Hi friends! Bowser here.

This DevLog is going to be an announcement of our current cast of voice actors. I've announced this on Twitter, but haven't made a formal announcement on Itch yet.

We'll also cover the details of the VA auditions we held earlier this year. I'll end with some comments about my criteria for selecting five folks from a pool over nearly 100 talented candidates. That said, we'll start by announcing our VA cast!

I'd like to start by announcing our new team members who are moving into the roles previously held by other VA's.

• Darrell's new VA will be Rhythm Bastard.
  • I'm really excited for this new direction for Darrell. We're giving him a voice that better fits his more goofy and edgy presentation.
• Cliff's new VA will be Radium Desu.
  • I'm also very excited for Radium to take on this role. His voice is a much better fit for the calm and chill demeanor of our favorite capybara.
• Some notes on these changes:
  • Cliff's and Darrell's former VA's (Jasper and DammitCat respectively) will be taking on other VA roles for ChoPro. Their roles will be announced at a later date!
    • If you're worried, no, there is no drama or bad blood regarding these changes!
    • DammitCat is my boyfriend, and I used him as free labor uwu. I had always planned on having him be a stand-in VA as I searched for a permanent actor who better suits Darrell's personality. Thanks, boo!
    • Jasper is a very close friend of mine. We decided that it'll be best to move him to another role where his voice will be much better suited.
    • These two did a great job with Darrell and Cliff. I'm very, very proud of both of them. However, to best fit the vision of the VN, we had to make these changes.
  • I know for some of you, you may have gotten attached to the voices that Darrell and Cliff previously held. I understand that a VA change may be difficult to process, especially if you grew attached to the character. But all I ask is for you to keep an open mind and trust that these new voices best fit the vision I originally had for these characters.

With that out of the way, let' discuss some new voices for our newer characters!

• Yao will be taking on the role of Omega She!
  • I'll be going back and retroactively placing Yao's recordings in Build 2.
  • Omega She will be a prominent side character featured in almost every character's route. I'm really excited for you all to get to know them!
  • Side note, I plan on having this character drawn as a sprite in either Build 3 (if we have time) or in Build 4.
• Liad (no social links) will be voicing Vin.
  • His voice is a real good fit and meshes very well with Rhythm Bastard's. I'm excited for you all to hear what he has to offer.
  • Just like with OmegaShe, I'll be retroactively adding Liad's recordings over Vin's dialogue in Build 2.
  • Vin will be very prominent in Darrell's route. So expect to hear his voice often in future builds!
• LewdDev will be voicing Corey.
  • Corey is our newest character who'll be debuted in Build 3.
  • I'm so excited for you all to meet him and hear what Lewd has to offer this character!

Lastly, just for posterity, here's the rest of the current cast:

• Mel is voicing April.
• Sadé (no socials) is voicing Moriah.
• Chase is voicing Dave.
• Rinzy is voicing Pat.
• Twitch is voicing Chester.
• Beta is voicing Trent.
• Bowser (that's me c:) is voicing the MC.

With casting aside, let's talk about the audition process. In case you don't remember, here's a recap:

• Open auditions began late last year.
  • Everyone and anyone (over the age of 18) was invited to participate. 
  • Anyone who auditioned by the deadline was considered.
  • The audition was a general prompt. The lines were generic and were not attributed to any character.
• From the pool of nearly 100 auditioners, I had to narrow it down to the top 15 candidates. These outstanding candidates made their way to Round 2.
• Round 2 auditions occurred afterwards. These auditions were for specific character roles. Each Round 2 auditioner was given one or more character prompts to read from. The prompt(s) they were prescribed were based on their unique voice profile and acting preferences.
• Among the Round 2 candidates, I offered 5 the opportunity to work on ChoPro.

For the Round 1 candidates, here's what I generally looking for:

• The VA to have a good quality mic. 
  • Unfortunately, I had to turn down some very talented people due to mic quality issues.
• The ability to follow instructions. 
  • I didn't care for line accuracy at this stage, but I wanted to make sure a candidate could follow my instructions. They needed to understand how to record their lines and how to send them to me. Anyone who showed they could not follow these instructions properly was not considered.
• The ability to successfully deliver a line. I was looking for candidates who excelled at:
  • Annunciation
  • Clarity
  • Inflection
  • Tone
  • Pacing
  • Emotion
• Was able to show me some charisma and personality in their audition.
  • Candidates who did things a little different and showed off some of their personality almost always stood out to me.
  • In a field with so many candidates, I had to look for the ones who stood out the most.

For my Round 2 candidates, here's what I looked for:

• Showing a good understanding of the character they were auditioning for.
  • "Bonus points" were given to any candidate who did their homework and took some time to read some of the story to better understand the character.
• Had a tone and cadence that matched the character's personality best.
  • Unfortunately, this is a trait that most VA's can't control. At the end of the day, you're limited by your vocal cords.
• Showed a level of professionalism that made me excited to work with them.

Alright, I think that wraps everything up! I'm excited to show you all the wonderful talent we've recruited in Build 3. Take care y'all 😸💖