Creating the Voice of Legion

Rob Blake, audio lead at Bioware, leads viewers through the process of creating Legion's voice for Mass Effect 2 and 3.

[@MakoRuu]

Legion was one of my favorite characters and he didn't get enough game time. I'd like to see a video like this for Sovereign's voice.

[@ChuPeach]

Legion should have been more then what he was.

[@TheArtofUTube]

Chu Peach I agree but alot of my friends found the Geth to be very creepy instead of hero-like characters.

[@PearsAreOk]

TheArtofUTube i always felt bad when i heard them scream :c

[@PerfectAlibi1]

I like Legion, I never felt bad about killing Geth in ME1. But after meeting him/her/it/they (what ever) I was kinda worried, then Legion told about those Geth being heretics. Effectively religious fanatics and put my mind at ease XD

[@PearsAreOk]

***** they still sound like puppies D:

[@TheUnknown285]

2:15 - We almost had Soundwave as a squadmate.

[@ZachValkyrie]

TheUnknown285 LEGION SUPERIOR. SOUNDWAVE INFERIOR.

[@erikam6164]

+ZachValkyrie Hell yes!!!

[@TheGuyWithTheSniper]

"Nobody would follow an uncharismatic bore like you!" :D

[@michaeljavier870]

TheGuyWithTheSniper Rumble: Hey, nobody calls Soundwave uncharismatic! Frenzy: Yeah, let's kick tailgate!

[@Zucca101]

Legion superior, Old Machines inferior.

[@umaralansari]

"Shepard Commander". One of my favourite lines of the game. Said in that cyber-modulated voice, it sounds much cooler than "Commander Shepard". Commander Shepard: the only man who can command the respect of humans and toasters alike.

[@elliesart_]

/woman

[@fellowasp6768]

Might be 8 years old but this is the only mention I've seen of this and omg yes it sounds sooo much better the way he says it also Legions noticeable humanity in his voice when he says it 💙 he sounds all nervous and on edge

[@cerealciller5369]

And dish washers!

[@a.s.raiyan2003-4]

Can't say same for the bottles, never know when they revolt

[@samponcho3412]

It's a shame, I think in ME2 Bioware didn't fully predict how popular Legion would be, which was why he comes so late and you spend so little time with him (if you want the perfect ending at least and want to save the entire crew). I think they rectified that very in well in the third

[@douglasaranda2010]

You can mod save files to use him earlier, and he does have speeches, just don't ask me how to do it..

[@samponcho3412]

Douglas Aranda I'm aware but it doesn't really fit the plot. I know they initially intended you to be rebuilt by the geth not cerberus and thats why legion was with you from the start, but the story they went with doesn't fit with Legion following you around the whole game.

[@douglasaranda2010]

Sam Poncho Indeed man, either way it was an awesome game that I'm glad I spent my money on, but I did love Legion, his exclusivity made him even more interesting, the N7 armour was a coup, hahaha!

[@FalconWindblader]

It's indeed a goddamn shame that you'll hafta go hit the Collector base just as soon as you helped they...him...it...whatever, hit the heretics station, unless you're willing to see your whole non-squad crew die just to get him to go on missions with you. i'd have loved to know this particular congregation of Geth units better.

[@bluebana2280]

that's why they shoe-horned him in ME3 for no good reason

[@koekjeshepard5085]

Does this unit have a voice?

[@hadeseye2297]

This Platform stores ...

[@theromuluanhunter6976]

"Does this unit have a soul?"

[@CartoonSlug]

No data available

[@hawkwood9257]

@@theromuluanhunter6976 no ):

[@brave_jedi9437]

Try saying that to an Amazon Alexa for a little Easter egg

[@kenshii02]

I didn't realize so much work had gone into making Legion's voice... impressive work by Rob Blake and his team

[@j7...]

I think there went lots of work into nearly every sound in the game you hear. There might be samples, but in the end to make it sound how it sounds in the final product requires a lot of soundengineering and mastering. And it's not only the sound. Video games are a form of art in itself, at least some of them. Maybe the artistic aspect gets some recognition one day.

[@stoneiousprime]

I like Drell voices a lot, I wish there was a behind the scenes video for making their voice...

[@iCatchLupin]

Someone please implant a machine in my larynx to make my voice sound like this in real time.

[@yahootooloo]

Sounds like a purring cat

[@Wulfenburg]

No it doesn't.

[@yahootooloo]

A robotic purring cat

[@erikam6164]

+fervorflame Trueee! x'D

[@PerfectAlibi1]

Well Legion and cats are both adorable =3

[@commanderbastard1993]

It's the next stage of the cats master plan.

[@JeremyCuddles]

Legion one of if not the most criminally underused character in the series. Miranda is close. Given how important she was in 2, then being near non-existent in 3.

[@TheDorianTube]

What happened with Harbinger? Don't get me wrong, he's menacing, but...Sovereign, my god Sovereign. His voice was like a hellish concerto. Dignified and terrifying. I still remember my first playthrough on Virmire, it was epic. Never smiled so much just for a voice. So good. On the other hand, Harbinger was average. Still good, however it felt...interchangeable.

[@apedreitor]

true Sovereign voice was awesome i'am almost ashamed to say that he sounds more evil than Megatron and he is a tyrannical megalomaniac robot with a nuclear canon on his arm you can't get more evil than that

[@the_dropbear4392]

TheDorianTube Maybe that's why sovereign was chosen to stay behind, because he had the best voice for intimidating organics

[@goliathead]

Legion was never a companion or a friend for me. I took him at face value that he was just the Avatar of however many geth ai, so all his actions reflected on his species rather than an individual. But at the end, before he died, he became one of my best friends. Hopefully his personality infected other Geth AI in the transfer so they will retain some of his charecteristics. RIP Legion, Avatar of the Geth.

[@FalconWindblader]

By the end of ME3, Legion's no longer an avatar, but a single individual. his sacrifice have at least, allowed some of his kind to evolve into his kind of intelligence. unfortunately though, that kinda also means that some of the geth are actually both hardware & software now. they can't just depart the platform they're in & get themselves uploaded elsewhere & still remain as what they are.

[@thomasjoychild4962]

the "personality" gestalt of the processes installed on a platform always differed IIRC, the same sets of processes would result in different personalities if installed on different platforms. As to whether they lost the ability to platform-swap, I don't think we ever got an answer.

@@FalconWindblader He was an individual already at the moment of capture. The idea of being an "infiltration unit" means he's almost offline. "Why is there a piece of N7 armor" - "there was a hole" - "why not fix it with something else" - "no data available"

[@Leon_der_Luftige]

@ An individual with a serious case of schizophrenia. :P

@@Leon_der_Luftige the question of whether a soul is included in that package is still open

[@anongladstone]

too bad a lot of legion's lines weren't used.

[@PerfectAlibi1]

awww :(

[@Magus44]

Legions voice is one of my favourite things in Mass Effect.

[@MrSlacker333]

He's playing Mass effect 3 in the back haha.

[@evamagnusson1431]

I loved the geth !! First time I saw them was in mass effect one. I remember thinking that I had not seen robots like these before. They simply took my breath away. I thought not only are they technological the most advanced artificial life forms but incredibly beautiful. I almost immediately thought created in the quarians own image...I was ihooked. Played through mass effect one because of them. At the time of mass effect one I had only heard rumours about this game didn't even see pictures. I was lucky enough to purchase mass effect one and 2 together thinking if I didn't like it I could give these games away to someone else. It took two and a half days to finish both games. Played straight through which I had never ever done before. I could never thank bioware enough for the most fantastic vacation I ever had.

[@SoIoCreep]

+eva magnusson 2 1/2 days for both games! I thought I was bad but holy crap man. You couldn't have slept for a couple of days to manage that.

[@mindrend6726]

I'm really completionist on it, so I like to nolife it for a week and complete every single mission.

[@duffeknol]

Legion's voice is probably my favorite thing about the entire series, and that's saying a lot. Wonderful job.

[@hollyhummingbird3729]

Wish there was one for Thane somewhere

[@LightAngelSnow]

Holly Travers there is but written only... I wish there was a video.

[@BrittonFilmmaker]

The line he played as the example of legion's final post processing, and then stopped for "spoiler" reasons, was actually already a huge reveal of what was to come with the geth. Too perfect 3:50

[@opalfinity]

This video just makes me appreciate Legion so much more. His voice is spot-on.

[@commanderbastard1993]

If I ever loose my voice I hope I can get a vocaliser with a Legion option. Then comes wearing a Geth cosplay for the rest of my life. This would be very acceptable.

[@Karma92008]

*grabs wire* i can help

[@Fireball7428]

We agree.

[@Kuhtlass]

I love Legion. His design is epic!

[@heatherperkins9737]

As a sound designer myself, I love this look at how the designer created the voice of Legion, one of my favorite characters in the game.

[@soc3chappd]

So amazing, that clicky geth noise is so unique and i think they struck the right balance when creating Legions voice (my fav character)........thx for sharing.

[@NorthWriter]

Loved Legion. I love the bit when Shepard asks where he got the N7 armor and why he was using it, and Legion just looks at him and sort of shrugs. It was a wonderfully human moment.

[@PerfectAlibi1]

I was very surprised the first time I met Legion, I didn't think I would get a Geth companion. And I was wondering if I missed a companions as there was still an empty slot. XD Love Legion's "no data available". So adorable and makes them pretty much Shepard's main fanbot =3 Legion and Tali are the most adorable characters in the game! =3

[@romanm.3529]

Mass Effect is one of the best game series there is! True art. Thanks for all the work, dev team!

[@grimmSOL]

This is why I loved Legion... you just knew he had to have a ton of work put into him. To give humanity to a Geth.

[@jmanahn94]

3:50 oh, you tease, you! if i saw this back in november, that line would have sent me off a cliff.

[@XmrsalbertweskerX]

That awesome moment when Wesker and Legion are the same voice actor.

[@ChristianFrates1997]

Their voice actor is a pedophile.

[@T--kq3pj]

Ah, a classic Winamp. A right choice of the true sound guru.

[@rchrisb745]

Getting loads of recommendations for mass effect videos 😎 KZbin knows a remaster is coming

[@Wolver101]

i love how they put the menu for Mass effect 3 in the background

[@megamanx503]

2:43 dear god i almost died at that

[@Kuhtlass]

megamanx503 Sounds like Guilty Spark.

[@MajorKirrahe]

Legion going through puberty

[@leroy2784]

Wow, appreciate the intention and hard work going into this project. Really eye opening.

[@Sumtinrandom]

I did really love the way legion talked and the vocabulary it had. Like this vid!

[@Insane8221]

Easily my favorite character and species(?) from the Mass Effect series!

[@TheKisj]

Legion was and always will be my favourite character in the mass effect franchise

[@VexylObby]

A lot of great work in the sound department!

[@kingofshitland]

Guys like this is why Mass Effect is so awesome

[@admiralgeneraln.n.547]

Legion is dancing at 2:35 ?

[@jollysouwester56]

+Admiral General N.N. In me2 if you stand next to him long enough, he starts doing the robot

[@floppydisksareop]

Did you know that there are a lot of random actions your crew can preform... Like Garrus and Tali chatting about elevator talks, Joker saying "Pew! Pew!" in the cockpit, etc.

[@Genome320]

Love these videos.

[@halflifeproductionz]

these guys are truly genius!

[@Splotched]

Fair to say they nailed it in the end.

[@Skull11137]

Legion and Thane, they have a place in my squad forever.

[@XelestialAurora]

Indeed. They work very hard on even smaller details like this.

[@RaginCajun3]

What software was used? I love it.

[@fishfingersndcustard]

DC is a real swell guy :)

[@Marqan]

Never thought about it before, but all the species need different voice processing. Probably even fine-tuning for every voice-actor as well, since their voices can interact differently with a process that worked for another voice-actor. Especially in ME2 and 3 you get lots of different aliens, even as companions. I guess the audio engineers didn't get bored during the making of these games.

[@FatSack0fCrap]

The Geth are the coolest, most badass, looking and sounding robots/synthetics ever designed. Ever. Love the Geth.

[@Kudoichi92]

That was Amazing. The Mordin script was spot on xD

[@QueenofSilence101]

Damn, I love that original geth sound.

[@medickid130]

Even if Legion wasn't a squadmate in ME3, I'm glad he was given such a great part.

[@2Hostage2]

NIcely done I love mass effect

[@klissattack]

DC Douglas is an awesome actor

[@ChristianFrates1997]

He’s still a pedophile.

[@Pho5phoru5]

Actually very interesting, I had no idea it took so much effort to create a badass voice like Legion's

[@deafidue5535]

Now I always think of Legion whenever I watch a History channel documentary.

[@timtenthousand]

Legion is the best character in the whole mass effect universe

[@sheemobile]

Look at the beta pause menu screen in the back. Purple-ish blue. Looked awesome.

[@Rycluse]

Fuck, I'm stuck in the Mass Effect video trap again

[@JamesK89]

I wish he would walk us through how they created the voice for Sovereign; which has to be one of the coolest voices ever.

[@jeremyrobot]

I miss Legion...Damn! ME3!!

[@sexyjesu]

Geez if only they put half as much effort into making Mass Effect Andromeda

[@the_dropbear4392]

Cedric Bolduc they did it's just 4 out of the 5 years of development was mostly put into trying to get randomly generated planets to work, so they didn't have much time left to make the game, hence it was well shit

[@GenericUsername-qp1ww]

it wasnt the same studio that made 1,2 and 3 who made ME:A

[@christianforlife4280]

let it go dude...bloody hell it suffered enough

[@leifleifnephew5154]

There's nothing wrong with the production values of Andromeda. The graphics are great, the sound is great, the art direction is great, and the animation is at worst OK. Andromeda *only* failed on the writing. The dialogue is often cringe-inducing and the plot makes no sense at all.

[@popcornfilms1]

+Leif Leifnephew and it REALLY suffered when it added a totally unnecessary 'open world'

[@miketacos9034]

The best AI voice in all of Sci Fi.

[@markdavidson1049]

Legion is my favourite character.

[@dport9563]

The clicking noise was perfectly explained in-game. Basically 10G broadcast from platform to platform at 10kilowatt power.

[@ezpzlemonsqz]

RIP Legion :(

[@MrBitchimo]

I KNEW I WEREN'T ALONE TO THINK THAT!

[@PenumbralBehemoth]

I didnt notice that until you pointed that out. thanks XD

[@91MRJ]

3:57 is from a geth related mission in ME3, i think. no spoilers...

[@Eleglas]

He does do it, go to him on the Normandy and just stand by him for a while, he'll do it.

[@theenglishman]

I cannot stop staring at Rob Blake's Adam's apple, especially in side profile :O

[@zennim125]

Legion is my favorite thing on mass effect

[@unitor699industries]

i got this recommended so i am liking all the old comments

[@Edgelite306]

I thought I clicked on a video for all voice lines of Caesar’s Legion. Ave, true to Caesar

[@cogtroper]

Geth sounds remind me of the selkath form KotOR.

[@dauntlesswarriorproductions112]

This is my dream job!!!!

[@Ohem1]

Really miss these behind the scenes, we had none for ME3 nor for Andromeda (as of yet).

[@ParadigmShiftr]

Yes, Legion. Yes it does.

[@ShadowKain666]

I brought peace! But that scene... that... scene. Yes, manly tears, many many manly tears.

[@halfbakedtim]

there are a variety of description for a game "designer" you need a group the artist, programmer, and many more. the programmer is the one that codes in everything that lets the game be a game, like a code to let the pause menu open when you press the button.

[@KyokoFujita]

So Wesker has already expanded his reign to the Geth, Legion? HELL YEAH.

[@majinsnake]

Sounds like Soundwave from Transformers: Robots in Disguise. 2:14 play-time in the video.

[@ogogogogogog]

I HEARD A NOISE AND GOT SCARED So i comforted myself with KZbin videos

[@SPACEHARICE]

this guy spent hours on end to find a perfect voice for a character only in the last 2 main missions.

[@kingpopaul]

I feel you bro.

[@alexander101ist]

wow nice stuff !!!

[@ChildOfChaos07]

I LOVED Legion :3

[@irradiatedsam353]

I was going with the flow

[@RanaRandom]

2:44 the voice pitch sounds like Legion just about hit puberty.

[@talizorahnarrayya4450]

I love Legion

[@medusawitchful]

Legion is reason that i never choose destroy ending

[@Simvx1]

2:09 WALLPAPEEERRR !

[@radosity1]

HIS NECK GOES ON FOREVER

[@breakingaustin]

My name is Legion, for we are many.

[@jon-umber]

Some of the audio engineering in the Mass Effect games is really insanely good. Legion's voice, Sovereign's, and Harbinger's in ME2 are simply amazing.

[@sirtimofthestrat]

I would love nothing more than to create sound effects for video games. Virtually limitless creation

[@ogogogogogog]

You do not not tell Garrus Vakarian to shut up! Ooh girl you got me started

[@c4bb4g3]

Stand still and watch him for a minute or so.

[@nicocap24]

that adam's apple has a mind of its own

[@Celwind]

I'll take it!!