Miriam voice actress? o.o

Feb 9, 2016 23:26:14 GMT -6 Mana said:

What crocodile said is very true from a PR perspective.

There's also the fact that Miriam is the protagonist and that VA can predetermine a character's personality to a certain extent. Miriam's character is still very underdeveloped. Depending on her voice and personality, this could change the way the players will relate to her. When we discussed VAs and character personalities, IGA mentioned that he didn't have a specific voice in mind and likes to keep his protagonists mysterious so that their character doesn't affect the players' overall gameplay experience.

• A character can have a well defined personality and still be relateable. I feel the contrary thought process leads to a lot of silent or near silent protagonists  or those meant to serve as self-inserts. I tend to find those sorts of characters super boring and I know I'm not alone.
  

• Don't conflate "strong female protagonist" with 100% stoic or hard-edged. I feel that's the default a lot of writers trend towards (yet people will allow male protagonists to have any sort of personality whilst still being seen as "strong"). You see what Sakamoto and Team Ninja did with Samus in Other M? AVOID THAT LIKE THE PLAGUE!!

• Don't be afraid to be expressive. Monotone expressions or voices aren't the defining feature of a badass. The type of woman who can smile and bake a cake one day or even make the occasional joke and then rip the head off a demon the next day is more interesting than "I boil with generic rage". I've felt it was encouraging to have shots/art of Miriam smiling in the screenshots or campaign art and I don't think that at all conflicts with a woman who can be contemplative or stern or ferocious when the situation arises.
  

• If her personality can be expressed in accurately in basically one word, you've probably goofed. Like if "oh she's the imuoto-type" is a spot on and sufficient descriptor, you've probably goofed. You can't avoid tropes but try not to dive right into them without providing an interesting or compelling take. (Also imuoto-type characters suck). If you've got the time (A LOT OF TIME) you may want to take a gander at TVTropes.com both as a means to see what sorts of tropes have been successful but also the type to avoid.

• I know she's been described as amnesiac. Amnesia carries with it a lot of tired tropes often leading to dull personalities. Try to avoid that if possible.
  

• From the kickstarter Miriam was described as: "She is a woman of few words but strong of purpose. Her youth is deceiving, making her seem confrontational and quick to judge, though in reality she is constantly evaluating her next step. The pain she felt as an orphaned child fuels her compassionate desire to protect her loved ones and friends." From this I'm getting - calm, contemplative, aggressive/ferocious (when necessary), quick-witted, compassionate/kind, goal-oriented and with a strong sense of justice. I think that's a good collection of traits to at east build from.

• It may be useful to do a brainstorming exercise to think who are y'all favorite female protagonists are, what made them work and why you liked them. Characters like Motoko Kusanagi (Stand Alone Complex version) or Balsa from Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit are characters that skew older than Miriam but are among my favorites in anime and I would probably think of them first if I were doing such a brainstorming session. Looking back to Castlevania, Shanoa is probably the most (one of the most) popular female characters in the series. I'm a big fan of hers but even then, though I understand the story reasons why, the whole "no emotions" bit was a bummer. I would've liked it if she was more expressive (again I point to the fact I appreciate then even with all the nonsense Miriam has and will have to do with that she can still smile/laugh/maybe joke, etc. per the screenshots and art)

Again, y'all call the shorts, I'm just a single dude/backer on the internet. I just felt I should offer my opinion As an aside, I mentioned it earlier, consider British VA if it at all makes sense/sounds interesting to you guys/isn't financially prohibitive.