How to prepare a video game audition with limited context

Start with the information you have

Read the full brief before rehearsing. Note the relationship, situation and any directions about tone, accent or delivery. Check the submission requirements too: number of takes, slate, file format and deadline.

Divide your notes into supplied facts and working assumptions. “The character is speaking to their commander” might be supplied. “They want the commander’s approval” might be your interpretation.

An assumption can help you act. Keeping it separate from the facts makes it easier to replace when a direction suggests another approach.

Give yourself something to do

• Who am I speaking to?
• What do I need them to do next?
• What makes that difficult right now?

Keep each answer short. “I need my frightened friend to leave before they are caught” gives you a relationship, an immediate objective and an obstacle.

Choose an action you can direct towards the other person: reassure them, persuade them, challenge them or get their attention. Treat it as a starting point you can test.

An original practice scene

This fictional scene was written for this exercise. It is not taken from a game, audition or client project.

Brief: A locked gate has opened. Someone is approaching. Your character needs the other person to go through the gate. Keep the words unchanged.

Wait. Look at me.
Take the key.
When you get through, close the gate.
Whatever you hear, keep going.

The brief gives you urgency and an objective. It leaves the relationship open. Try these two interpretations.

Choice one: earn their trust

Imagine you are helping a frightened friend who thinks leaving means abandoning you. Your action is to reassure them enough to move.

“Look at me” becomes an invitation to connect. “Take the key” gives them a concrete first step. The final line asks them to trust you when they cannot check what is happening.

Before recording, imagine their hesitation. Let that imagined response affect how you move into the next line.

Choice two: end the argument

Imagine you are speaking to a capable teammate who keeps challenging your plan. Your action is to secure their cooperation.

“Look at me” interrupts their objection. “Take the key” hands them a responsibility. The final line establishes the instruction they are most likely to resist.

Keep the same words and supplied circumstances. Explore how the changed relationship affects your timing, emphasis and attention. You do not have to make this version louder.

Listen for a difference you can describe

Record both versions for practice. On playback, ask:

• Can I hear who I am speaking to?
• Does each thought seem to respond to something?
• Is the intention clear without extra words or explanatory noises?
• Can I describe the difference between the takes in one sentence?

If both versions sound similar, change one assumption and try again. A new relationship or obstacle may give you more to work with than deciding to sound “more intense”.

Before you submit

Return to the actual audition instructions. The two-take exercise is a rehearsal tool; send the number of takes requested. Check that you have preserved the script, followed the naming requirements and listened through the complete file.

For individual work on your material, explore video game performance coaching. You can also meet Keith Higinbotham and learn about his directing, performance and coaching work.