INTERVIEW – Silver and Blood Voice Director on dual roles, creative process, acting philosophy, and more

Vizta Games, a subsidiary of MOONTON Games has globally launched its highly anticipated Gothic-style 2D RPG, Silver and Blood, on both Android and iOS. We at GamingonPhone had the opportunity to interview Stéphane Conicard, the voice director of Silver and Blood and VC for Theophane and Yggdrasill. In our discussion, he shared his creative process when preparing for a role, experience with this title compared to past work, and various other topics.

On voicing both Theophane and Yggdrasill with distinct emotion and identity

We began the interview by asking how he approached performing two vastly different characters. Mr. Stéphane noted, “They are both very different and I tend not to overthink the approach.”

“I guess you could say I “become them” ie, I embrace their emotional processes, their identity, their cognition, and then I let that take over… Does it make sense?“, he further explained.

Getting into the character through time and instinct

When I asked about his creative process, he revealed that it’s not a very immediate process. “I tend to read the script and then let it ferment for a while,” he explained. According to him, “usually, all the questions are resolved after two or three days of mulling over it.”

Balancing voice acting and direction in one project

Stéphane Conicard has voiced many legendary roles before, including Liquid Snake from the Metal Gear franchise, which I personally love too. So, I was curious to know about his experience with this title compared to those. To my surprise, he revealed that he also served as the voice director here.

This was unique and he loved it, and shared, “The developer was always very willing to answer questions with regards to storyline and situations.” This greatly helped him, as he mentioned, “it made my work as a director much easier.“

Plus, it was nice to know that this project will be one of his favourites, with him stating, “because the script is so good and the level of acting was just brilliant.” And I could feel that with his statement, ” As a director, what more can you want? A great storyline and great actors to play with.“

Behind the scenes with standout performances and memorable moments

When I asked about behind-the-scenes highlights, he revealed that a few standout moments when recording involved directing some emotionally rich performances. “I think directing Maya Graydon in Piera’s beautiful monologue, and Kate Nieland’s Character. Just great fun,” he recalled.

Why game acting feels like opera to him

Speaking about what makes video game acting unique, he drew a very striking comparison. “Acting for video games is to acting what opera is to the stage, heightened drama,” he said. He further emphasized, “I love every bit of subtext that is written in the scenes. Just Magic.“

Preparation made the process smooth and challenge-free for the team

We then had a short discussion about challenges and surprises. Thanks to his solid preparation, he said there were no major challenges during production. “We had time to prepare and be ready,” he added with confidence.

Capturing the tone of a manga-inspired world in English

He explained that the challenging part is “to find is where do you place the manga world in the English language. How to you hit the right notes, without becoming too cartoony.” The good part is the team solved, as he said, “I think we got it right.”

A complex script drew him in to the game

When asked what drew him to the project, he pointed to the complexity of the script. “The story is complex and video games are not written like stories,” he noted.

He also gave good advice while answering, “it took some rereads to get to understand the circumstances. But you get more into the story as you study it.”

His advice for aspiring voice actors on mastering emotion and listening deeply

To aspiring voice actors, he offered thoughtful advice: “Intelligence and talent are a pre-requisite, but people talk a lot about talent, but not enough about intelligence.”

He emphasized the need to understand emotional shifts and that “the subtle switches is very important.” He specifically suggested to “listen to the director, really listen.“

Letting the characters shine while staying behind the scenes

Looking back on his performance, Mr. Stéphane doesn’t really seek the spotlight. “I’d like them to fade into the overall story,” he said. He ended the discussion stating, “then I’ll have done my job, as an actor, and as a director.“

I’ve followed this title since its beta, so I was very excited to interview Stéphane Conicard, the voice director of Silver and Blood. Now that the game has launched globally, I’m even more excited to play as Theophane and Yggdrasill, especially after this interview.

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