As the Director of Voice and Graphics Finding (part of the Dept of Grand Constructions under our Evil Overlord and Master jbluestein), I'm in charge of this resource. The purpose is to connect people who want voice acting and graphics in their holds with people who are willing to provide it.
Please read this before you message me about it
For Those requiring Voice Acting
Absolute requirements:
Get every single person whose lines you use to give you permission to use them in your hold, or release them to the public domain. As the recorder, they are the copyright holder and even if they send them to you, you may not use them unless they say that you can.
Be reasonable about what you ask for - if there are any really big parts in your hold it might be best to do them yourself - giving someone 200 lines to read for you is perhaps a tiny bit too much
Make sure that the hold is finished or almost so - it's pointless us recording lines unless they're going to be used. Do the puzzles and layout first, voice acting should be the last thing not the first.
Important guidelines:
1) Make sure that you have the lines you want already written out and ready to send. If you're having a full story it helps to have a variety of parts, since some people will only want to record 4-5 lines whereas others are happy to record lots more. Include instructions for how you want a line to be read - it's not always clear from context.
e.g. how should "
There's the abovegrounder!"
be read? As if you're surprised to see him? As if you're angry at seeing him there? Or just as if you're pointing him out to someone?
2) Make sure to credit each and every voice actor in your hold somewhere visible. Perhaps a room with scrolls crediting everyone? Check what name they wish to be credited under, some are happy with real names, some prefer just their DROD forum ID. If you have modpoints, modding them up for their contribution is also a nice gesture
3) Don't be afraid to ask for re-recordings if the quality is bad (popping, scratching, clipping etc), but don't overdo asking for recordings if you don't like the way it's been read.
4) Have the means to do basic editing on soundfiles - simple stuff like clipping the silent end/beginning off a file, converting it to ogg. Audacity works well for this - see the Voice Actors section.
5) Remember, sometimes the voice actors will have decline your offer - they may be too busy, or have lost your voice or something.
Sample Voice Packs
There is a soundpack I have recorded below. It contains pretty much every single general exclamation I can think of (Yes, No, Get him etc), as well as a variety of utility sounds like the creature names, directions, numbers, etc.
As a bonus I've even thrown in a golem voice set
Have fun, and please read the license carefully before you use them.
Hartleyhair has also recorded a pack of wubba sounds, located below. mrimer has recorded a pack of goblin sounds and exclamations located
here
For Voice Actors
At the very least, you're going to require a working microphone plugged into your computer. One of the best programs to use is Audacity, which is available free and has ports for several systems. Record a second or two of blankness before you speak each line. This provides a sample of background noise which may then be removed. If you're using Audacity, highlight the part before any speech appears and use the Noise Removal option to load that noise profile. You only usually need a low level of noise removal to clear out the sample, don't go overboard or you'll flatten the sound.
Audacity is also good for subtle changes in the voice - increasing/decreasing the pitch or speed by 5% can make the voice sound drastically different, useful if you want to make it sound like two different people are talking. If the sound is too quiet, amplify it, but don't amplify any more than the initial amount recommended or you'll get unpleasant clipping. You can always amplify certain parts of it. Giving out the soundfiles as a .wav does mean they lose no quality, but the files are large. .ogg files may be good enough, see how your recordings go.
If you have a problem with clipping or popping sounds, one useful technique is to hold a piece of paper in front of the microphone and speak a little louder. This does flatten the sound, but it prevents the audio distortions that occur when blasts of air smack against the mike.
It also helps to have a sample of your voice readily available, so people know what you sound like before choosing which part they'd like to ask you for.
You need to give the person using your recordings permission to use them, as you are the copyright holder. Including the following phrase when you send them should be good enough
"I, YOURNAME as copyright holder of these recordings give THEIRNAME permission to edit and use them in their DROD hold and any derivative works thereof, provided I am given credit for their creation, in each and every work that they are used in"
If you wish to be included on the list of willing voice actors, PM me.
Custom graphics
Guidelines
Do not start asking or looking for custom graphics until your hold is finished or almost finished - get the puzzles and layout done first. Then ask for the graphics.
Making custom graphics requires skill and time, and you will probably not receive the result as quickly as for voice acting. Modifications are also more difficult, so be prepared to accept what you receive, though minor changes can be done.
Graphics information
PNG is probably the best format to use, as it is lossless and preserves colours and transparency.
Custom avatars for characters are 130x164.
Custom sprites for characters are 22x22. To make a character facing all 8 directions, make a 176x22 image. Each 22x22 section is one direction the character faces, starting upwards and rotating clockwise. Should you wish a second frame of animation, it is added directly below the first (176x44 image).
All tiles for DROD are 22x22, consider this when making image floors/walls/etc.
To get transparency, there are two methods. Either include transparency in the PNG itself (which causes some problems when darkness is applied) or use grey as a background. The exact grey needed is Hex C0C0C0 (Red 192, Green 192, Blue 192). In the 2.x engine, for the program to recognise this as transparent, at least one corner pixel must be this colour too. In 3.x this is no longer the case, C0C0C0 is always transparent.
If you want to be listed as an artist in this information repository, please contact me.
Other
You may also be able to find soundfiles and graphics on the net. It's not a good idea to use them unless you can be sure of their licensing/copyright status - e.g. you may be able to find some useful stuff in Creative Commons archives, make sure to read the licenses very very carefully to see what the conditions are.
Don't be afraid to ask your non-DROD friends to do recordings and graphics for you as well, we of the DROD forum are not the only repository of talent around. Just make sure to get their copyright permission.
Finally, don't be afraid to do graphics and sound recordings yourself! Share them with the group.
If you need any more help, just ask me.
Current Willing graphical artists
vittro - does free avatars and tiles. PM him if needed.
Calamarain - Does custom avatars on rare occasions, contact for more details. Examples of work
here and
here
Jason - does custom tiles and occasional portraits. An example of his tiles is
Click here to view the secret text
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Samuel - Avatar artist, contact him for details.
Monkey - Does tiles and sprites.
Current Willing voice actors
Calamarain - Experienced voice actor, male, British. Capable of multiple different voices. Did several different voices in the Witherwood Trilogy.
Samuel - Male. High voice. Does several accents. Did the Technician in Below Witherwood.
Znirk - Male, deep voice, slightly accented.
Elfstone - Female, scottish accent. Played the Gossip in TCB amongst other roles.
Chaco - Male, slightly accented. Did guard voices in Below Witherwood, and has experience in some Smitemaster's Selections.
mrimer - Male. Capable of normal, deep and goblinlike voices, but relatively busy. Did various voices in JtRH, SmS issues, and TCB.
coppro - Male. Capable of a wide array of voices. Played Halph in TCB.
Znirk - Male, slightly accented. Played the Priest and the guards in Witherwood Castle. Will sing if necessary.
krammer - Male. Capable of a goblin voice, all rounder.
Anson - High voice.
Abbyzzmal - did a large array of voices in JtRH and TCB, as well as in Frogs and Mice.
skell - Male with a slight arabic accent.
Kyle10707 - Child's voice.
Ezlo - American, capable of a few accents.
The Spitemaster - American, normal voice.
Pneh - Wide variety of voices, unusual accent.
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My HoldsClick here to view the secret text
[Last edited by calamarain at 05-09-2009 11:25 PM]
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HOLDS: (GOOD AND NOT FINSHED) Map to Dugandy Prison.
