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Old 02-10-2009, 05:05 PM
EmmaRiddle EmmaRiddle is offline
 
Post Exclusive: SnitchSeeker interviews James & Oliver Phelps

The saying goes 'better late than never'. Well that certainly applies in this instance! In one of TWO exclusives, we bring you an interview we conducted with James and Oliver Phelps (Fred and George) on Halloween last year at the EA Be the One event.

The guys were at the event to promote the Half-Blood Prince video game despite the fact that they don't actually feature in it!

Pictures of them, mostly taken by me on the day, can be seen here. (That's me on the right, down below.)

The interview can be read in full below. Enjoy!

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Quote:
SnitchSeeker: The first time you started contributing to the video games was with Order of the Phoenix; how did this come about?

Oliver: Basically EA said do you want to do your voices for the game? And we were like big, big game fans. From what I can remember it was just like, "Yeah we really want to do that." And they were really good with it and it's worked really well.

SS: How much say did you have in the game?

James: We did have some say but, to be honest, the script was so sound for the game itself. We just went in there and did our stuff. They said, "Is there anything you want to add, take out or do again?" So it's kind of like doing a film in the sense that there's a script. We met with the designers, and the developers were really happy to show us how the whole game is made. That really interested us. Just seeing it come from artistic concept to final cut.

SS: So were there any funny moments or bloopers?

James: We were watching a few guys who were, I can't remember who it was now, but they're like when you walk into walls, "Argh, argh. Ow." – that kind of stuff. There was a camera and it was just on them on their own saying that into a microphone like he was insane. (laughs) Like he was having a fit.

SS: How long did it take to record the voices?

James : I think we did about four sessions.
Oliver: About an hour and a half each, I'd say. And then you also need to do a variation of everything you say. But it was really cool. At the studio it's really interactive. Every time we'd go there they'd show us how the game was coming along. It was really interesting to do.

SS: How does it feel now, having done the character and that's your voice, knowing that thousands of kids are playing the game?

James: You kind of forget that you've done them when you come to play it. Well, we did so many lines that you can't really remember what says what. It's kind of hard when you're playing other games like where you're in character it's kind of like having the perfect character of … in that aspect it's really cool.
Oliver: And it's quite fun as well when you're actually playing and you're running around as Harry Potter or Fred or George with a wand and see what they do. See what they say.
James: One of the reasons they record us in the booths doing that is because then when we do our actions then they can add the actions to the character speaking. And when they're doing that it's very real. It's very true to our being.

SS: What was it like when you went to Germany to promote the Half-Blood Prince video game?

Oliver: Yeah, that was really cool because we'd never been to a games fair like that. And being able to represent the Harry Potter brand there was really good. Even though our characters aren't in the game itself, it was still really cool to show off our Wii skills we've got, which isn't a lot. We were able to meet Sonic the Hedgehog, which was really cool. He was a lot slower and taller than I thought he would be.

SS: How does the Order of the Phoenix game compare to the Half-Blood Prince one?

James: It's better in the sense that the graphics are sharper, there's more to do on it, there's more interaction, and the dueling on the Wii, that's a new feature. So that's quite cool. So you could fight against your mates, and there's the potion making where you can use your wand on how to make potions.

SS: We know of a few people who have done voices for Half-Blood Prince: Rupert, Tom, Bonnie, Evanna…Do you know anyone else who's done voices?

Oliver: I really don't know.

SS: We know you haven't. Why didn’t you do it this time?

James: Our characters aren't in the game really as much because they're not at school and that's primarily where all the game is based. So unfortunately we weren't asked this one. But as we said earlier, it was cool that EA still said come and see how it's coming along and what you think. And they showed us how even the characters have got individual hair, the detail is amazing in it.
Oliver: And in the house it showed like different levels in the water, and how, progressing throughout the day and night, how the light changes on the water. Details like this - one or two guys, that's their job to make sure that that's perfect. You take that for granted when you're playing the game, but when you go around seeing all the individual jobs you really appreciate it.

SS: Which is your Harry Potter favorite game?

Oliver: Out of all of them I'd probably say Half-Blood Prince because of what we played in all two-player aspects of it, the graphics are also coming on more than before and I just really like playing dueling really. I think it's gonna be a really big appeal to a lot of people, especially on the Wii.
James: I'd say the same. I like the games where you can interact and so also for that reason as well.

Big thanks to Alice and Debi from EA for arranging the interview! And of course, thanks to James and Oliver for answering all our questions!

Keep an eye out for our next exclusive interview, which should be with you shortly.
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