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Troy Baker endorses NFT firm: ‘You can hate, or you can create’

reksveks

Member
There is alot of different technologies/aspect in play here on the platform:

- using the blockchain as a way to track usage/royalty (check media chain and Spotify)
- using digital scarcity as a way to create a reseller market (which unregulated leads to bad outcomes)
- using ai to automate voice acting roles. (see Adobe)
- the energy cost of the blockchain

#2 is a shitstorm that I don't think ever is going to be solved barring major regulatory changes which will drive the 1% out.
#1 is an issue in music, less so in games at the moment but if games becomes democratised in terms of making as music, it might be an issue. There might be value here.
#3, i am still conflicted on but it does feel like him pulling up the ladder on other voice actors.
#4 all of these companies should get a huge amount of shit for the energy usage especially if they are still promising to move to proof to stake based model.
 

SSfox

Member
It's so funny, the guy says he's not an idiot but i've watched him on this podcast several times and he says so much dumb shit, he is so uninformed and uneducated he just has a nice voice for game characters.

The way he says "you can hate or you can create" really highlight his QI level.

I'm just confused if he's that ignorant or he knows but don't care as long as it make him money, in both cases he totally lost all his credibility.
 
The way he says "you can hate or you can create" really highlight his QI level.

I'm just confused if he's that ignorant or he knows but don't care as long as it make him money, in both cases he totally lost all his credibility.
He's just one of those people who is stupid enough to think that if you're a developer, then any decision you make is correct, and if you're a gamer, then you're an idiot who isn't "creative", and therefore, your opinion doesn't matter. He has a super elitist mindset.
 

Aion002

Member
Cedric The Entertainer Reaction GIF by CBS


And more people like him will support this shit... Others will probably end up being paid to.
 
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SSfox

Member
He's just one of those people who is stupid enough to think that if you're a developer, then any decision you make is correct, and if you're a gamer, then you're an idiot who isn't "creative", and therefore, your opinion doesn't matter. He has a super elitist mindset.

I see. Without any pretention but I've diploma in polytechnic school, considered as one of the hardest school to go throught. I don't need recognition from anyone and even less from someone that embrace the destruction of the Earth.

Hopefully other industry actors will be smart enough to not follow this garbage NFT trend.
 

Neff

Member
I still have yet to understand NFTs.

It's a digital file with a one-of-a-kind identity based on blockchain technology, meaning it's 'unique', even though it can still essentially be flawlessly copied to all intents and purposes. It exploits the simple human desire to own something which nobody else has and pure good old-fashioned gullibility in one fell swoop. And people are getting angry about it being introduced into gaming so soon after publishers got the message that we're sour on loot boxes and the like, because this could potentially re-ignite the pissy microtransaction bragging rights garbage craze all over again.

I'm gonna make an NFT of Troy Baker making an NFT.

Anyone interested in a NFT of this quote? Bidding starts at $10,000
 
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DaGwaphics

Member
Being paid to?

It says right there in the tweet that he's "partnering" with this company.

"Partnering" == financially invested. He's probably bought a stake in the company and thus has a horse in the race.

A lot of times celebrities will refer to endorsement deals as partnerships, so it is hard to say. He could just be there to drive interest.
 

DaGwaphics

Member
You don't endorse a scam like NFTs unless you have a personal financial interest in it.

The only folks still trying to flog dat NFT Kool-Aid are the folks who've been sipping dirty on the sly.

Isn't there a financial interest with all endorsements? Company gives the $$$ and the "celebrities" dance as directed. Unless the situation is some kind of cross-promotional thing, but that doesn't seem to fit here.
 
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UnNamed

Banned

Spaceman292

Banned

The The Last of Us actor tweeted on Thursday that he was teaming up with Voiceverse NFT, which claims it will let people buy AI voices as NFTs which can then be used in any game.

“I’m partnering with Voiceverse NFT to explore ways where together we might bring new tools to new creators to make new things, and allow everyone a chance to own & invest in the IP’s they create,” Baker said.

Presumably anticipating the backlash the announcement would create, he added: “We all have a story to tell. You can hate. Or you can create. What’ll it be?”

NFTs are unique non-interchangeable units of data stored on a blockchain (a form of digital ledger), which effectively allow users to own, buy and sell digital items such as in-game items or artwork.

According to Voiceverse’s claims, a voice NFT will give its buyer access to a unique AI voice which they will then ‘own’.

“Imagine being able to create customized audiobooks, Youtube videos, e-learning lectures, or even podcasts with your favourite voice,” it says, “all without the hassle of additional legal work. This also allows people with limited resources to access professional-grade voices more easily.”

Voiceverse says that 8,888 unique AI-generated voice models will be available later this month. Owners will be able to use Voiceverse Lab, a web-based tool, to create audio and video content using that voice. It doesn’t explain what will happen to NFTs if the tool is ever taken offline, however.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Baker’s tweet has received hundreds of negative responses on Twitter, with many pointing out how Voiceverse NFT seems to even conflict with his profession as a voice actor.



It also claims that owners will be able to convert their voice to their voice NFT in real-time for use in online games, though it hasn’t yet explained how this will work.

It isn’t yet clear how Baker will be involved in Voiceverse, though given his status as a voice actor it will be interesting to see if he’s simply supporting the project, or actually willing to give his own voice away as an NFT so somebody can effectively put words in his mouth.

I'll hate
 
Isn't there a financial interest with all endorsements? Company gives the $$$ and the "celebrities" dance as directed. Unless the situation is some kind of cross-promotional thing, but that doesn't seem to fit here.

When I say financial interest, I mean the dude is invested in the company.

Either he bought a stake in them, or they paid him in shares; the result is the same. He's def an owner.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
he gets paid to say this shit. He knows NFT is scam, and is destructive to people. He just doesnt care, as long as he gets paid.
Not talking about what Troy Baker said, it's what the platform is supposed to be.

I'm responding to the end of the OP with that tweet suggesting Baker doesn't know what he's signing up for.

"AI voice acting" means you don't have to record all of the lines, but the actors voice is still at the core of it. If a voice actor can get paid to loan their voice out to games/movies/whatever w/o actually doing any work.. well that's not actually all that bad for the actor lol

And if it can be licensed for shit like voice modulation (that's what the OP tech is about, like being able to sound like Troy while calling a 12 year old a cunt online) then there's another usage that would / could pay the actor.

The real head scratcher is WTF do NFTs have to do with any of this? To your point, yes, Troy is paid to say this stuff.. but I have no clue if he understands that NFTs don't make sense for the project the company paying him is proposing.
 
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Kev Kev

Member
this guy is so stupid talented all he has to do is show up, do his thing and peace out. shit like this just makes him look like a tool and hurts his brand/name. like, if your gonna do the NFT thing then fine, do it! but just do it and dont make a controversial statement about it. im just baffled that he would feel the need to pull a stunt like this when hes so talented i cant imagine hes starving for money/work.
 
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reksveks

Member
The real head scratcher is WTF do NFTs have to do with any of this? To your point, yes, Troy is paid to say this stuff.. but I have no clue if he understands that NFTs don't make sense for the project the company paying him is proposing.
I kinda understand the usage of blockchain (not 100%, being a bit slow today I think) to dealing with royalty payments but there are a number of companies that are interested in using blockchain tech to deal with the issues in music streaming. The inclusion of digital scarcity seems like a money grab though.
 

IntentionalPun

Ask me about my wife's perfect butthole
I kinda understand the usage of blockchain (not 100%, being a bit slow today I think) to dealing with royalty payments but there are a number of companies that are interested in using blockchain tech to deal with the issues in music streaming. The inclusion of digital scarcity seems like a money grab though.

But a game would have to support the tech anyways, the NFT would just be a license.. and the game has to then pay to have hooks into the auction houses, and it doesn't make much sense to make it "scarce" either.. You really think a game is going to include a tech like that, to have a few voice actors auction off their limited voices? Why not just charge $10 a pop in the game's existing MTX store.. or hell.. do your own MTX auction house and limit them... NFT/blockchain does jack shit here lol

Nothing about blockchain really makes all that much sense outside of just.. currencies, how does it deal with issues w/ music streaming for instance? That makes zero sense.

I've been hearing this blockchain w/ save the world and have all of these applications thing for like 6 years now, had co-workers take classes, my consulting company spout about it as a thing to learn, etc.. and we still to this day have done zero blockchain work at a major tech consulting firm. It fell off the radar years ago because of that.

Doing a search of my work email.. the last time anyone mentioned Blockchain, did a class, a brownbag, etc.. was January 2018, 4 years ago.. because the world of software development didn't take long to realize it isn't doing a hell of a lot for people lol
 
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Valt7786

Member
Success with Last of Us blew up his ego so fuckin hard. Think's he's hot shit, talking about smaller companies not being able to "afford him" and then also whines in the same video about not knowing where his next job will come from and has to make decisions to look after his family.
Just another narcissistic soy-boy thinking he's more than he is.
 

reksveks

Member
Nothing about blockchain really makes all that much sense outside of just.. currencies, how does it deal with issues w/ music streaming for instance? That makes zero sense.
It's about having a shared distribution database between multiple party's where previously you used to have separate private tables which could have mismatches, I think the lost revenue is largely overblown and you could use other matching solutions to fix it. I don't know what solution works best.

I need to look into what Mediachain were/are offering before Spotify bought them. http://www.mediachain.io/

Why not just charge $10 a pop in the game's existing MTX store.. or hell.. do your own MTX auction house and limit them... NFT/blockchain does jack shit here lol
That's why I think the nft element of this is a money grab on the part of this company.
 

xrnzaaas

Gold Member
Looks like he just took the cash and didn't learn that the idea behind this is to replace voice actors. Or maybe he just doesn't care, because the less famous ones will suffer.
 

TheInfamousKira

Reseterror Resettler
There's a saying that I've never really understood until lately: Never meet your heroes.

In my youth, as someone who was reasonably into anime and unreasonably into videogames, Troy Baker quickly became a name I was familiar with, and I really enjoy a number of his roles, and IP's that his name is attached to.

But holy mother of fuck, does this guy come across like the snootiest trust fund baby, fedora wearing, STRAIGHT OUTTA SEATTLE inflated self worth on par with a Macy's Day Parade balloon I have ever had the displeasure of getting corrective lenses sharp enough to see.

Great voice. Not super diverse, but powerful roles, good main character energy, exceptional work ethic, but Christ this dude seems like a trend chasing clout monger tool.
 
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