Lani's voice coaching

[gilbert grape]

Apparently I'm very late on the band-wagon of hearing all of this bad news about this game being so very delayed, and Lani no longer being the voice of Nancy.

The biggest concern for me is that Lani will no longer be associated with the company. This is upsetting, because she is Nancy Drew. She contains the proper inflection in her voice. How will a new voice actress ever say the basic, "It's locked", etc. I can understand the need to eliminate some staff due to a new company take over, everyone is trying to save money these days.

I'm just worried if this game will ever come out.

Here's to hoping.

[Tedbear2]

I absolutely 100% believe what you have to say, Lani. Nik's suggestions to you also make sense to me in the context of his overall writing style, which often tried to make Nancy (as well as other characters) sound more edgy and "cool," in contrast to the approach of previous writers for the series.

[Firestone]

annoyed that her is willing to put information out there that simply isn't true. i really wish they would just tell the truth and not lie about what nik said, as well as come out with the truth about why lani was fired. all they ever say is that is was an "agonizing decision" if it was so agonizing there had to be a really good reason to make the decision so what was it..?

[tsukiakari]

if it was so agonizing there had to be a really good reason to make the decision so what was it..?

I know I've said this before, but I think they just wanted to change Nancy's voice. (To quote Jenna Deblin:) "Period. End of story."

Think about it...everything that's being done to the games is about changing them at a pretty deep level. Getting rid of the entire creative team, leaving only Cathy Roiter? Removing the original voice of Nancy? Redesigning the games to fit with the Unity engine and its enhanced movement? It's not just a facelift like the new interface from TMB onward has been, it's a reboot. I think that's the only viable explanation for what's been going on, and I could almost argue that Her is trying to break it to us gently but they don't quite know how, so they're not really saying anything.

Also, I personally don't think they gave out wrong info in their post on purpose. Virtually everyone who ever worked with Lani is gone. It's kinda sad to think about, but the person(s) behind that post might not have known much of anything about what Nik (or even Stuart, the last CEO) wanted Lani to do with her acting. They can't really contact either Nik or Stuart, and the leftover remnants of the "old guard" might not know much either, so what can they do aside from try to explain the situation as best they can, without letting on that even they're not really knowledgeable? (Though this is just a theory of mine, of course.)

[Hermes]

Think about it...everything that's being done to the games is about changing them at a pretty deep level. Getting rid of the entire creative team, leaving only Cathy Roiter? Removing the original voice of Nancy? Redesigning the games to fit with the Unity engine and its enhanced movement? It's not just a facelift like the new interface from TMB onward has been, it's a reboot.

I'm a little late to the game here, and I'm guessing my point has already probably been said, but I totally agree with this. I've firmly held the belief for a few years that HER is going down the tubes financially. This would be a pretty drastic measure, and it's probably not exactly right, but maybe HER fired Lani not only to reboot the series and start from scratch, but also to drum up publicity and draw attention to MID? Even if the majority of people don't like the change, I think it's pretty clear that sales will be up for MID when it's finally released, most likely due to people's curiosity to hear the new voice. Like I said, that would be a pretty drastic measure, and as we've seen, upsetting to many people, but you gotta admit, it's getting people talking about MID. More so than any of the other recently released games.

[DPL_93]

I think it's pretty clear that sales will be up for MID when it's finally released, most likely due to people's curiosity to hear the new voice. Like I said, that would be a pretty drastic measure, and as we've seen, upsetting to many people, but you gotta admit, it's getting people talking about MID. More so than any of the other recently released games.

I think that's up for debate that sales will be up for MID, yes there has been a lot of talk about MID buts there has been a lot of negativity and skepticism rather than anticipation, people worried about motion sickness, a petition to keep Lani, a petition for a Demo, concern over so many people being be laid off by HeR ect.

I think time will tell if the decisions HeR is making are the right ones, but it does seem like MID is a kind of make or break game for HeR.

[CrazyLady]

I guess when someone implies that you sound too old, telling the truth to defend yourself, your talent, and ultimately your livelihood equals breaching confidence. This makes no sense: Lani has been very candid over the last year that she was directed to sound older, can control her vocal "age", an that this was not why she was fired.

She gave them almost 20 years of work. In many ways, her voice is a key part of their brand. She deserves more respect than the company (unnecessarily) calling her voice old.

[Ndfan1234]

I guess when someone implies that you sound too old, telling the truth to defend yourself, your talent, and ultimately your livelihood equals breaching confidence. This makes no sense: Lani has been very candid over the last year that she was directed to sound older, can control her vocal "age", an that this was not why she was fired.

She gave them almost 20 years of work. In many ways, her voice is a key part of their brand. She deserves more respect than the company (unnecessarily) calling her voice old.

She has the right to defend herself if the HeR employees are attacking her voice and lying about telling her to sound older. That could hurt Lani's future potential jobs if a company hears that the company Lani had worked for for 15 years was fired for sounding too old (or maybe not necessarily fired, but the fact that she sounded too old when not instructed to is kind of part of HeR's excuse). If I was choosing a VA, I'd want the one that sounds fresh and young, and not one that has a rep for sounding too old from the previous company. Lani needs to be able to defend herself, for the sake of her future jobs. I feel bad for Lani...

[Her Interactive]

Response to CrazyLady

So...Lani has been banned, apparently for that post. According to HER, she shared confidential information.

I guess when someone implies that you sound too old, telling the truth to defend yourself, your talent, and ultimately your livelihood equals breaching confidence. This makes no sense: Lani has been very candid over the last year that she was directed to sound older, can control her vocal "age", an that this was not why she was fired.

She gave them almost 20 years of work. In many ways, her voice is a key part of their brand. She deserves more respect than the company (unnecessarily) calling her voice old and then banning her.

Hi CrazyLady - This is such an unfortunate situation. Our hearts are broken that it has come down to this. We really didn’t want to take this action but our hand was forced based on her most recent post and other prior activities that we are unable to divulge. We have requested, on multiple occasions, that she keep confidential information to herself, but she did not heed our request and has continued to share confidential information in public forums and privately with fans. Please know that we have NEVER stated that she sounded too old. Additionally, we NEVER asked her to sound older. We have inquired with everyone that has ever directed her and not one of them has ever asked her to sound older. We are at a loss in terms of how this rumor was started. Lani is an amazing Voice Actress! We were beyond lucky to have her as Nancy Drew for so long. And we agree that she can manipulate her voice to sound like just about anyone or anything. Its never easy to part ways with someone that has been a part of a series for so long. However, please know that Her Interactive has gone above and beyond to try and make this transition as smooth as possible and to give Lani all the respect and credit that she so richly deserves. Unfortunately, Lani did not want any part of any tributes or dedications that we suggested. This was her right to do but we were extremely disappointed that we couldn't celebrate her legacy with the fans. We hope that one day Lani will rejoin the Her Interactive family and be able to interact with our fans once again. As always, thank you for supporting Her Interactive and Nancy Drew games.

[Frenchiebubbles]

they r floundering at trying to cover up the mistakes you have made and its sad. it's maddening how out of touch Her is with their fans - like they thought people were going to be okay with this? or be okay with the games no longer being point and click? lani has carried this series - she's been the bright spot in every game, even when the game is a mess (lookin at u labirinth of lying). it is truly baffling and upsetting

[Lost+Dreaming]

Why would Lani lie about being told to sound older? This is a mess. Lani was banned for trying to give us closure as to why she was fired when HER literally won't say anything about this. But, we all know why she was fired. HER is rebooting the series and for some reason thought that they should get rid of one of the best features of the game--Lani. I miss when HER was transparent with us and wasn't bowing down to the capitalist gods

[paperstreet]

but if Lani wasnt fired for sounding too old, then why was she let go? Its a never-ending loop. People are rarely fired for doing amazing work (which Lani always did).

I think the thing that seems to bother a lot of people the most is the not knowing. People need a reason, just for closure, otherwise their minds keep grinding away trying to understand.

Lani posted some stuff defending her professional reputation around the internet and giving closure to her fans, without any anger, just defending herself. and now HeR is accusing her again of being an unprofessional person for doing so. Lani is not being paid by HeR anymore and to think she will sit quiet while people think she was not good enough or did something to deserve to be fired is really kind of selfish and almost bullying on HeRs part. Lani never said anything against the company, just saying she can do all sorts of voices and ages, so why does that bother HeR so much? It seems like the company has gone from a family atmosphere to one of fear, paranoia, silence and control.

I think HeR really handled this situation incorrectly by not making an announcement that saved face for everyone, not just the company. The continued silence really makes it seem HeR fired Lani for something she did. If they just wanted to do a complete reboot, HeR should have said so, but probably were afraid of alienating people with that word.

It feels like HeR is scapegoating Lani for their own bad decisions.

[~ Jinkies Nancy! ~]

I suppose some fans realize that this is a business and in business there are legal binding agreements that bind both parties. I certainly don't know what that agreement might have been between the business and the individual so I wouldn't accuse either side of any misgivings about the situation. While some see it or twist it as Her being silent and wrong for changing Lani, I believe the reality is that they are bound by the agreement not to disclose certain information. The reason why someone is fired is not public knowledge. Any company or business that respects one's privacy does not discuss one's termination with the entire company never mind a public forum. I think all of this speculation about both parties and their roles in this situation is unfortunate.

Let me add that this is simply my opinion that this is more of a legal issue and I believe that legal agreements/NDA were signed and I have no actual knowledge that this is the case. It is exactly why I will not speculate about either parties role in the change from Lani to a new Nancy Drew voice actress.

[bumblebeex3]

HeR has always been very elusive about their office and certain parts of the work that they do. Not until the last few years did they become more open via the AS blog and their social media postings. It doesn't surprise me that even something small like saying "Nancy cannot use slang and must never mention this that and the other etc" which was shared with us by Lani, would be considered TMI for them. They keep things from competitors I would guess, and obviously Lani has been really loose lipped recently. Even if she hasn't let something major slip yet she may do so soon. Even inadvertently.

Honestly for her sake I hope none of her other employers see the way she has been acting. Extremely unprofessional imo.


And just my opinion, but I interpret that they made it "as smooth as possible" for Lani who was the employee who was fired, not us the fans who - though we all care deeply about the matter and feel personally affected - were not involved in the termination. Which I imagine is a very private and personal situation. So if Lani feels comfortable sharing (what I am guessing is only part of her side) and HeR doesn't, then that's that.

[Miss.Moonhart]

I don't know who is lying, or if someone is. I just don't think we should hold up Lani as some sort of martyr, esp because we don't have the full story. We might never have the full story, and that's okay. It's really not our business to know all of the details.