God of War - Where are my fellow Scandinavians?

[Drencrom]

God of War [2018] is my game of the year, like it is for many others this year (going by the amount awards its getting). An overall fantastic game which reinvigorated my love for the franchise after GoW: Ascension. Even so, I do have a few nitpicks with the game as no game is perfect, but one nitpick of mine that I haven't seen anyone else bring up is...

How come there is not a single Scandinavian voice actor in a game set in Norse mythology?

As a Swede, I was very excited that GoW took on Norse mythology in the new game and it's very evident Sony Santa Monica put a lot of effort into incorporating and adapting Norse myths into the GoW universe in a faithful manner. It's just a bit weird, that in a game that is about Scandinavian culture/history that not a single character has a Scandinavian (Icelandic/Swedish/Norwegian/Danish) accent in the game. The thought of having a game being set in a culture or mythology from any part of the world without having any actual representation from it in the cast is strange to me at least.

So my Christmas wish that I direct to SSM is: Please have a Scandinavian actor for a god/side-character in the sequel!

 

[Rabalder.]

This is one small gripe I had. Hellblade nailed it in this aspect.

 

[Deft Beck]

The whole point of voice acting is that anyone can potentially do the voice of any character regardless of what they look like behind the mic or what their origins are.

Locking characters to having VAs of a particular nationality or ethnicity is silly. We wouldn't have Japanese people voice act hardly any characters at all if that was a hardline rule.

 

[Nakenorm]

Yeah it was a bit weird, it wasn't really anything that I was thinking of about when I was actually playing but did notice after I was done with it.
But with so many gods left they'll hopefully fix that in the sequel.

 

[Taker34]

Put Mads Mikkelsen in GoW!

 

[Danstanster]

Voidaan väittää, että Svensk on oma lehmä ojassa.

 

[Galleren]

Got GoW for christmas from my wife, along with RDR2. Im gonna fire that baby up tonight. Gonna be cool to see the lore since im a fan AND a Norwegian

 

[Prine]

The whole point of voice acting is that anyone can potentially do the voice of any character regardless of what they look like behind the mic or what their origins are.

Locking characters to having VAs of a particular nationality or ethnicity is silly. We wouldn't have Japanese people voice act hardly any characters at all if that was a hardline rule.

Click to shrink...

I think we should be more responsible then that and I assume the Devs themselves would encourage better representation from sub groups. IE , using a white actor to voice a black or Indian character should be avoided, OP point is a valid one.

 

[Tovarisc]

Voidaan väittää, että Dutchilla on oma lemma ojassa.

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Lehmä*

Also Finland isn't part of Scandinavia.

 

[AverageFisk]

Eivör (from Faroes Island) had some songs.

Edit: There was an Icelandic choir as well.

 

[lazygecko]

The guards in Skyrim sound like they literally just hired some random person from Sweden. Still not sure if that was a good or bad decision.

 

[Danstanster]

Lehmä*

Also Finland isn't part of Scandinavia.

Click to shrink...

Fixed it I'm ashamed

 

[Deleted member 10060]

I don't care where the actors are from, but they should have an appropriate accent. Accents are a big deal for me, and they're very often off putting and immersion breaking, simply because there was no thought put into it.

I really like what they did with Vikings, you might not like the accent they went for (I'm scandinavian, and I do though), but they went for it, and gave all the norsemen a distinct tongue.

Most games suck in this regard. Every game sounds like it could be whenever and wherever.

 

[Danstanster]

Fixed it I'm ashamed

Click to shrink...

I should erase it all and just write yikes lol

 

[Deleted member 10234]

Put Mads Mikkelsen in GoW!

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Dolph Lundgren!

 

[Malfred]

I've just actively avoided the game.
Given the treatment that Greek myth got in the previous games, I have no faith in the adaptation of Norse myth into this one.. This on top of seeing a bunch of gifs around launch of a character that was supposedly Modi, the god of Strength fumbling in a fistfight against Kratos, didn't help me get interested in a game that would ordinarily check all the boxes for me.

I will say that it seems weird that they didn't get any Scandinavian/Nordic VAs for the game, if that is indeed the case.

 

[Nakenorm]

On the other hand I'd rather they don't have any Swedish voice actors if it's just gonna sound like this (starts at 22:30)

 

[Deleted member 5028]

The whole point of voice acting is that anyone can potentially do the voice of any character regardless of what they look like behind the mic or what their origins are.

Locking characters to having VAs of a particular nationality or ethnicity is silly. We wouldn't have Japanese people voice act hardly any characters at all if that was a hardline rule.

Click to shrink...

Nah. I don't need to hear a white person acting as an ethnic minority in games. I'd rather they just hire someone authentic.

What you're describing is someone acting out a character beat, or role. Not this.

 

[Kyoufu]

I think we should be more responsible then that and I assume the Devs themselves would encourage better representation from sub groups. IE , using a white actor to voice a black or Indian character should be avoided, OP point is a valid one.

Click to shrink...

A black person voices a white character in Star Wars. Talent and the voice itself being the right fit for the storyteller's vision is the most important IMO. Not that I don't want more representation in all areas, but I don't think a white person has to voice a white character etc.

Kratos has a black voice actor too and I'm sure everyone will agree it's the perfect fit.

 

[Sonicfan059]

I think we should be more responsible then that and I assume the Devs themselves would encourage better representation from sub groups. IE , using a white actor to voice a black or Indian character should be avoided, OP point is a valid one.

Click to shrink...

So using a black voice actor for Kratos(White Greek) should be avoided? I don't think so.

 

[Dr.Phibes]

So, is everyone in the game just speaking with American/British accents?

 

[Kapten]

I've just actively avoided the game.
Given the treatment that Greek myth got in the previous games, I have no faith in the adaptation of Norse myth into this one.. This on top of seeing a bunch of gifs around launch of a character that was supposedly Modi, the god of Strength fumbling in a fistfight against Kratos, didn't help me get interested in a game that would ordinarily check all the boxes for me.

I will say that it seems weird that they didn't get any Scandinavian/Nordic VAs for the game, if that is indeed the case.

Click to shrink...

I do not remember Modi ever being in a fistfight with Kratos.

I do believe it might be another character you are thinking of.

 

[Nakenorm]

So, is everyone in the game just speaking with American/British accents?

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Pretty much.

 

[Deft Beck]

Nah. I don't need to hear a white person acting as an ethnic minority in games. I'd rather they just hire someone authentic.

What you're describing is someone acting out a character beat, or role. Not this.

Click to shrink...

Someone matching a similar ethnic minority of a given character is just as likely to be asked to convey a stereotypical voice as a white person. Phil LaMarr did a pretty stereotypical Jamacian accent for Futurama.

Voice direction is just as important as casting, I would say.

 

[Waaghals]

It didn't bother me at alle while I was playing.

There might be situations where it does, but I think a video game set in a fantastical version of Norse mythology has some leeway.

 

[SomeoneSomewhere]

God of War [2018] is my game of the year, like it is for many others this year (going by the amount awards its getting). An overall fantastic game which reinvigorated my love for the franchise after GoW: Ascension. Even so, I do have a few nitpicks with the game as no game is perfect, but one nitpick of mine that I haven't seen anyone else bring up is...

How come there is not a single Scandinavian voice actor in a game set in Norse mythology?

As a Swede, I was very excited that GoW took on Norse mythology in the new game and it's very evident Sony Santa Monica put a lot of effort into incorporating and adapting Norse myths into the GoW universe in a faithful manner. It's just a bit weird, that in a game that is about Scandinavian culture/history that not a single character has a Scandinavian (Icelandic/Swedish/Norwegian/Danish) accent in the game. The thought of having a game being set in a culture or mythology from any part of the world without having any actual representation from it in the cast is strange to me at least.

So my Christmas wish that I direct to SSM is: Please have a Scandinavian actor for a god/side-character in the sequel!

Click to shrink...

What do you demand? Just a voice actor with a scandinavian background or do you want a scandinavian language used in a side quest ?

Waste of resources.

 

[Shoshi]

On the other hand I'd rather they don't have any Swedish voice actors if it's just gonna sound like this (starts at 22:30)

Click to shrink...

OMG! Who's that voice actor?

 

[Nakenorm]

OMG! Who's that voice actor?

Click to shrink...

No idea actually. I don't think he had a big role in the dlc, if I remember right he's just there for a short while in the beginning.

 

[TP-DK]

I don't care where the actors are from, but they should have an appropriate accent. Accents are a big deal for me, and they're very often off putting and immersion breaking, simply because there was no thought put into it.

I really like what they did with Vikings, you might not like the accent they went for (I'm scandinavian, and I do though), but they went for it, and gave all the norsemen a distinct tongue.

Most games suck in this regard. Every game sounds like it could be whenever and wherever.

Click to shrink...

What accent did scandinavians have back then?

 

[Borowski]

Here in Portugal we have portuguese voices for the majority of PS4 exclusives, but i never use them

English ftw

 

[lazygecko]

What accent did scandinavians have back then?

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They have gone through so many permutation that no one can really say. Danish in particular is a result of the aristocracy obsessing over French a bit too much.

 

[Rutti]

I don't personally care for accents. If you want authenticity have them speak the languages. Accents seems like a weak half step.

 

[Blade Wolf]

PewDiePie in GOW2, let's go.

 

[Taker34]

They have gone through so many permutation that no one can really say. Danish in particular is a result of the aristocracy obsessing over French a bit too much.

Click to shrink...

There are a bunch of videos out there which demonstrate how for instance old Norse sounded like. Thanks to poems and notes about pronunciation, it's possible to reconstruct the original pronunciations of languages and dialects at a certain point in time. There are great channels like Nativelang which go into the details of how and why we can know this stuff even today.

 

[Nakenorm]

PewDiePie in GOW2, let's go.

Click to shrink...

Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope

 

[Deleted member 36086]

It's just a bit weird, that in a game that is about Scandinavian culture/history that not a single character has a Scandinavian (Icelandic/Swedish/Norwegian/Danish) accent in the game. The thought of having a game being set in a culture or mythology from any part of the world without having any actual representation from it in the cast is strange to me at least.

Click to shrink...

Wouldn't those accents be incorrect as the language that was used back then was old norse? Like does anyone actually know what old norse accented english sounds like?

 

[ZabelRock]

Based on the title i thought this thread would be about how there's no other human you meet throughout the journey.

 

[RestEerie]

Ok, as I'm Chinese..I demand all VA playing the characters in the Dynasty warriors game, be it English or Japanese version, to be replaced with Chinese for the authenticity.

And When I mean Chinese I mean china/Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore Chinese...not American/Brit Chinese...(i.e. countries with majority Chinese, Not 'westernized' chinese that sound no difference than a Caucasian)

Regardless whether the western audience understand our accent in English, after all..it's the representation & authenticity that matters...right? After all, it's the period of three kingdoms.

:p

 

[Omar310]

PewDiePie in GOW2, let's go.

Click to shrink...

I'll take three copies, please.

 

[MegaSackman]

I've just actively avoided the game.
Given the treatment that Greek myth got in the previous games, I have no faith in the adaptation of Norse myth into this one.. This on top of seeing a bunch of gifs around launch of a character that was supposedly Modi, the god of Strength fumbling in a fistfight against Kratos, didn't help me get interested in a game that would ordinarily check all the boxes for me.

I will say that it seems weird that they didn't get any Scandinavian/Nordic VAs for the game, if that is indeed the case.

Click to shrink...

The main story takes obvious liberties but it tries to be respectful and I'd it nails it most of the time but it depends on your knowledge and sensibility.
This time tho, there are a bunch of stories around the world that are way more faithfull to the myths, something that wasn't in the previous games.

 

[tyfon]

God of War [2018] is my game of the year, like it is for many others this year (going by the amount awards its getting). An overall fantastic game which reinvigorated my love for the franchise after GoW: Ascension. Even so, I do have a few nitpicks with the game as no game is perfect, but one nitpick of mine that I haven't seen anyone else bring up is...

How come there is not a single Scandinavian voice actor in a game set in Norse mythology?

As a Swede, I was very excited that GoW took on Norse mythology in the new game and it's very evident Sony Santa Monica put a lot of effort into incorporating and adapting Norse myths into the GoW universe in a faithful manner. It's just a bit weird, that in a game that is about Scandinavian culture/history that not a single character has a Scandinavian (Icelandic/Swedish/Norwegian/Danish) accent in the game. The thought of having a game being set in a culture or mythology from any part of the world without having any actual representation from it in the cast is strange to me at least.

So my Christmas wish that I direct to SSM is: Please have a Scandinavian actor for a god/side-character in the sequel!

Click to shrink...

Personally I was more disappointing that they totally rewrote and butchered both the god characters/story and the norse pronunciation. It's a good game for what it is and I just had to cut off the part of my brain that expected it to be a game set in "nordic" environments and gods.

Spoiler: god spoiler

Baldur is neither violent nor angry.

In any case, as I said it's a good game mechanically and it's on my top 10 of the year list. I just wish they actually did some research before making the story and hire someone that can guide them just a tad in Norse culture/language.

(I'm Norwegian btw)

 

[Prine]

So using a black voice actor for Kratos(White Greek) should be avoided? I don't think so.

Click to shrink...

Shouldve been more specific, I think anyone from said region should voice these actors due to dialect, regardless of colour, but thier is distinct accents between white and black accents even if they're from the same region. I would feel uncomfortable using a white actor to voice a black character depending on the tone but Kratos is fictional he can be whoever, the heritage of the mythology is not fictional, so the story would benefit from greater more authentic voices from the region itself.

 

[Knugen]

Is the world ready for more Swenglish?

 

[Drencrom]

What do you demand? Just a voice actor with a scandinavian background or do you want a scandinavian language used in a side quest ?

Click to shrink...

Ok, as I'm Chinese..I demand all VA playing the characters in the Dynasty warriors game, be it English or Japanese version, to be replaced with Chinese for the authenticity.

And When I mean Chinese I mean china/Taiwan/Hong Kong/Singapore Chinese...not American/Brit Chinese...(i.e. countries with majority Chinese, Not 'westernized' chinese that sound no difference than a Caucasian)

Regardless whether the western audience understand our accent in English, after all..it's the representation & authenticity that matters...right? After all, it's the period of three kingdoms.

:p

Click to shrink...

I'm not demanding anything, I just think that it would be nice if at least one charcther in GoW2 have an Scandinavian accent. I'm not saying that all charcthers should have an authentic Norse accent or something unreasonable like that lol

 

[Jo-awn]

I've been playing through GoW now and certainly I do find it a bit odd that characters have North American, Scottish, and British accents. But it's nothing that takes me fully out of the game. I think the voice acting is quite good for the most part. It bothered me in Call of Duty: Black Ops and BLOPS II since Sam Worthington's Aussie accent stood out like a sore thumb despite his attempt to mask it. As a result, in my head, the player was an Australian-American black ops agent, not an American character.

The one thing that does bother me are the gods themselves. Something is off about it but I can't point my finger on what it is. I think it's the cynical angle that the game takes or something else. I need to read the Neil Gaiman book on Norse gods.

 

[kpaadet]

I've just actively avoided the game.
Given the treatment that Greek myth got in the previous games, I have no faith in the adaptation of Norse myth into this one.. This on top of seeing a bunch of gifs around launch of a character that was supposedly Modi, the god of Strength fumbling in a fistfight against Kratos, didn't help me get interested in a game that would ordinarily check all the boxes for me.

I will say that it seems weird that they didn't get any Scandinavian/Nordic VAs for the game, if that is indeed the case.

Click to shrink...

I can't tell if this is a serious post or not. It's a video game that takes liberties in how it uses mythology, it's not a Scandinavian history major's thesis.

Edit: just noticed the username, guess I've been trolled...?

 

[Datajoy]

I thought the voice cast for GOW was pretty perfect as is.

 

[Cocaloch]

I've been playing through GoW now and certainly I do find it a bit odd that characters have North American, Scottish, and British accents. But it's nothing that takes me fully out of the game. I think the voice acting is quite good for the most part. It bothered me in Call of Duty: Black Ops and BLOPS II since Sam Worthington's Aussie accent stood out like a sore thumb despite his attempt to mask it. As a result, in my head, the player was an Australian-American black ops agent, not an American character.

The one thing that does bother me are the gods themselves. Something is off about it but I can't point my finger on what it is. I think it's the cynical angle that the game takes or something else. I need to read the Neil Gaiman book on Norse gods.

Click to shrink...

Scottish accents are British.

Also ironically he's an example of what thr OP is asking for since the character is Scottish.

 

[EssCee]

This is one small gripe I had. Hellblade nailed it in this aspect.

Click to shrink...

Respectfully disagree with your opinion

 

[oliverandm]

Could be fun. But it's not important, and it doesn't need to become important. Denmark (where I am from) is already well represented in all forms of media, and it doesn't need to be a rule that any and all ethnicity should be represented by that of the real one. There are some examples that by historical context could raise questions (like white people portraying africans or native americans), but in terms of acting, it is acting for a reason, and if it can be done tastefully, then go ahead. This means if a dane is best suited to represent the creative vision, then of course go ahead! If not, then it's not a big deal, in so far that the characters are still represented in a visual manner that makes sense... I would feel it's a little odd, if they started making black vikings.