know, only like tens of millions of people play every day. So this is going to be a lot of fun. I mean, we're very excited to have you.
Getting that peek behind the curtain is really just fun. And, you know, we might ask some dumb questions along the way, but it's things that we're curious about. And it's like, you know, I'm a kid, man. If I'm curious and Ryan's curious, then I know there's listeners out there that are going like, yeah, I've always wondered that. So, but we do like to start off with the important stuff.
And that is that you are actually a gamer.
I sure am. Sup gamers.
Yes. Fellow game nerds. Yay. And so we were chatting a little bit before we started recording and kind of over email. And one of the things we always ask are like, hey, what are some of the favorite games that you've played lately? And I got to say, I love your answers on this. So what are some of your favorite games that you've played lately?
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Chapter 3: How does voice acting in gaming differ from anime?
Oh, so you didn't know what to expect.
I had no idea.
Oh, dude, I was messed up about it. That game will get you. There's a reason they remade that. So what did you think about it?
Oh, I loved it. I streamed it on Twitch, actually. And one of the weird things, the weirdest things is I would get these random people coming into my chat simping for the main guy. And I'm like... He is not one to simp for. That's very questionable behavior, but okay.
Oh, that's funny.
The game itself was so good. I just love the atmosphere they had. I love the soundtrack. I loved the characters, the voice acting. Speaking of voice acting, oh my gosh, it's so good. But yeah, it was really, really good. It definitely threw me for a loop. I didn't figure anything out, so...
What is happening?
Yeah, absolutely. And then you did mention a game that I know a lot of people love, but Dead by Daylight.
Yeah, Dead by Daylight, I'm addicted. I play it all the time. I am bad at it, but I still continue to play it because I have an addiction. But it's, I don't know, it's just I like that every game's different, but I like specifically streaming it because it's not story-based, so you don't have to focus so much. You can read chat and respond, and it's just kind of chill.
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Chapter 4: What games have influenced Melissa as a voice actor?
That's all. No big deal.
No biggie, you know, it's just an everyday occurrence. Yeah.
Chat, should I go through this door?
So, I mean, you know, that's two very, very well-known and widely respected horror games. So, like, are you a fan of that genre? Is it just that, like, this is kind of what you wound up playing kind of back to back? Or do you actually like the horror genre?
I love horror and not just in games, like in all media. I'm just a big horror junkie. I just find it such a creative genre in general, like the things that some people come up with. And I'm not talking about the like, oh, this is just like, oh, the girl like who gets killed first, the like dumb blonde personified character that's always in there. But like.
The people who really get into these twists and the mysteries and the turns that tend to come with horror. I just I think they're brilliant. And so I'm I'm a big fan in all media, like I said.
Yeah. Dude, we just hopped into Outlast Trials a little bit ago. Oh, man. That game's crazy.
Speaking of horror. If you have not checked it out, this is actually a good game to stream as well. But if you have some friends to play with, it is one of the most bananas games that I think we've ever played. And it's called the Outlast Trials. Outlast Trials.
okay yeah and it is it is great like we had no i we knew it was like okay everybody like we've heard of outlast we know that that's like a horror yeah and we got in there and this was one of those just like what the heck is going on right i love it i would probably love it i'm sure so thank you yeah you would definitely i'm not the biggest horror guy but the jump scares are what gets me like i was gonna say we're both kind of chickens when it comes to horrors
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Chapter 5: What is the competitive landscape in voice acting?
Oh, it was.
It makes it a lot better. Yeah. We don't mind just, you know, screaming and again, you know, just acting like little kids that are scared out of our minds. And, you know, it makes it more fun. We had a buddy that's very logical and he was like, I don't I don't get this.
And we're like, dude, you're you're such a downer, man. Pretend to be scared.
Oh, man. All right. And then in our conversation with games now, this one's a little bit of a hot topic right here. So you mentioned Persona 5 Royale.
Yep.
And you said it is the best Atlas game.
And I will die on that hill.
Now, I think a lot of people would say, yeah, sure, Persona 5 Royale, it is the best game. Except they released a little game that's called Metaphor Refantasio. And most people that loved Persona 5 Royale went, this is the greatest game they've ever made. Now, I am going to confess that I played Persona 5 Royale for about 15 hours.
And then I just kind of went, I can appreciate this game for what it is. It's just not for me. I love turn-based combat. I like Final Fantasy games. I grew up on those. I mean, you know, this is one of those things where it's like it checked all the boxes and And I like anime on top of that. So it's like, this has got to be the most perfect game.
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Chapter 6: How do voice actors prepare for auditions?
I played about 20 hours of it.
Okay. That's enough for... In my mind, that's enough to say I like this game or I don't like this game. Okay. So what are your thoughts on that?
So I think Metaphor is great, but I... The difference between Metaphor and Persona 5, I'll say, is Persona 5 is a lot more intuitive and laid back, whereas Metaphor, you've got, like, a class system. It's, like, more depressing undertones to the music, the characters, the themes in the game. And so, like... I have depression enough on my own.
And so, like, I boot up this game and I'm like, man, I'm even more depressed because it's just the vibe of it. Whereas Persona 5, for me, it makes you feel so empowered because you're like, yeah, let's get these rotten adults. Maybe that's me being the 12-year-old boy that I am mentally, but I...
I just feel like when I play a game, I don't want to be stressed because I don't I don't like challenging games either for the most part, because I'm just like, damn, you know, I could. Life's hard enough. Yeah. Life is hard enough. I want to just do something fun, you know. But yeah, I'm not saying metaphor is bad.
I just think I'm not the right audience for it is more the thing because Persona 5 is more, I would say, targeted toward a more general audience, I would say. I get that.
Yeah, that makes sense.
But I think metaphor is great.
Yeah, I just I hate all turn based combat. I find it so boring. So like, I don't everyone just like there's going to be some upset people in our discord, you know, about about that. But I'm with you.
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Chapter 7: What is the importance of social media for voice actors?
Ryan could care less because he hates turn-based combat, but he unfortunately has to play it. We have this thing where you can force somebody to play a game. And so he's being forced to play that. And I'm really hoping that this is like what changes his mind on these turn-based combat games. Good luck. Good luck. We'll see. And then I love talking about this. So you do stream on Twitch a good bit.
And, you know, it's one of those things where, you know, it's it's I think it takes our passion and our love of games and it kind of helps us spread that to the world. I mean, we do a gaming podcast, so it's like, you know, obviously we understand that. I and again, everybody's experience is different. I used to stream on Twitch a long time ago. And for me, it was a lot of fun.
I'm a super social person. I love talking to people, you know, but it was like it almost made it feel like work at times. So do you do you get that feeling? I mean, is it just the fun of talking with people that are hopping in the chat and hanging out with you? Or how does that affect like the whole like gaming is my hobby, but now I've turned it into work at the same time?
So here's the thing. I'm a workaholic. And for me, if I don't schedule in some kind of productive gaming, like streaming on Twitch, I just won't do it. Cause I'll just work. Um, I'll just do like, Oh, I have voice acting or I have a day job too. So I'll just do other stuff. And I'm like, no, I'm scheduling in my fun. I know that sounds so lame to have to schedule in your fun, but I do.
And I, I am very extroverted. And so I find it so fun to talk to people who come and chat and, um, I like entertaining people. I mean, I'm an actor. Right. So it's like I think I think streaming is like not too far off because it's still that entertainment aspect. But it's still I get to experience these stories and these games that I'm picking.
And I have an excuse to do it because I feel productive. It's it's the millennial in me, man. I got everything has to be productive. Yeah.
I get that. Yeah. Ryan and I are very similar in that way where it's like we can't sit still. It's tough to just sit down and do something for a few hours kind of thing. And my wife jokes because she's like, I thought you were going to play this game and I'm up every 10 minutes. And she's like, what? And I'm like, I just can't sit down this long. I need to feel like I'm doing something.
Right.
Yeah. We can definitely sympathize on that. Yeah. I got a burning question in my head, and we got to go back to the horror game thing for a second. What is the scariest game that you have ever played?
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Chapter 8: What makes a character memorable in voice acting?
Yep.
Yes! Dude, that is the answer. That is my number one answer.
Josh is a huge advocate for Amnesia.
Oh, it's so good.
Every time anyone brings it up.
It's hard to explain to people. Have you played Amnesia? Have you played it? You should try it out.
Hey, she just verified that right there.
I validated you.
Yes, absolutely. I tell people, look, it's a little dated. I know the graphics are getting a little old, but if you want a game that is hands down the scariest game that I have ever experienced, Amnesia is it. I know they did a new one called The Bunker. I didn't play that one, but The Dark Descent is so good. Yeah.
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