When I first started working on The Empty Desk, I poured all my energy, time, and savings into creating a story-driven experience that would stay with players long after the credits rolled. As a solo developer with limited resources, my goal was always to deliver the highest possible quality. But reality hit hard—after spending all I had on development, I simply didn’t have the budget for professional voice acting.
To offer an alternative for players who prefer listening to reading, I added AI-generated voices as a temporary solution. Some players appreciated this effort, but many—especially in certain languages—felt it hurt the immersion and emotional weight of the story. I listened to this feedback and made the tough decision to remove most of the voice-overs, leaving only the written dialogue to preserve the narrative experience.
Then something amazing happened.
Daniele Bosi, who runs a fantastic YouTube channel (RedFlameFox), reached out to me. He told me how much he loved The Empty Desk and how he wished it could be fully voiced in Italian. What started as a simple conversation turned into something extraordinary. Daniele, completely out of passion for the project and without asking for anything in return, took it upon himself to organize and direct a team of talented Italian voice actors. Together, they breathed life into every character, every emotional beat, every whispered secret of the game.
Thanks to their incredible effort and dedication, The Empty Desk now has a full professional Italian voice-over—and honestly, it has become my favorite version of the game. Hearing Detective Bennett’s story told with such emotion and care by real professionals is beyond anything I imagined when I started this journey.
I cannot thank Daniele and his team enough for their passion, talent, and generosity. If you ever need Italian localization or voice work, I recommend them 100%. And if one day The Empty Desk becomes successful enough to fund Detective Bennett’s next case, they will absolutely be my first choice to bring it to life.
Here’s the amazing Italian team who made this dream possible: 🎤 Daniele Bosi (RedFlameFox) – Voice director, translator, dialogue adaptation 🕵️♂️ Daniele Morchio – Voice of Bennett 👻 Jessica Tedesco – Voice of Emily / Ghost 📖 Antonella De Stefano (AntaDest) – Voice of Sarah 🔍 Samuele Ricci (SamDub) – Voice of Arthur 📚 Luca Costantini – Voice of Harold 💼 Alessandra Guerra – Voice of Margaret 🎧 Simone Erik Turco (ilsimo2000) – Voice of Oliver, sound assistant
Grazie mille to the whole team. Your passion made this possible. ❤️