EverQuest II to use voice for NPCs
by VGLN Staff

Friday, April 2, 2004

Non-playable characters to have actual voices online.

Sony Online Entertainment Inc. (SOE), today announced that EverQuest II will feature voiceover for in-game Non-Player Characters (NPCs). The voiceover will be comprised of more than 130 hours of dialog and approximately 1.5 million words (the equivalent of more than 65 feature films worth of content). The addition of voiceover to the game adds a new dimension of realism to the MMO genre that is unmatched by the current generation of titles.

"Including voiceover for NPCs in EverQuest II is an incredibly ambitious project," said John Smedley, president, Sony Online Entertainment. "Few publishers could even imagine undertaking such a huge project, but we're committed to taking EverQuest II to the next level. By giving our in-game characters voices for the first time in a massively multiplayer online environment, we are raising the bar for the genre as a whole, breaking down the boundaries between static, text-driven interface and meaningful, cinematic interaction."

EverQuest II will deliver a unique online gaming experience to players with a cast of more than 100 actors, including well-known Hollywood talent. Featuring nearly 100,000 lines spoken by thousands of characters, the voiceover project is a major undertaking that is sure to mark the beginning of a new era for the MMO genre. After launch, SOE will continue to add new voiceover content whenever new quests are added to the game. Additionally, EverQuest II players will have the ability to choose whether or not they wish to hear the voiceovers, giving them maximum control over their individual level of immersion and system performance.

--- Kit