And the Oscar For Best Digital Acting goes to...

[mshcherbatskaya]

I know there's voice acting and there's movement and facial expression rendering, but they generally get discussed separately. For me there is a combo of the two that is more than just the sum of the parts, which I find myself referring to as digital acting.

I was just playing Indigo Prophecy and admiring the expressiveness of the characters, something I guess I appreciate even more in older games and previous generation consoles because they couldn't rely on high-gloss graphics for effect. It makes sense that a game that considers itself to be a playable movie would have good digital acting, but that got me thinking about other games as well. Valve has received a lot of praise for its rendering of facial expression, the lifelike eyes of its characters, and its convincing ragdoll effects. HL2 has a lot of appeal for me because its digital acting is so good. Halo, which I also enjoy so no favoritism here, doesn't have much in that regard except for perhaps Cortana.

Though I am BioWare fan, one criticism that I can make is that it is a good thing their writing is good and their voice actors are generally well chosen, because the digital acting in their pre-Mass Effect games is not that great. It's good enough, but not great. And for all the flawless rendering of their cut-scened little faces, I don't find the digital acting in the Final Fantasy games to be particularly great either. It's not just a matter of realism. The main characters in Beyond Good and Evil were well "acted" despite the fact that it was not done in a realistic fashion.

What other games should be nominated in the Best Acting category?

 

[Copter400]

I'll go with Bioshock. When Random Splicer #287 came at me, I really believed he was Random Splicer #287.

 

[phooks]

COD 4 and bastila.

'nuff said.

 

[sammyfreak]

HL2 was good here, but Mass Effect really is the benchmark for both voice acting and animations, after playing it strongly reduced the emotional impact of any lesser game.

Tony Plana as Manny Calavera deserves a parade thrown in his name.

(P.S Give Maryl Streep best actress for Mamma Mia)

 

[J'aen]

Alyx Vance gets best digital actress, and Dog gets best supporting digital actor.

 

[Theo Samaritan]

I have to agree with HL2 (and any games using that in the source engine) and COD4.

 

[PurpleRain]

I'll go with Bioshock. When Random Splicer #287 came at me, I really believed he was Random Splicer #287.

I could really believe that Jesus loved him.

But I think we're all forgeting a star. BARNEY!

 

[irrelevantnugget]

The Prince in Sands of Time

 

[sammyfreak]

Alyx Vance gets best digital actress, and Dog gets best supporting digital actor.

You mean Merle Dandridge? What really set her voice apart was when I heard it in the developer commentary and realised how pretty it is, or maybe that reaction was just pavlovian.

 

[Copter400]

I'll go with Bioshock. When Random Splicer #287 came at me, I really believed he was Random Splicer #287.

I could really believe that Jesus loved him.

The anguish! The regret! Realizing that he had traded his Lord for mammon! An what did it get him, huh?

I'll stop milking this joke now.

 

[CatmanStu]

I think I would have to split my vote between two different categories:

Best emotional performance - this one goes to Alyx in HL2 for the moment she throws you that look that tells you she is attracted to you. Sure there was dialogue to help the effect, but you didn't need it as the look said everything. That was the moment I realised that game presentation could rival the movies.

Best comedic performance - Captain LeChuck in the Monkey Island series. As a comic book fan I have always been an advocate of exaggerated realism, and one of the best places for that is animation. With 3D graphics being an almost prerequisite of games these days, I feel a little sadness over the demise of the 2D animated story telling. I recently finished Monkey 3 and haven't laughed so much at a game in ages.

 

[Cali0602]

Reaching way back (and showing a bit of my age) I would nominate the lead cast of Wing Commander III: Heart of the Tiger. Granted it's more video splicing than anything else, but considering the state-of-the-ancient-art graphics, there HAD to be good acting.

Col. Christopher Blair - Mark Hamill (duh)
Adm. Tolwyn - Malcom McDowell (Fallout 3, Star Trek: Generations)
Gen. 'Paladin' Taggart - John Rhys-Davies (Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings)
Maj. 'Maniac' Marshall - Thomas F. Wilson (Back to the Future)

Solid acting from some of Hollywood's faded glory. (Except Rhys-Davies, he's still cool)

 

[stompy]

Ah, no pre-rendered cutscenes from C&C3? Shame, I thought they were quite good myself.

Well, I will say that, for me, the award has to go for HL2: they nailed the facial expressions as well as the voice acting. Combine (he he) that with the excellent presentation and scripting and you have one of the best acting I have seen.

 

[Johnn Johnston]

I was moved by Master Chief's facial expressions, and Gordon Freeman's voice made me melt in my seat.

 

[Conqueror Kenny]

I guess it will be HL2 for me as well, I have to admit they did something well.

 

[The Wooster]

April Ryan in The Longest journey. That game had the best voice acting ever.

 

[mshcherbatskaya]

April Ryan in The Longest journey. That game had the best voice acting ever.

I really liked her voice, but the character rendering didn't quite put me over the top. I realize that they were generally tiny figures, so gestures and facial expression were kind of at a disadvantage, but the fact that several of the human characters has no ears was surprisingly off-putting for me. The sequel, Dreamfall, had some very good digital acting in it, though.

 

[Monarch of Greenwich]

I think that Andrew Ryan, from "Bioshock" diserves an Oscar for his performance as a crazy right wing idealist who built an underwater Utopia that quikly "drowned" in its own vile.(Pun intended).

 

[shufflemonkey16]

Bioshock would be my first nominee. I was impressed with GTA4. Homeworld: Cataclysm gets an honorable mention. (see my Homeworld review)

 

[shufflemonkey16]

I think that Andrew Ryan, from "Bioshock" diserves an Oscar for his performance as a crazy right wing idealist who built an underwater Utopia that quikly "drowned" in its own vile.(Pun intended).

Not really right wing. He's kind of like an ultra-Libertarian.