Seth Killian Interview Outtake & Transcription Challenges

As my loyal readers, you get a special look at some behind-the-scenes stuff. OK, this question was actually dropped because Seth basically didn't answer it, but here you have it:

iPW: Let’s speak just a little bit about the story of the game. In the Vs. games, usually the endings are kind of humorous, with a lot of cameo appearances. Are we going to see something like that in Street Fighter X Tekken, or will it have a more serious approach to story?

SK: There actually is a story, and I don't think it's done, but it's pretty far along. I have not read a lick of it. I get random V.O. clips. I get that stuff sometimes. I've seen some voice clips that are part of it, but I have no connection to the story. I don't get involved in that at all. I would imagine they would have some sort of Street Fighter crossover element in there. I'm guessing you're going to see cameos and things like that, but I have honestly not looked at the story one iota. I have it sitting somewhere on my computer, and I haven't even haven't even looked, which is how much of an anti-story guy I am. I'm not hating on the story guys. It's just that I'm all about the game mechanics and the systems. That's where I'm at: I haven't even read the story.

The other thing that I found really interesting about the process was how difficult it was to actually transcribe conversational language. I'm sure everyone realizes that the two are very different, but I assure you that you have no idea how much so until you try to write down what someone is saying. I started by listening to the answers and writing down every last word Seth said. It turns out that there are a lot of words used in conversation that mean nothing. They're just fillers like "Um" or "Uh." Such words are: And, But, You know, Then, So, and some more I'm forgetting. They mean nothing. And, when written, they make sentences seem to go on forever. To translate what was actually said into something that even makes sense when written is really tricky, not to mention that 22 minutes of conversation equate to over 4,000 words. Below is an example (and sneak peek at Part 2) of what I'm talking about.

Literal transcription: So, you’re able to – it’s sort of very much of a – it’ll still work, but it’s a much easier process to just drop it into games like that. But, in terms of the overall feature set, you’ve got to help me in my mission, because, you know, I push for these things once in a while with some success in some areas, but basically, if we can communicate to the Japanese office that I’m not crazy and it’s not just me and that the fans really react to this stuff and that it’s really important to them, we can get more of these features in there.


Becomes: You’re sort of able to just drop it into games that are based on 2D animations and things like that. It’ll still work [in other games], but it’s a much easier process to just drop it into games like that. In terms of the overall feature set, you’ve got to help me in my mission. I push for these things once in a while, with some success in some areas. If we can communicate to the Japanese office that I’m not crazy, that it’s not just me, that the fans really react to this stuff, and that it’s really important to them, we can get more of these features in there.

Cleaning up 4,000 words worth of that stuff is not fun. Sometime after part 2 goes live, I'll post the full audio file here, including the cut part where Seth totally blows up a trash question I ask.