Heartbreaker and Equity Kill the Sentinels Universe - Episode 01

I haven't been paying attention to the development thread, but I'm rather impressed. Well produced, excellent sound editing. I have to admit, I was doing other things while listening and didn't catch everything, but the two characters have a good dynamic. I'm also pleased by the use of Rosie to keep these hardened criminals from getting too PG-13. The fact that a pair of muderous reprobates are thoroughly terrified of her only makes it better. :D You really got me with "You eat bugs and stuff, right?" XD

As for the voice acting, Rosie's obviously got a different mic setup from the others, not sure what could be done about that. The other two, the voices aren't what I'd think for either of them, but I like Heartbreaker while Equity is kind of off-putting. I mean, he really doesn't sound like the character he's supposed to be, not to me. It could just be that he sounds like a guy who does podcasts for the SCP Foundation, I dunno.

That said, I would absolutely listen to more of this, the concept is sound and the execution is fantastic. Any flaws will likely grow on me as more episodes come out. :)

Over all, I really enjoyed this. The voice acting was very good(Not my own headcannon what those two sound like, but I'll get used to it in time), though at times it was slightly difficult to pull the two's voices out of the background murmur of the Hive. Other than that, I enjoyed this thouroughly. Great work to all, and I happily await the next episode. :)

Well, I guess it's past time to out myself, anyway. 

 I'm trying to make Equity seem off.  He's a professional in a field that invites the worst sort of people.  

Inspirations for Equity's include Reverend Mord from the Hidden Almanac, Sayer, and Heath Ledger's Joker, all distilled through my higher-pitched-than-I-would-like suburban-Chicago voice.  (Ideally, his voice would be an octave lower.)

It's also definitely going to evolve as we keep going.  This was a lot of fun to do.  (My Bearded Dragon looked at me when I recorded the bit about not having "Lizard Powers" as if to say "but I do!")

Just to make sure it comes across, I want you guys to know that I think you did great. A much better job than I know I could have done. :D

I was originally going to voice Rosie (and did the "Special Submission" in the tryouts), but unfortunately turns out I just don't have the right type of voice for this compared to the rest of the cast. Maybe if there ever was a comedy podcast...

This was fun, guys. I’d be interested in more if you have the time/inclination to keep going.

Very amusing; I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I felt like I was left wanting more "war stories" from the pair.

"So, I'd get my hands on one of those new Revocorp ion cannons..."

"You know how expensive those are? And they jam up if you try to fire more than 3 times a second. Don't get me started on the last time my weapons jammed around ol' One Eye..."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Well, I got her to chase me into the Rook City sewers. I had a gas mask and she didn't, so I knew she'd start feeling it after a few minutes. Had her dead to rights -- crosshairs right over that stupid eyepatch-- when my TK-421 clicked empty. You know how the feed on that one sometimes rubs hot? Damned if I didn't burn my hand on the firing pin trying to reload. In the second it took me to get her back in my sights, she'd swapped ammo, unloaded three rounds of phosphorus into the sewer water, and caught the whole pipeline on fire. Had to beat feet real quick or get char broiled; man,
the only thing that smells worse than Rook City sewer is burning Rook City sewer. "

That said, it was still really funny and I love the ultra-blue-collar take on Heartbreaker.

All of this.

I'll weight in and give my two cents

To start with, I did not follow any of the devlopment of this podcast, so I am going into it blind. I have to say I am really impressed. It sounds really professional especially for what I believe is a first time production?

To give a little background from where I am coming from, I do public speaking for a living. I work at a state historic site, have gone places to advertise the site, and have worked as a tour guide, its not quite the same thing as acting but I do know a little bit about rehtoric and the art of speaking.

Thats why I think it was a very good idea to have a side topic, the aged fancy achohol, to go alongside the main topic, how to kill expatriate. When people sit down and have a real conversation there are tangents and diversons, so including something like that makes the scripted conversation feel more organic. To hit the true magic of radio land, it would be perfect if the side topic could be metaphorically connected to the main thread of the conversation. For example here you could have there view of achohol reflect their view towards killing, to give the listener an introduction. One wants to take his time and enjoy a perfectly aged fine beverage that needs to be sipped. The other ain't got time for that. I think there was some of that intent there and I really liked it, but perhaps I am reading too much into it.

A slight nitpick, and this may be me having the lore wrong, but I was under the impression that Equity was a professional killer who was only in it for the money, while Heartbreaker was more of an "Artist" who killed for funfullmit and personal pleasure. I had also thought that Heartbreaker's sthick was deadly percision, always hitting the heart, so his plan to spray and pray hit me a little off guard.

Right now I do think there is a bit of a disconnect between Heartbreaker and Equity's voices. Heartbreaker's voice sounds larger then life, like a character out of an early Hollywood crime drama. Which for this kind of setting I think really works. I hadn't pictured Heartbreaker as being from the Bronx but upon reflection I think its a good fit.

Equity's voice sounded more normal, or like someone trying to do a voice not but not quite sure what they wanted it to sound like, but I think that is something you can work with. I could see Equity trying to put on a voice to further his mystique and brand, but underneath it he just has a normal midwestern accent that he slips into when caught off guard . This might be a direction to grow the character in. He tries to come off as a professional who just wants to get the job done and get paid and doesn't want to draw attention to himself....but he must surely go though a lot of trouble to get those custom mix-matched suits. For someone who is often invisiable, he sure does seem like he is trying to impress someone.

Gravelly suits Heartbreaker, I just think it's maybe a little too deep? Gotta agree with CoG here for most of the rest. And the time is just right, don't go too far over 10 minutes and you'll be golden. Don't be afraid to vary the time, either, short, tight episodes may have their place.

Thanks for reminding me of something I had meant to mention

Don't worry so much about time, more so if this is your first time exploring this kind of artistic work. Take the time you feel is needed to tell the story. Don't pad out or cut to hit some arbitary number.

Thats not to say you shouldn't be mindful of pacing, but don't worry to much if one episode is 8 minutes and one on a major, harder to kill target ends up being 30.

Sup guys. I'll take a listen once I get a new pair of ear buds.

Well definitely don't do that!

FWIW, I recall Christopher mentioning that Equity won't lift a finger for free.

However, that doesn't preclude having a code.  Even evil has standards, after all.

And trust me, Equity's voice isn't getting much deeper. (I wish.)  I have a couple of ideas to work on the voice, though.

Could I make one suggestion?

For Equity, I really like his mannerisms and even his halting, G-Man like manner of speaking.

But, maybe sometimes it's a bit... TOO halting. My suggestion would be just to speed things up a LITTLE bit. (Not like in post, but when you're talking.)

Still, episode 1 was great. I'd love to get in on it, if my schedule allows it.

I think when he uses his powers, it changes the color of his clothes. He doesn't buy those suits, he makes them.

That was how I understood his power to work. Possibly, the suit replaces whatever he's wearing.

If I had to explain what I'd think Equity sounds like I think he'd sound a little more 'Nasally' and condescending, taking time to propperly anunciate each word, but again that's just my headcannon. I could be(and most likely am) totally off-base here with this assumption. I guess I need to re-listen to the mini-nemesis episode for a reminder.

I must admit, I don't really know what a 'midwestern' accent sounds like...

Honestly, while there are regional variations within the large area known as the "Midwest", it's essentially what you'd hear on American TV all the time. The "General Midwestern American" accent is most notable for it's lack of major regional markers which makes it a good one to emulate for TV or movies.

Edit for example!

I want to reiterate, I did really like his halting, almost unnatural mannerisms. It reminded me of G-Man, which is good for such a creepy, mysterious character.

I really enjoyed this and love the the chemistry between the characters. I could see this being a bit longer though with a bit more tangents. As a first episode though it is paced fine and the lore that it is building up could naturally lead to more tangents in the future. 

ill let you in on a little secret: 

Its short because we (and by we I mean bard) weren't sure if it was possible to be entertaining do longer. All the jokes would probably go stale.

Hey Bard, I finally just listened to this - it's really well done. Kudos!

Which does make perfect sense.

I'd love to help contribute if you have any roles open!

If you need my vocal “talents,” I’m more than willing to lend them.

I'm just throwing this out ther, but I'm french and quite interested by this project. If you want Ansel Moreau to appear I think I can handle it !