Fan-made Skyrim Trailer Employs AI-generated Voices
A very interesting set tools appeared on Nexus Mods. These are speech synthesizers which, thanks to AI and machine learning, are able to imitate voices known, among others, from Skyrim and Fallout 4. With their help one of the fans created an unofficial trailer for The Elder Scrolls 5.
- Special tools have been created, employing machine learning AI as voice synthesizers for actors known from Skyrim, Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout: New Vegas;
- With their help, fans created a trailer for the fifth installment of The Elder Scrolls.
People preparing mods focusing on adding characters or quests to various games are facing an important problem - what to do with voiced dialogues? Try amateur dubbing? Hire professional actors? Or maybe just leave the subtitles and use mute NPCs? For a long time these were the only options, but with the development of technology, another one appeared - speech synthesizers using machine learning AI, able to imitate various voices. These types of tools were recently given to modders working on fan projects for Skyrim, Morrowind, Oblivion, Fallout 3, Fallout 4 and Fallout: New Vegas. Links to them can be found below.
- SKVA Synth (Skyrim) on Nexus Mods
- F4VA Synth Tool (Fallout 4) on Nexus Mods
- OBVA Synth Tool (Oblivion) on Nexus Mods
- NVVA Synth Tool (Fallout: New Vegas) on Nexus Mods
- MWVA Synth Tool (Morrowind) on Nexus Mods
- F3VA Synth tool (Fallout 3) on Nexus Mods
Interestingly, it has already been announced that this type of tool will also be created for the upcoming Starfield. Of course, so far we do not know when it will see the light of day.
Are you curious how these tools work in action? If so, we invite you to watch the following fan-made trailer for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, created by one Adric. We can hear the AI-generated voice of Laura Bailey (who played the role of vampire Serena in the original game). The whole thing looks pretty good, although there's no denying that the lines "spit out" by the synthesizer lack the right emotions. The author of the video is aware of that, although he sees a lot of potential in the technology. Quoting his statement posted on Reddit:
"I dont think it will ever surpass a voice actor, but i thknk this could be incredible for the future to keep voice actors voices alive even hundreds of years after theyve passed. I mean can you imagine some sci fi school in the future have an A.I Laura Bailey to teach actors how they did things in the 21st century? Imagine if we had something like this now for William Shakespear."
If you are intrigued by the tools and decided to download them, it is worth knowing that they do not have to be installed in the same folders as the games. This is because they use their own files.
For now, the programs offers a limited database of voices that can be used. However, it is being expanded all the time. If you would like to support the creator of the tools on Patreon, then you will get access to new voices two weeks in advance.
