One of ARC Raiders’ least discussed features is getting a lot of love from the community, because it’s helping some players enjoy the game without fear of being harassed.
Not long after release, ARC Raiders caught a lot of (justified) flak for its use of AI-generated voice work.
However, while there isn’t really any good excuse for Embark Studios’ use of AI-generated voices for its NPCs, one specific implementation of the tech has a pretty huge upside.
For those unaware, ARC Raiders has a feature tucked away in the voice settings called “Raider Voice.” This setting essentially allows players to obfuscate their own voice when talking through a mic, offering those who, for whatever reason, don’t want people to hear what they sound like an option when playing online.
The setting comes with several pitch options, allowing anyone to change their voice into something more masculine, feminine, or otherwise non-descript.
Whether it was Embark Studios’ intention or not, the implementation of Raider Voice has come with a huge upside: cis women and members of the trans community feel safer using their mics to talk to players in-game.
In a post over on the r/ArcRaiders subreddit, user Creative_Sky_3978 detailed their positive experience using the Raider Voice feature.
“Im trans (born female, now a man) and Its usually very difficult to join in on voice chat in games because my voice is very feminine, which leads to harassment yes, but a harder hitting issue for me personally is it makes people automatically assume im a girl,” Creative_Sky_3978 revealed.
“I decided to try the built in voice changer, because ive never played a game that offered that before. The first time i used it to shout “Im friendly!” I was greeted with an “all good, brother”. Just like that. I know most of you wont understand this, but Ive never felt happier while playing a game. I was immediately recognized as a boy without any questions or explanations, and that NEVER happens online.”
“My gf and I were screwing around with it together and yeah it’s pretty convincing. And man I wish we as a species could get over the making fun of people for their voice already, or making fun of women playing games. Like, kindergartners are more civilized than some of these turds,” commented user Tyrthemis.
“It’s such a shame that this is a problem in gaming but kudos to embark for the clever solution. I’m glad you’re getting to enjoy the game without that toxicity!” replied user postminimalmaximum.
It’s a sad reality of online gaming, but the anonymous nature of voice chat leads to a lot of very hateful people showing their true colours, so I’m all for something like Raider Voice being an option in games moving forward.
Maybe one day we won’t need something like this just so everyone can feel safe playing video games online, but for now, it’s the best we’ve got.
