Whether you know him from “Breaking Bad,” “BoJack Horseman” or any of his many other hit projects, Aaron Paul’s voice is instantly recognizable.
As such, he’s lending his vocal talents to his very first video game with “Dispatch,” a narrative superhero workplace comedy from some of the people that brought you games like “The Wolf Among Us,” “Tales From the Borderlands” and “The Walking Dead.”
“I love the genre, I love gaming as a whole. I used to play a lot of games, so I have such respect for the stories that they’re telling — and it’s just such a massive industry,” Paul told TheWrap. “I’ve been spoiled within the animated space previously, so I’m very picky when it comes to anything, really, but specifically animation. This particular job just checked all the boxes. All the scripts were already written, very thick scripts because it’s a choose-your-own-adventure game, so there’s a lot of different scenarios. They also animated a sizzle reel to showcase the tone of the game, and I just fell in love with the world, fell in love with the story that they were telling.”
According to AdHoc studio, “In ‘Dispatch,’ every decision you make influences the unfolding narrative. From banter in the breakroom to life-or-death situations in the field, your choices affect your relationships with the heroes, their allegiances and the path your own story takes.”
“It’s a really fun world that I think is going to surprise a lot of people. It’s takes place in modern day Los Angeles, but at the center is a group of misfits that are working at a superhero dispatch center. They’re actually a group of ex-villains that are now trying to have their turn of being the good guy,” Paul teased. “I play Mecha Man, who is a generational superhero — his father wore the suit, his grandfather wore the suit, but the suit got damaged in a previous battle. So while the suit’s being worked on, he is sort of forced to kind of be in charge of this group of misfits and kind of keep them in line.”
He will be joined by fellow voice actors Laura Bailey, Erin Yvette, Alanah Pearce, Mayanna Berrin, Travis Willingham, Joel Haver, Lance Cantstopolis, MoistCr1TiKaL, THOT SQUAD, Jacksepticeye, Matthew Mercer and former “Westworld” co-star Jeffrey Wright. And while this is Paul’s first video game voice acting work, he’s no stranger to the process.
“I was so spoiled with ‘BoJack,’ I just loved every moment of that show. This was similar — you go into a booth, you record, typically solo — but this was just way more time-consuming. It took us two years to do this, because you’re just telling so many different scenarios and you want to do it right. So that was the learning curve,” he explained. “I had the privilege of jumping into ‘Invincible’ for a minute, and I loved my stint there, but it’s so heavy — I just couldn’t, I had to tap out; just too much on my psyche. So this has a great combination of drama elements to it, but it’s really just a fun, fun ride that surprises you on both ends of the spectrum.”
“Dispatch” drops Oct. 22 on Steam.
