#nugeyo

So basically, the voices I were looking for came down to ‘cool’ and ‘unique’ to fit the fun style of the game. My choices are also ones that I feel work well with the game’s BGM (8-bit, Jazz, and Rock genres), which I listened to many times while reviewing auditions.

I feel extremely lucky or something, because I’ve managed to receive at least one standout audition for each of the roles! Below is a comment for the ones who were cast.

Warning: #tl;dr #i write too much

Garrett - Dangerrzone (BTVA/CCC).

Here’s the thing: soon as I heard this audition, I knew I had found the right person for Garrett, and that I could finalize the deadline for the casting call (at that time, there were good auditions for all other characters but not so much for Garrett). No one came as close in both voice and emotion (line 3 was a toughie). Why Dangerrzone? He has just the right amount of aloofness to his tone used here, not too loud, it’s read very well, still kept it appropriate for Garrett’s age and not too boring, nailed the yelling part, and I can also sense the sarcasm. Overall a great voice I definitely wouldn’t mind hearing for the whole game. [Fun fact: He reads about as fast as the default text speed. :D]

(Forgive me for using ‘Jazz’ instead of his real name James/Dr. Han, but Jazz sounds cooler)

Jazz - chosenheroarrives (BTVA) / chromex20 (CCC).

His rougher quality to his voice works so well with the relaxed and “chill” aspect of Jazz. The reads have that extra ‘breath’ at the end, only adding to the chillness. xD He has some lightheartedness and humour in the tone but is still kept professional and distinct enough/a good contrast from the highly energetic students. Sounds like a homeroom teacher I would like to have! :)

Anyways, very glad that you auditioned and to have you for my project! Hope you will enjoy voicing Jazz because I think he is a fun character and pretty darn awesome for a teacher.

Pia - Delphilim (BTVA).

Her small accent alone really made her audition shine. I feel Pia would work very well with this accent. I don’t know why but somehow, perhaps it adds to the naturalness of the character? Besides that, her read is done very well. She kept it optimistic, friendly and natural, without going too high or too “kawaii”, and her voice is also the right pitch and not too soft.

I’ll just put this here again which I’ve left as feedback on BTVA earlier: “In particular, I like how you say certain phrases like "...have three boxes you can spare..." (take 1), like you gave it that extra "oomph" to keep it cheerful. Line 3 was done well; I liked the transition from sad to more 'panicked/desperation'.”

Klaus - Josheir (BTVA/CCC).

Oh boy, this is where the decisions got extra tough. There were quite a number of voices that could all fit Klaus well. It came down to two. So I compared the most minor of details, you’d think it insignificant or laughable.

Criteria included [who sounds more “bro”] and [Josheir has an edge with the way he says line 1 “in a totally platonic manner”. It’s funny how he said it bc it’s like “I LOVE YOU! …no homo”]

So even though Josheir provided more takes than fingers I can count on my hands, I found the parts I liked best and voila! It sounds awesome. Have you heard that line 3? No because his audition is 4 minutes long? :( Well I thought the emotion was just right! :D

It’s possible someone might not like how “comedic” he sounds (I did ask him to tone that down a little, plus you don’t hear it in line 3), but I think it can work for class clown Klaus (oooh perfect naming) who desires to stand out and be memorable. And I felt that Josheir’s voice and acting was the most memorable.

Rita - Marichu (BTVA) / Marichu Miso (CCC).

The hardest choice to make because Rita had the highest amount of amazing auditions. Then I narrowed it down to two based on voice (Marichu and WhiteSin/Rosy). And finally, I chose based on “voice synergy”, or in more simple terms, how well the person voicing Rita would sound together with the person voicing Jazz (Rita is Jazz Hands’s aide). Joe and Rosy did sound good together, but when I put together Joe’s and Marichu’s side-by-side, I found that they sound SUPER COOL together. Like the chill+sass (slight roughness + raspiness) works wayyyy tooooo well!! <:O So, I have to give it to Marichu here. Even though I really loved many others’ as well ;-;

Marichu also had a slight edge for being just near on-point with the voice I imagined for Rita. She’s got the aforementioned slight rasp, sounds tired enough but not in a boring way, got that attitude, and a nice softer undertone (showing that Rita isn’t completely cold). I also compared all the voices with Rita’s CG (it’s a spoiler) and Marichu’s voice fits the CG extremely well.

Marichu may not be as experienced, but I don’t mind at all. It’s called practicing and improving! :)

Random Classmates - bumblebeary, Sword of Swords.

I was considering bumblebeary for Rita, then thought “she’d make a great random classmate”. As simple as that! She had some nice rasp/attitude that fits an uncaring student, as well as a few other voices. Sword of Swords also gave a nice variety of different tones that could fit in with the game. As some of the male classmates are Klaus’s buddies, Swords would also work for that as he’s got a cool voice and enough energy. They both sound good together as well.

Mean Male Classmate - Paladin.

So I thought about how I wanted Mr. Jerk to sound (poor unnamed guy sharing in-game name with Random Male Classmate). In the end, I chose “sinister mean” over “comedic/straight-up jerk just to be a jerk”. Paladin has just the right amount of the former. Even listening to his other auditions, I was like “this voice is perfect for Mr. Jerky” the whole time. Sword of Swords would be my next pick, though, like Joe, they both sound a bit too cool for Mr. Jerkoff. xD If I was leaning towards comedic instead, I would have considered other auditions such as A-Log’s. There are two in-game BGMs (that aren’t by default but can be chosen to play) during Mr. Jerk-ilicious’s encounters that lean towards sinister, and I felt Paladin’s voice would be perfect with those BGMs. For such a minor character--this combo could make a rather memorable encounter.

Office Worker - Adox. I know a pro when I hear one. That aside, Adox has a charming personality here. I wish I could have given her more lines! uwu

Band Member - Mintyfreshvoices. Loved the gruffness! xD Also had great energy and didn’t sound too old, as I assume all the members of Rita’s band are teenagers/possibly seniors. Band member could also voice some random background lines, if they’d like.

To the cast I chose - I WANT YOU!

(So uh, hopefully everyone is up for their role :o)

One more tidbit of info: Shout Outs/upvotes did not and should not have bearing on who I chose. Although I was watching who was being upvoted (and tend to disagree sometimes xD) and who was not (senpais notice this one audition I really like pretty please?). The urge to hold my own upvotes until the end to be fair was tough… ugh! >< To be fair to CCC too, I gave upvotes at random times to avoid them not getting notified of one but find out they aren’t cast at the same time (oh the disappointment). Well not truly random if they can tell it was from me. xD

Conclusion

I hope all of these amazing talents can stick around for the whole project and make it sound PURELY AWESOME, just like this game is (and deserves to have a good voice over, yo). Eyyyyyy. In case someone can’t fulfill their role, I had some understudies in mind.