Hello VAA. In the meantime of both wondering what to do with the Blade RP, and writing a script for Tale of a girl, I’m afraid I’ve gone and found something else up my sleeve! After having been inspired by a few parodies and generally funny/interesting stuff lately, I took to designing a joke modification for the game Half-Life 2. I decided it’d be great fun to turn it into an audio project in order to get it off the ground, before actually taking it to the game code. So here we are!
Mid-Life: Crisis
Auditions
- Gordon Freeman
Male; late-thirties; regular to low voice type. Kinda tired and grumpy.
The protagonist of both games, this man has never actually had a voice, so he’s pretty much open to interpretation! All I’m looking for is a bitter, washed out guy, with an attitude. He’s pressured by his wife, tortured by his neighbours, and fed up with failure!
EDIT: I found some sound files for a minor citizen in the game who I thought would be a good base for Gordon's tone - check them out under 'Samples'.
01 – *Sips coffee* “Ahhh… Jesus, this tastes like crap.”
02 – “Fine, well… it seems like you’re pretty desperate to hire me. What are you offering? I mean, an MIT graduate doesn’t come cheap these days. Heh, heh, heh.”
03 – “Huh… *calling* Hey Carol, I think I got a job.”
- Carol Freeman
Female; mid-thirties; regular to high voice type. Bubbly and excitable, yet overbearing.
Our hero’s loved one. She has been wanting Gordon to get a job ever since he screwed up royally at the research facility. She’s your typical homemaker, trying to keep a husband, son, and dog in order. Uses force if necessary.
01 – *Yelling* “Gooorrdooon? Could you answer thaaat!?”
02 – “Gordon? You got another call about a job. When are you gonna get off your ass and start working again?”
03 – “Oh that’s wonderful, hun.”
- Josh Freeman
Male; early teens; regular to high voice type. Generic, insecure kid.
Even though he’s an only child, Josh doesn’t quite get enough attention. He’s hated by his father and teased by school friends. Constantly reminded he doesn’t stick out from the crowd, perhaps this boy will prove himself someday…
01 – *Answering door* “Got it, mom.”
02 – “Hey dad, can I have my pocket money now-- *hit with crowbar* Oww!”
03 – *Napolean Dynamite style* "Geez, you SUCK so friggin' MUCH!"
- Alyx Vance (pronounced like 'Alex')
Female; mid to late-twenties; regular voice type. Cheerful and active, yet sometimes too independent.
As the daughter of Eli (a scientist Gordon helped during the catastrophe at Black Mesa), Alyx feels somewhat indebted to Gordon, and they each have a soft-spot for one another. However, for now they remain just good friends. She is strong-willed, though a little temperamental.
01 – “Heya Gordon. Um… Dog’s leaving small kids on our lawn again. Do you know anything about it?”
02 – *Not in the mood to talk* “Yeaahh, he’s good. I’ll be back later.”
03 – "Uhh, seriously? Stop touching my ass."
- Eli Vance (pronounced ‘Ee-lie’)
Male; mid-forties; regular to low voice type. Husky yet friendly. Think Bill Cosby.
Forever grateful to Gordon as his ex-co-worker and trusted friend, Eli uses his smarts to assist whenever he can. Though sometimes he finds Gordon a little too clingy (trying to be “down with the whole ‘black’ thing”), and just wants to spend time with his own family.
01 – “Indeed Gordon, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that...”
02 – “Just stop, before you hurt yourself.”
03 – “If you mistreat my daughter, so help me God, I’ll drop you like a uranium capacitor.”
- Barney Calhoun (pronounced 'Kal-hoon')
Male; mid-thirties; regular voice type. Energetic and irritating.
This security guard (also made redundant after the incident) is an old drinking buddy of Gordon's and considers himself a part of the gang. He shrugs off Gordon’s contempt for him as mere jesting, and always manages to get under peoples’ skin. He’s your average annoying neighbour!
01 – “Hey there, sport! Is your dad in? We were gonna go for a run together. Don’t tell me he’s not around!”
02 – “Alrighty! How’s your mother? Oh, hello Dog! He-heeeyyyy!” *getting tossed away, still having fun*
03 – “Hah haah! That ol’ kidder. Let him know I dropped by, okay? Okay!”
Samples
Hooray for my kind fellow ninja team mates, as they have permitted me to use a wee bit of space on the FTP for some samples of existing characters. Bear in mind that these should just be used as a guideline. Acting of the comedy personality is what I'm more interested in than the voice itself =)
Gordon
gor_ifyoudare
gor_understood
Alyx
al_imalyx
al_animalperson
Barney
ba_sarcastic
ba_thatbeer
Eli
eli_greeting
eli_handle
Guidelines
- Record your lines separately at 44100 rate, stereo, 16-bit resolution, in MP3 format.
- Name your lines VAAname_charactername_##.
- Winzip/rar your lines into VAAname_MLauds.
- Please include a résumé or text file in this compressed folder, with any relevant contact info, etc.
- E-mail everything to rjl_simpson -at- hotmail -dot- com, with a subject line like 'Mid-Life Auditions'. Feel free to inform/ask me anything you wish, but do state whether you’d be willing to try for any alternative or future roles.
- Have fun!
Notes
- Accents should have an American base, but do experiment! I accept fake accents as long as you’re confident! (Mine’s fake ^_^)
- I’m not setting a deadline for now. Just want some auditions!
- If you’re cast, these lines may be used for a teaser/trailer thing, and then the script for the opening act will be sent to you later.
- I’ll be happy to give more information about the character/s you’re interested in if you’re concerned. This includes issues on strong language, work load, and so on.
Thanks everyone, looking forward to hearing from as many of you as possible!
Received from
Isca (Alyx, Carol)
Cefaclor (Carol)
Minty (Alyx)
Sabre (Gordon)
GForce (Gordon, Barney, Josh)
Fairuza (Alyx, Josh)
Wiznaibus (Gordon)
Blackwolf (Gordon)
Explosivoooo (Gordon, Barney, Josh)
GeistSeig (Gordon)
Originally Posted by Batgirl
Thanks a bunch for the Sig, Instraclassic!:3