Why couldn't the people who work for bethesda do some of the voice acting for the guards or any other npc that are mainly non essential? I think it would have really helped. After playing this game for sever hundred hours i find it quite annoying to hear the same voices over and over again. Does anyone else agree?
edit---
I understand they cant use just anybody but there are games that use in house employees and it is very good. Out of 200 people there has to be at least 10 people that could have voiced NON ESSENTIAL NPCS. not everyone in Skyrim sounds like a Nord either.

Because then this happens: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAtC1SzWSXg

That game is famously known for having the CEO or whoever just hire his friends and family as voice actors to cut costs.

Nice but i still think they should have voice actors. It would be nice to hear more than a handful of voices throughout the game. Even if they svcked it would be more realistic, But keep the voice actors for the major dialogue. ie Sean Bean in oblivion( awesome actor)

Dunno about that, but I suppose we would have more, better Skyrim memes.

Biggest complaint about Oblivion is not enough voice actors.

Skyrim has 70.

I agree, there should have been more diversity in the non-essential dialogue; and you don't necessarily need professional voice actors.

Hold an audition for amateur voice actors, pay and use the best ones.

I know its def an improvement on Oblivion but there could be room for more improvement. Say 150 voice actors would have really diversified the game. Probably wouldnt have heard "took an arrow in the knee" a hundred times---or we would have heard 30 different voices saying it. Either way MORE voices=better immersion=better gameplay!

If I recall correctly Todd Howard voices Sanguine in Oblivion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=H-z1YhvnNTs#t=40s

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7mmon05PwQ

1:16

SRLSY GUIS, not that easy. You'd think it would be, but apparently it's not.

I agree. The background pvssyr could have easily been done without professionals.

i have played oblivion mods where they talk like this its horrible I assure you it ruins it I would have oblivion voice actors over this

Yeah, and I reckon they should give Alduin's roll to Todd Howard, and Peter Hines should get Ancano.

to each his own i guess. i like oblivions voice acting better than skyrims. But both still aren't solid. Skyrim's could use more quality voice actors.

It would help if Ancano's voice wasnt used elsewhere. People are missing the point of this. All I am saying is use people or employees to fill in some of the background pvssyr or voices for the guards it could have made the game alot better

It is that easy.

gamesas: "Here, read this script."

Person1: "Arrow to the knee."

gamesas: "Nope, sorry; NEXT!"

Person2: "Arrow to the knee."

gamesas: "M'kay, not bad; leave your contact info and we'll call you if we decide to use you. Next!"

Person3: "Arrow to the forsaken knee."

gamesas: "Nice ablib."

so on and so forth

By far the funniest [censored] ever, maybe not ever but that was pretty entertaining

And while we're at it, why don't we put them in movies and make them singers?
Voice acting is harder than you think. It's not easy to convey another person's emotions without body language or facial expressions. Not to mention that their American accents would have ruined immersion for anyone who isn't American.

There are a lot of american sounding voices in skyrim. I am just pointing out the fact that there is a possible resource that bethesda hasn't tapped into yet. I don't think it would ruin immersion at all, go play skyrim and listen to all the "american sounding voices" there are quite a few. I do understand the need fro diversity though-- thats all i am asking for more than a handful of voices for extra NPCs that dont have a major impact in the game. ie Guards!

Oh. My. God.
That ... I don't know what to say. Lol.

Voice acting is hard to do, and consists of more than reading and making silly voices.

That's awesome in how un-awesome it is.

I'm not entirely sure about this, but there's probably union rules preventing Bethesda from using Pete in Accounting as Generic NPC 24601.

Voice Acting in video games is becoming a staple for lots of voice actors to find work, especially since it's really starting to surpass animated television and film in terms of the amount of jobs you can find.

I'm pretty sure SAG represents voice actors for video games, and they probably try to make it so you can't just get that one person you want to for your game if they're in the union. My bet is if you're going to use union actors, SAG is going to try and pressure you going all union for your voice talents. Plus, I think Maryland's still a union state, so I think they have to go through unions anyway, considering Bethesda has way too much money to possibly convince anyone they're doing independent projects that can't afford union fees.

I get what you mean. Have all the employees come and see who wants to volunteer and if they have usable voice acting then use them for small roles. Not just pick people at random and have them talk into the microphone as these people seem to think you are suggesting.

He's right. There's more to it than most of us could wrap our head around... I'm just thankful that the voices in Skyrim have accents (except for the Cockney dark elves, my god what were they thinking).

And even with modern audio manipulation tools and the like, it would be pretty hard making a bunch of video game designers from the east coast of America sound like someone who lives in a medieval world of fantasy.

... and Oblivion had only 14, hadn't it?

I don't notice them - guards and most Nord characters certainly don't have American accents. It's mainly Imperials who do.
As an Australian, I notice foreign accents a lot - an American may not notice American accents as much, just like I don't notice Australian accents. So I'd find it very irritating for the Land of the Nords, a very Viking-esque place to be filled with the voices of American game developers