A week ago, the screenwriter Hall Hood confided on the website in a new section, meeting with a developer. Following his intervention, many questions were put to him and he comes back today with some answers on the US forum. I did the translation for you!
Q: Did the writers have a say in choosing the voices of the characters?
We always give suggestions for the cast of each character we create but the final choice is up to our collaborators at LucasArts. For the key roles (class characters and companions) we heard from many actors and chose our favorites from among them. The process has worked well and we have particularly talented voice actors for our bigger roles.
Q: How well do screenwriters work with voice actors? Is there some kind of coaching or sharing as to why you wrote something this way?
Before sending our scripts to the recording, the scriptwriters of Bioware add notes to detail the service so that the actors have the information before coming to make the recording. Each line is commented out to help actors understand the context of the line and what is going on in the general conversation where it appears. Our project was too big for our writers to give our voice actors time in the studio, which is a shame. I would have loved to meet the actors who brought my heroes and villains to life.
Q: In a recent interview, you mentioned that the direction of writing, in the future, would be like The Avengers, bringing all of the individual stories to one epic story. Could you tell us what this means for the future?
I can't reveal anything about our plans for the future but we are always experimenting with new styles for our stories in SWTOR. Some stories work well with large groups where players compete to win conversations (hence the Avengers analogy) but that doesn't mean players have to be grouped together to enjoy it. All of our content, which is not built specifically for a class story, is designed to work both in groups and solo.
Q: Can you give us more details on how you started working for Bioware as a writer, Mr Hood. What kind of qualifications did you need and what kind of stuff should an interested person put in their portfolio?
I was a professional screenwriter for a dozen years before I applied to Bioware. I have always been an avid gamer all my life and particularly in love with the RPGs of Bioware. Above all, I've always been a Star Wars nerd. Of course, being a Star Wars gamer and fan wouldn't have changed at all without the time spent learning the craft of writing. A good portfolio for a game author will need to convey confidence and talent as a writer and show a thorough knowledge of gameplay and quest design principles. Writing for games is the most stimulating and rewarding creative job I have ever done, but it is certainly not a career direction to be taken lightly.
Q: What's in the glass, Hall (compared to the photo)
That, my friend, is a cup filled with Sith tears. Siiiii good ....
How would you like Hall to write for video games?
