So I didn't write anything last week. Sorry. I was busy being asleep. Or working. Or both. So, I've actually been out training, done some yard work (if scaring the dog with a pressure-washer counts as yard work). Like you lot care
First off, I'll go off in a completely different direction: the Japanese. Nestor just sent me some samples of the battle chatter and commands from their recent Japanese voice recording session in London. "Show these pigs - banzai!" was moderately scary, coming from the "young idealistic one" (we have different character types/bios to give the voice actors some direction). His moaning and groaning was rather blood-curdling. I hadn't thought about it until I listened to these pieces, but the voice work in Rising Storm is going to be something quite different. Playing as Americans, to hear the Japanese jabbering away (not being racist - just that I don't speak a word of Japanese and it sounds very alien to my ears) is going to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
In RO2, I'm going to have some idea of what the enemy is saying in German or Russian (both currently being recorded in Russia/Germany). But Japanese will be another matter. We've finally finished all the spoken script, all the English language recorded. Battle chatter, commands, campaign intros and outros, mission briefings, the training etc. The sheer volume (pun unintended) is quite amazing... hearing it all come together in game, in the various languages, is also amazing. Some great voice acting in there!
See if you can persuade Nestor to post some Japanese examples
What else? Release of Dwarfs - that all went amazingly well - thanks to all involved. Robin and Teddy have some upcoming surprises for the world. Should be great fun. Working on our advertizing and PR schedule, starting to book everything for the rest of the year - through launch and beyond (see - it WILL be this year!). You'll see a pile of advertizing/marketing building over the coming months. As well as some very cool extra PR stuff in the next couple of months. No, I am not going to spoil the surprise.
As for shows we're attending, we're pencilling in GDC Europe/GamesCom, PAX in Seattle, Igromir, CES and GDC next March. Not forgeting our local SIEGE in October, which will now feature an extra day on the topic of funding games - VCs, angels and all, run by the same crew who ran the recent succesful event in Austin.
That's all, folks