Ireland and Irish people in Computer games

ancapailldorcha

I'm amazed noone's mentioned Havok yet. How many games have used their physics engines over the years...

Branoic

ancapailldorcha wrote: »

I'm amazed noone's mentioned Havok yet. How many games have used their physics engines over the years...

Yes, clearly an important contribution to the industry by irish people, but I don't think it was quite what the OP was after. Featuring Havok isn't the same as featuring Ireland as a playable location or Irish characters.

ancapailldorcha

Fair point. Just thought it merited mentioning.

wnolan1992

gugleguy wrote: »

What about Irish people in GAA sport as published by EA.

I think everyone was just trying to block those games from their memories...


*shudder*

Hercule

there are a lot of "oirish" ppl in games - but not many Irish. I really don't understand how its more cost effective to have "oirish" voice actors then to pick actual Irish people.

The last level of Counter-Strike:Condition Zero is set in Belfast,

there is a final boss thats in the IRA. He wields a samurai sword against you and has a nuclear bomb at the top of a skyscraper in Belfast that you need to defuse.

. I really wish I was making that up.

Star Lord

Hercule wrote: »

there are a lot of "oirish" ppl in games - but not many Irish. I really don't understand how its more cost effective to have "oirish" voice actors then to pick actual Irish people.

The last level of Counter-Strike:Condition Zero is set in Belfast,

there is a final boss thats in the IRA. He wields a samurai sword against you and has a nuclear bomb at the top of a skyscraper in Belfast that you need to defuse.

. I really wish I was making that up.

Reminds me of the old Rainbow Six game,

where the last (or one of the last?) levels was where there were IRA members with bombs in Big Ben or something akin to that!

*spoilered to prevent spoiling the one above*

J. Marston

Hercule wrote: »

there are a lot of "oirish" ppl in games - but not many Irish. I really don't understand how its more cost effective to have "oirish" voice actors then to pick actual Irish people.

They probably need to make them ''Oirish'' just so other countries know where they're from. Although, it would be funny if a game had a character with a heavy Cork or Dublin accent.

Sarky

The elderly police chap from LA Noire was ****in' class.

Best ones that come to mind would be:-

Biffoshock
- A country that's bigtime underwater rapidly turns from utopia to dystopia featuring Brian Cowen as big big daddy

Day of the testicle
- featuring Bertie Ahern link

====

J. Marston

There's a Northern Irish actress in Dead Space: Extraction. The character she plays has the accent too.

Azza

X-Com Enemy Unknown randomly generates squad mates who can be Irish. This amounts to nothing more than Tri-color on there back and an Irish sounding name. They use the same generic voice actors as the rest of the nations do. But its cool to save the world with an all Irish squad.

Dreddybajs

Luna in Dota 2 has a horrible stage Irish accent.

LuckyFinigan

I remember there being a mission in the first rainbow six game where the ira take over big ben. I was thinking the engineer down in the engine room in mass effect 2 and 3 was Irish but I think hes actually Scottish, just had a Irish sounding name.

K.O.Kiki

Dunno if he's been mentioned yet, but Lancer in Fate/Stay-Night is a reincarnation of Cu Chulainn, and wields the spear Gaebolg.

Star Lord

LuckyFinigan wrote: »

I remember there being a mission in the first rainbow six game where the ira take over big ben.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82632217&postcount=57
:pac:

twistyj

http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/C%C3%BAchulainn_(Final_Fantasy_XII)

BNJT

I've edited the original post to include my complete list of games featuring Irish characters. Enjoy...

[CrimsonGhost]

I had a James O'Connell from Ireland in my X-Com squad, he was my main Sniper and Psionic guy by the end. As he was irish I invested more time in him from the start.

cidmon

BNJT wrote: »

I've put together a list of computer games featuring Irish (including Nothern Irish, not Irish-American) characters, or characters voiced by Irish people using their natural accent! Comments and corrections welcome!

Sean Devlin The Saboteur (2009)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Atkin_Downes

hes English

Azza

True but the character was Irish.

Sgt Hartman

There was a mediocre boxing game out on the PS2 a few years ago which had an Irish character called Mickey McFist. He had red hair and would say things like "Hold me Clover" and "Kiss me, I'm Irish". When you fought his there was a traditional Irish band outside the ring playing music:)

In Super Punch Out on the SNES there was an Irish character nasmed Aran Ryan who had a ginger mullet and who would berate you for your "wimpy little punches" between rounds.

Welease

BNJT wrote: »

I've edited the original post to include my complete list of games featuring Irish characters. Enjoy...

Is there a reason why you still ignore Daoc? Given that it has more Irish game characters than any other game you have added to the list.. there must be 100+ Irish computer characters in the game and one of the zones/armies is Irish.

It was (and many best ever lists still list it) one of the greatest games ever which is why over 10 years later its still has online players, and is always listed in the top10 MMORPG best games lists.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Age_of_Camelot

(I hope you don't mind me asking, just interested in why you didn't add DAOC to the list )

pixelburp

Azza wrote: »

True but the character was Irish.

I read an interview with Pandemic leading up to the release of Sabateur; it was very revealing when it came to the casting of the lead character. They'd decided early on to have an Irishman as the lead in the story, and initially their auditions had revolved around getting an actual Irishman to lend the voicework. But they soon rejected this idea because they felt the actual Irish accents were unintelligible & sounded 'too Irish'; instead they hired someone who could do an Oirish lilt, something more familiar to American audiences :rolleyes:

Azza

FFS.

Dr Bob

cough.. there were games with cuchullain in them back in the eighties on the ZX spectrum
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tir_Na_Nog_%28video_game%29


There was an early eighties Leprechaun arcade game too..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d0DlBlTGhI

kind of streching it a biy but theres a boss in a few of the castlevania games based on Balor (ancient Irish legend)
http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Balore
as well as the weapons... Cliamh Solas
http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Claimh_Solais
...and a slightly missspelled Gae Bolg
http://castlevania.wikia.com/wiki/Geiborg

As for Bioshock...I alwasy found it ironic that one of the few properly voiced Irish characters in video gaming history A/ technically isnt Irish ..

or in fact real

and B/ the actor playing him went uncredited due to actors guild red tape
(It was a chap called Karl Hanover btw)

wnolan1992

pixelburp wrote: »

I read an interview with Pandemic leading up to the release of Sabateur; it was very revealing when it came to the casting of the lead character. They'd decided early on to have an Irishman as the lead in the story, and initially their auditions had revolved around getting an actual Irishman to lend the voicework. But they soon rejected this idea because they felt the actual Irish accents were unintelligible & sounded 'too Irish'; instead they hired someone who could do an Oirish lilt, something more familiar to American audiences :rolleyes:

Understandable decision tbf. Gotta play the markets. Not much good having a lad with a harsh Kerry accent (for example) in a game for the sake of authenticity when you'd risk alienating your main market.

BNJT

Welease wrote: »

Is there a reason why you still ignore Daoc? )

Sorry, I was originally gonna do one list for games with Irish characters and one for games with Ireland as a playable location - DAOC was gonna go on that list but I didn't have time. I'll add it in shortly, along with Crusader Kings 2 and the boxing game with Micky McFist - "Black and Bruised". I'll have to look into the Castlevania games...

BNJT

Dr Bob wrote: »

the actor playing him went uncredited due to actors guild red tape
(It was a chap called Karl Hanover btw)

Wiki claims he is an Irish actor living in the US, so he'd fit under my "natural accents" criteria

BNJT

Updated List

Irish character(s) Game(s)
Leprechaun Leprechaun (1982)
Cuchulainn Tir Na Nog (1984)
Balore Castlevania Series (1986-2013)
M. Bison (see wikipedia) Street Fighter II and sequels (1991-present)
Cú Chulainn Shin Megami Tensei series (1992-present)
Aran Ryan Super Punch-Out!! series (1994-2009)
Nina and Anna Williams Tekken Series (1994-present)
O'Brien, Fitzgerald, Various Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars (1996)
Jaunty the Snake Shadowman Series (1999-2002)
James O’ Malley (priest) Koudelka (2000)
Patrick Galloway Clive Barker's Undying (2001)
Various characters - Dark Age of Camelot (2001)
Jack "Butcher" O'Hara (Green Beret) Commandos Series (2001-2006)
Kelly O'Lenmey GunValkyrie (2002)
Micky McFist - Black & Bruised (2003)
Oswald The King of Fighters XI (2003)
Lancer (based on Cú Chulainn) Fate/stay night (2004)
Unit voices (answer in Irish) Civilization IV (2005)
Harman Smith Killer7 (2005)
Enemy soldiers Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2006)
Leafos Viva Piñata series (2006-8)
Henry Cooldown No More Heroes (2007)
Doolin Village people? Folklore (2007)
Catherine O'Hara Valkyria Chronicles (2008)
Maureen McReary (Irish born) Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008)
Atlas Bioshock (2008)
Frank Bilders Far Cry 2 (2008)
James (character's father), Colin Moriarty Fallout 3 (2008)
Ewan Devlin/Garrett (helicopter pilot) Mercenaries 2 (2008)
Lexine Murdoch Dead Space: Extraction (2009)
Brother Darby O’Callahan Assassin's Creed 2 (2009)
Sean Devlin The Saboteur (2009)
Irish Red Dead Redemption (2010)
Various character voices Dragon Age 2 (2011)
Captain James Donnelly L.A. Noire (2011)
Various character voices Assassins Creed 3 (2012)
Mick Zaford and co. Borderlands 2 (2012)
Various characters/locations - Crusader Kings 2 (2012)
Luna Dota 2 (2012 beta)

Are there enough games with Ireland as a playable location to do a separate list? Most of them are on here. Apart from that there's most of the Total War series, Tomb Raider Chronicles (2001) and that War Leaders: Clash of Nations game. Can't think of any others.

Sl!mCharles

Two Irish names I can think of:
Red Eagle in Skyrim is called Faolan in his youth
Domhnall in Dark Souls

I believe I ran into a snake/monster called Nimhneach (poisonous) in something... can't remember what it was. Funny how regional dialects, words and languages filter down.

BNJT

The Elder Scrolls wiki says: Red Eagle, or Faolan in the old language of the Reach, is a long forgotten hero of the Reachmen [1], known now as the The Forsworn. Dunno if he counts as an Irish character

And can't find anything Irish here haha
http://darksouls.wikidot.com/domhnall-of-zena

cidmon

Azza wrote: »

True but the character was Irish.

my bad read original post wrong

Burgo

In the Witcher 2, the kingdom of Kaedwen were Irish.