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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsIn a 2015 interview, Roger Craig Smith described building a video-game performance by imagining the scene, following the creative team’s direction and making physical and vocal choices that help distinguish one character from another. His account of voicing Kyle Crane in Dying Light offers a practical look at how a performance takes shape when an actor may not see the finished scene or hear another actor during recording.
How does Roger Craig Smith make a game performance feel real?
In Robin Burks’s interview for TechTimes, published February 23, 2015, Smith said he tries to imagine himself in the character’s situation and perform as though the events are happening. He described the aim this way: “My biggest job as a voice actor is to (hopefully) give a performance that brings you deeper into the immersive experience of a narrative-based game.”
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Dying Light 2 Stay Human - PlayStation 5 | $25.51 | Buy on Amazon |
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Dying Light - Xbox One (Renewed) | $15.91 | Buy on Amazon |
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Dying Light - PlayStation 4 (Renewed) | $31.98 | Buy on Amazon |
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Dying Light: The Following - Enhanced Edition - PlayStation 4 | $24.99 | Buy on Amazon |
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Dying Light - Xbox One | $26.98 | Buy on Amazon |
That approach is especially relevant to game recording, where the actor may not have a fully rendered scene to respond to. Smith noted that performers can also record without hearing another actor’s performance. In those circumstances, imagining the scene helps him give the lines an emotional context, even when the material available in the booth is limited.
How much control does the actor have over a character?
Smith presented the work as collaborative rather than as an actor inventing a character in isolation. He said he listens to the voice director and the studio’s creative team, then tries to deliver the sound they envision: “I listen to what the voice director and the creative folks from the developing studio are asking for and do my best to come as close as possible to their concept of what the character should sound like.”
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- Includes: Dying Light 2 Stay Human and ‘Bloody Ties’ DLC. (DLC must be downloaded separately.)
- Enjoy the perks of more than 10 post-launch updates. Good luck out there, and stay human!
- VAST OPEN WORLD: Participate in the life of a city engulfed in a new dark era. Discover different paths and hidden passages, as you explore its multiple levels and locations.
- CREATIVE & BRUTAL COMBAT: Take advantage of your parkour skills to tip the scales of even the most brutal encounter. Clever thinking, traps and creative weapons will be your best friends.
- 2-4 PLAYER CO-OP GAMEPLAY: Play in up to four-player co-op. Host your own games or join others and see how their choices have played out differently than yours.
He also emphasized the scale of that collaboration: “There’s a massive collaborative effort to produce a game.” His description places the voice performance within a larger creative process. The actor contributes a character, but the final experience reflects the work and decisions of the team making the game.
What vocal choices help Smith separate characters?
Smith described using both physical and vocal adjustments to keep roles distinct. His examples included changing posture, lip shape, pitch and breathiness. Such choices affect how a voice feels and sounds, while giving the actor a physical route into the character.
Rank #2
- At night, the world undergoes a deadly transformation: the hunter becomes the hunted as the infected grow more aggressive and numerous, and something far more sinister awakens to stalk its prey
- Free Running Movement – Whether tracking prey or escaping predators, Dying Light lets players swiftly navigate the world by seamlessly leaping between buildings, grappling up walls and pouncing on unsuspecting enemies
- Dying Light is set in a vast open world, delivering expansive and varied environments, a wide variety of enemy classes and a hopeless tale of survival where resources are scarce and the infected are not the only threat
- Get up-close using a variety of light and heavy weapons including knives, bats, axes, sledgehammers and more exotic weaponry or utilize guns and other firepower to take down enemies from a distance
- Why use a wrench when you can use a wrench wrapped in electrified barb wire Dying Light's sizeable crafting system enables players to create a slew of new, more potent weapons and equipment, as well as specialized ammunition
He also acknowledged that an actor’s recognizable qualities may remain audible across roles. The goal, as he described it, is not necessarily to erase every trace of his own voice; it is to make choices that serve the character and the creative team’s direction.
Does Smith play the games after recording them?
Yes. In the interview, Smith said he plays the games he has voiced. He explained: “For sure! I always play the games I’ve voiced, as that’s often the only time I get to see what became of my performance.” Playing the finished game lets him encounter the completed scenes and the combined work of the people who made them, rather than only the material he performed in the recording session.
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Rank #3
- At night, the world undergoes a deadly transformation: the hunter becomes the hunted as the infected grow more aggressive and numerous, and something far more sinister awakens to stalk its prey
- Free Running Movement – Whether tracking prey or escaping predators, Dying Light lets players swiftly navigate the world by seamlessly leaping between buildings, grappling up walls and pouncing on unsuspecting enemies
- Dying Light is set in a vast open world, delivering expansive and varied environments, a wide variety of enemy classes and a hopeless tale of survival where resources are scarce and the infected are not the only threat
- Get up-close using a variety of light and heavy weapons including knives, bats, axes, sledgehammers and more exotic weaponry or utilize guns and other firepower to take down enemies from a distance
- Why use a wrench when you can use a wrench wrapped in electrified barb wire Dying Light's sizeable crafting system enables players to create a slew of new, more potent weapons and equipment, as well as specialized ammunition
What games does Smith enjoy?
Asked about his own gaming preferences, Smith named Portal as a favorite, pointing to its story, dialogue and first-person gameplay. That is his personal preference, not an objective ranking; it offers a glimpse of the elements he singled out as a player.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What did Smith say later about playing Kyle Crane?
In a separate Techland anniversary reflection published October 1, 2026, Smith again spoke about Kyle Crane, this time in connection with Dying Light: The Beast. He called the role a career highlight and said: “Voicing Kyle has been a highlight of my career and I’m so grateful to the folks at Techland for trusting me to be a part of their collaborative vision.” This later reflection adds franchise context; it is distinct from Burks’s 2015 interview about Dying Light.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- At night, the world undergoes a deadly transformation: the hunter becomes the hunted as the infected grow more aggressive and numerous, and something far more sinister awakens to stalk its prey
- Free Running Movement – Whether tracking prey or escaping predators, Dying Light lets players swiftly navigate the world by seamlessly leaping between buildings, grappling up walls and pouncing on unsuspecting enemies
- Dying Light is set in a vast open world, delivering expansive and varied environments, a wide variety of enemy classes and a hopeless tale of survival where resources are scarce and the infected are not the only threat
- Get up-close using a variety of light and heavy weapons including knives, bats, axes, sledgehammers and more exotic weaponry or utilize guns and other firepower to take down enemies from a distance
- Why use a wrench when you can use a wrench wrapped in electrified barb wire Dying Light's sizeable crafting system enables players to create a slew of new, more potent weapons and equipment, as well as specialized ammunition
Rank #4
- Dying Light is now bigger, better and scarier than ever before.
- Discover the untold chapter of Kyle Crane's story. Investigate a mysterious cult as you leave the quarantine zone and travel to a region bigger than all areas of the original game combined!
- Dying Light: The Following introduces the drivable dirt buggy that you can freely customize and upgrade with special weapons, attachments and decals to create your most deadly weapon yet.
- Get all the additional content ever released for Dying Light in one go;Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Content Description: Intense violence
- Content includes Be the Zombie multiplayer mode, the Cuisine&Cargo challenge missions, the Ultimate Survivor Bundle, The Bozak Horde game mode, and much more.
Sources
- TechTimes: Robin Burks, “Behind The Voice Of ‘Dying Light’: An Exclusive Interview With Roger Craig Smith,” February 23, 2015
- Techland: “One Year Later – Reflections on Dying Light: The Beast,” October 1, 2026
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