There are many people like Debbie, but not everyone has the courage to take a chance and try their luck at a game company.
Currently, game companies do not have professional voice actors; this role is often seen as a part-time gig. Only Gamestar Entertainment has formally introduced the position of a professional voice actor.
Takayuki briefly glanced at Debbie's resume, listened to her voice, and found it quite impressive.
After a quick test, Debbie won the approval of several people.
Excited, she bowed and thanked everyone.
The shadow of unemployment had made her feel a bit down recently.
She really enjoyed using her voice as a profession, and if she had to give it up, she would feel a great deal of regret.
But now, with a place to put her talents, she was truly happy.
The next day, Debbie joined the Metroid development team.
The team's time was incredibly valuable, and every moment at work was filled with high-frequency development activities.
With nervous anticipation, Debbie entered the office where Metroid was being developed.
This office was the Metroid development branch located in the United States.
Due to the global strategy, some development in other languages needed to proceed simultaneously. The U.S. market was particularly important, so a temporary office had been set up specifically for the Metroid team here.
Though it was just a branch, the staff in the office were all extremely busy.
As Debbie walked into the office, she found herself unsure of what to do or who to approach.
"Dune, the translation materials are ready on my end. How are Samus' lines coming along?"
"Still in translation, we need to wait a bit longer. Don't rush."
In the approximately 50 square meter office, three or four people were busy working, and for over half an hour, it seemed no one had noticed Debbie's arrival.
Debbie wanted to do something, but she didn't know where to start.
Finally, Dune let out a long sigh from his desk and said, "Finally done! The line translations are finished. Now we just need the voice actors to come in and voice the characters."
"Voice acting, huh? Oh, right, I heard that this time Metroid will have professional voice acting, unlike many of our previous games. By the way, when will the professional voice actors arrive?"
Someone casually replied, "I don't know, but I'm curious why we need professional voice actors. In the past, our games were fine with casual voice work, and they were still pretty popular. Why is this time so special?"
Dune stood up, walked over with a script in hand, and said to his colleague, "Who knows? It's hard to understand. I mean, isn't it enough if the game is fun? Why do we need professional voice actors? It's just extra hassle, and we'll have to wait for them to come before we can complete the work."
A few others voiced similar complaints.
Previously, their work had been fairly straightforward. They'd get a game's materials and script, then start translating.
It wasn't until the last two years that voice acting started to become a necessity.
But back then, the requirement was basic—just as long as you could hear the voices, it was fine. A little emotion added to the performance was great, but the bar wasn't set high.
They were used to doing the voice work themselves.
But now, headquarters had suddenly decided to take the voice work more seriously, and that was something they couldn't understand.
There had never been such a precedent before.
But since it was a command from the top, particularly from Takayuki, they could only express their doubts.
"Well, I might be the voice actor you're looking for."
Debbie's voice suddenly cut through the conversation, and everyone turned to look at her at once.
"What the hell? When did you get here?"
The group was stunned, with Dune looking a bit embarrassed.
He had just been talking about voice actors, and it was a bit rude to speak negatively about someone's profession in front of them.
But Debbie didn't seem to mind; she seemed accustomed to it.
In the past, she had been someone who lacked presence.
It was only when she spoke that she would catch people's attention, because her voice was so distinctive.
The head of the office immediately stood up from his seat and walked over to Debbie, saying warmly, "Are you the voice actress? Welcome! Please don't mind the discussion earlier, they weren't talking about you."
Debbie nodded, "It's fine, I've gotten used to it."
The head of the office turned to the others and said, "Alright, everyone, prepare. Dune, where are your lines?"
Dune quickly stepped forward, handing over the translated Metroid lines to his boss.
Debbie, at that moment, also handed over her basic information to the boss.
He held the script in one hand and her resume in the other, quickly scanning her name on the document.
"Ms. Debbie, is it? Here are the lines for our game. Have you had any previous experience with movie voice acting?"
Debbie nodded slightly, "I've had a chance to do a few minor roles in small TV drama productions back when I worked in radio."
"That's good. Here's the script for you. Please give it a try and let's see how you perform."
Debbie took the script with both hands and began to examine it carefully.
At this point, the others cast curious glances in her direction.
They were eager to see just how much impact a professional voice actor could have.
In their traditional view, as long as a game was fun, it was fine. The story was important, sure, but it wasn't something that required professional voice acting.
Debbie carefully read through the first lines of Samus' dialogue and already had a general idea in her mind.
She looked up and asked, "By the way, do these lines have an actual performance scene? If I could match the voice acting with the pre-made video, I think I could do a better job."
"Well, we haven't received those yet. The game is still in early development, and there isn't any video footage yet. Voice acting isn't extremely urgent, we just want to see how your performance goes first."
They always felt that hiring a professional voice actor wasn't necessary for a game that wasn't a big-budget movie.
Debbie thought for a moment and then nodded, "Alright, do you have a recording studio here? I can try the voice work now."