PlayStation spoke recently with game localization editor Allie Doyon about her voice acting work on the localization team for the upcoming English release of videogame 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Released in 2019 by Osaka-based video game developer Vanillaware, the dramatic scif-fi adventure game experienced great success, receiving nomination for the Seiun Sci-fi awards as the only game in the award show. Since that time, the game has planned a release once they have localized the game for an international audience.
Doyon, who describes the game as “a surprisingly heartfelt mystery across time, space, and human lives,” jokes that the process of voice recording into English presented a number of challenges, with the voice director providing extensive explanations to actors as they entered the recording booth.
As if getting the voice right in studio were not a sufficient challenge, COVID-19 brought about even more technical challenges, as it forced the crew out of a close-quarters environment. After some time to brainstorm possible solutions to this hurdle, the team came up with the alternative to record over video conference calls.
Setting up spaces in closets and other makeshift studios, the team had to work overtime to complete the recording, yet Doyon seems excited about the finished product. “Certain aspects of this game presented an incredible acting challenge,” she says about her team of studio owners, engineers, and other actors, “and I’m so impressed with how well they nailed it.” And regardless of company or team size, nailing it requires important considerations when working remotely.
Doyon has worked on game localization teams for a number of other video games for Japanese game developer Atlus, which produced 13 Sentinels: Aeigis Rim. Some of her credits include Catherine, Persona 4: Golden, and Persona 5. In her final note about her most recent project, Doyon jokes about how scrumptious food appears in the game, emphasizing the yakisoba pan, a Japanese novelty with stir-fried noodles stuffed in a hot dog bun.
