Bastion, a game that I feel
has one of the most compelling narrators I have ever heard. I seriously played
this game just to listen to him. The narration is so affecting, it comes in no
small part from the man Logan Cunningham, the voice of Rucks. “It's the best
compliment in the world when I hear people saying the reason they wanted to
keep going is because they wanted to hear what Rucks would say next," says
Cunningham. He has a dry wit but there's a great sadness and regret there too.
I don't think there's a lot out there in the world that scares him anymore, and
he's the type of person who, after accumulating a number of years, finds the
humor in life rather easily. I love that odd mix going on, someone who is
hard-hearted but also quick to laugh. I also think the reason it works so well
is the pacing and implementation of the narration. It's in nice, small pieces
that are carefully placed throughout the map; you won't hear the next line
until you literally step over it. There is a right way to do narration and a wrong way, this guy does it right.
nice, i love this game. It has been one of my favorites since i played it. For an indie game its narration and music were some of the strongest parts of the game. Recently they released some DLC for the game to expand the back story. People like the sound of Rucks so much they even featured him on the music album, the song is very funny imagine James Earl Jones rapping.
ReplyDeleteWhen you say there's a right way and a wrong way, I can't help but think deeper about what it takes to make a successful narration... I'd say it's more along the lines of there's a right way, maybe two right ways, to do it, and then there are a MILLION wrong ways. Agreeably, this guy does it right, but when it comes to narration, you generally look for three things. One, you can have the almost grandfatherly and monotoned voice that simply offers the raw spoken emotion and detail. Two, you can have the soft-spoken adolescent or female, which offers a sort of innocence. Three, you can have an exhilarating and anxious voice that inspires excitement through action. Examples of the first and third would be Morgan Freeman and Samuel L. Jackson respectively. I would agree that they did well here...
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