Ten years on, the Skyrim community continues to thrive and surprise. One of the RPG game’s fans has put together a trailer showcasing its action, scenic beauty, and drama – and it’s tied together using some really neat tech. Its creator says all of the clip’s audible dialogue was generated by machine learning AI – not read out by voice actors.
Adriac’s Skyrim trailer – which you can check out below – uses a new Skyrim mod called SKVA Synth by creator DanRuta. This works as an “AI tool for high-quality voice acting synthesis using in-game voices from Bethesda games”, as the modder explains. That is, it creates new voice lines using “neural speech synthesis”, loading in models that have been trained based on voices from several of the open-world game’s developer Bethesda’s titles.
The tool has features that let users adjust aspects like emotion and emphasis by tinkering with aspects such as voice pitch and durations of individual letters being voiced.
Give the trailer using the mod a listen and look below:
If you can recognise some of the voices in there, you probably do. Users in the clip’s replies have noted that they’ve heard those of characters such as the vampire Serana (as voiced by actor Laura Bailey) and Cait from Fallout 4 (voiced by Katy Townsend) in the trailer, and Adriac has confirmed that they are indeed in there – just with lines voiced through the machine learning AI mod, rather than read out by an actor.
It’s a pretty astonishing feat and, as the creator highlights on Reddit, helps demonstrate how powerful AI could be when used in videogames. If you’re keen to get more of an idea about how this AI mod tool works, you can check out a video by its creator showing it in action below. There are also links to the Fallout 4, Morrowind, Oblivion, and other versions on the mod’s Nexus Mods page.
If you’re keen to try out some other mods for Bethesda’s fantasy RPG, some recent creations might be of interest – for example, one makes NPCs compliment you for strutting around in the nude and another restores Winterhold to its former glory, with new buildings and a spooky mine.