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Several published works have provided more in-depth examinations of the character. In the paper ''Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early Novels and Recent Video Games'', Christina Lupton and Peter McDonald noted he challenged simple readings of entrenched stereotypes, stating his "sado-masochistic and sexualized appearance makes the player uncomfortably aware of the conventions governing depictions of perfectly muscled men and women with cartoon breasts."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lupton |first1=Christina |last2=McDonald |first2=Peter |date=2010-12-01 |title=Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early Novels and Recent Video Games |journal=Mosaic |pages=170}}</ref> On the other hand, University of Delaware professor Rachel Hutchinson cited Voldo as an example of a 'deviant' stereotype, noting the contrast between other series characters own insanity and how his is reflected sexually through his clothes and mannerisms, and also a stereotype of how Japan perceives the males of Western cultures through his muscular body and large weaponry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pulos |first=Alexis |last2=Austin |first2=Lee |date=2016-12-24 |title=Virtual Colonialism: Japan's Others in SoulCalibur |publisher=Springer |page=160-162 |isbn=978-3-319-43817-7}}</ref> In the book ''Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation'', Sylvie Bissonnette described Vodlo's animations as exploring psychomania, pointing out the gracefulness of his regular animations in contrast to his insect-like attacks, and added "Perceived as a freak, Voldo's performances of both balanced and twisted contrapposti can symbolize his hybrid nature Voldo successfully wrestles opposites, namely grace and strength, human and cyborg, biped and insect, and dancing and contorting."<ref>{{cite book |title=Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation |author=Bissonnette, Sylvie |isbn=9781351054447 |date=2019-03-11 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Game design lecturer Michael Anthony DeAnda stated Voldo "doesn't fit society's gender norms", further calling him a "little ray of hope" in his life due to his design and mannerisms, how he contrasts against other male characters in the game, and can serve as an example to others looking for games that model or explore ] experiences.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kocurek |first1=Carly A. |date=2015 |title=Tabled for Discussion: A Conversation with Game Designer Michael De Anda |journal=QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking |volume=2 |pages=171}}</ref> Several published works have provided more in-depth examinations of the character. In the paper ''Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early Novels and Recent Video Games'', Christina Lupton and Peter McDonald noted he challenged simple readings of entrenched stereotypes, stating his "sado-masochistic and sexualized appearance makes the player uncomfortably aware of the conventions governing depictions of perfectly muscled men and women with cartoon breasts."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lupton |first1=Christina |last2=McDonald |first2=Peter |date=2010-12-01 |title=Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early Novels and Recent Video Games |journal=Mosaic |pages=170}}</ref> On the other hand, University of Delaware professor Rachel Hutchinson cited Voldo as an example of a 'deviant' stereotype, noting the contrast between other series characters own insanity and how his is reflected sexually through his clothes and mannerisms, and also a stereotype of how Japan perceives the males of Western cultures through his muscular body and large weaponry.<ref>{{cite book |last=Pulos |first=Alexis |last2=Austin |first2=Lee |date=2016-12-24 |title=Virtual Colonialism: Japan's Others in SoulCalibur |publisher=Springer |page=160-162 |isbn=978-3-319-43817-7}}</ref> In the book ''Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation'', Sylvie Bissonnette described Vodlo's animations as exploring psychomania, pointing out the gracefulness of his regular animations in contrast to his insect-like attacks, and added "Perceived as a freak, Voldo's performances of both balanced and twisted contrapposti can symbolize his hybrid nature Voldo successfully wrestles opposites, namely grace and strength, human and cyborg, biped and insect, and dancing and contorting."<ref>{{cite book |title=Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation |author=Bissonnette, Sylvie |isbn=9781351054447 |date=2019-03-11 |publisher=Taylor & Francis}}</ref> Game design lecturer Michael Anthony DeAnda stated Voldo "doesn't fit society's gender norms", further calling him a "little ray of hope" in his life due to his design and mannerisms, how he contrasts against other male characters in the game, and can serve as an example to others looking for games that model or explore ] experiences.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kocurek |first1=Carly A. |date=2015 |title=Tabled for Discussion: A Conversation with Game Designer Michael De Anda |journal=QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking |volume=2 |pages=171}}</ref>


In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of ''Soul Calibur II'' regarding their favorite character, Voldo placed third, with 13% of the tally.<ref>. Retrieved on 2008-08-02</ref> In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of ''Soul Calibur II'' regarding their favorite character, Voldo placed third, with 13% of the tally.<ref>. Retrieved on 2008-08-02</ref> That same year ] while playing ''Soulcalibur'' at a party with a friend took notice that Voldo's movements could be timed to the music at said party. Building upon the concept, they recorded similar footage as a video titled '']'', which is now recognized as one of the first examples of ]-based music videos.<ref name="brandt">{{cite web |author=Brandt, Chris |author-link=Chris Brandt |publisher=Bain Street Productions |access-date=2009-09-10 |title=Dance, Voldo, Dance: A Machinima Music Video |url=http://www.bainst.com/madness/voldo.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://everydayliteracies.blogspot.com/2006/11/machinima-ever-had-one-of-those_28.html |title=Machinima! |publisher=] |access-date=2009-09-10 |date=2006-11-28 | author=Lankshear, Colin |author2=Michele Knobel |author2-link=Michele Knobel |author-link=Colin Lankshear}}</ref>


==See also== ==See also==

Revision as of 14:38, 14 April 2023

Fictional character
Voldo
Soulcalibur character
Voldo in Soulcalibur IV
First appearanceSoul Edge (1995)
Designed byAya Takemura (Soulcalibur II-IV)
Takuji Kawano (Soulcalibur II-IV)
In-universe information
Fighting styleSelf-taught contortionism
Weapon
  • Dual jamadhar katars
  • Karma and Mara (Soul Edge)
  • Shame and Blame (Soulcalibur)
  • Manas and Ayus (Soulcalibur II-Soulcalibur VI)
OriginPalermo, Kingdom of Sicily
NationalitySicilian

Voldo (ヴォルド, Vorudo) is a fictional character in the Soulcalibur series of video games. Created by Namco's Project Soul division, he first appeared in Soul Edge, and later in all games of the Soulcalibur series with the exception of Soulcalibur Legends. His likeness has been used for merchandise related to the series, ranging from plush toys to action figures. Voldo has no spoken dialogue in any title in the series, instead moaning or hissing deeply while fighting an opponent.

Character design

As a character introduced in Soul Edge, Voldo's weapons, dual hand katars designed to be unique amongst the other weapons in the game, were selected before other elements of the character. His design and concept were then built to revolve around it, starting with gender, then physical measurements, and lastly background details. During Voldo's development, several alternate designs were considered, ranging from a balding, long haired man with a goatee to a rich nobleman wielding a katar on his right hand and a sickle in his left. After his appearance and movement were fleshed out by a concept artist, his character was rendered as a 3D model by a design team that worked solely on him. During this phase the team additionally worked with the Soul Edge story creators, refining the character's own role in the plot as needed throughout development.

Unlike other characters in the series, a majority of Voldo's movements were created from Naotake Hirata's imagination and not motion capture. However the head of Team Soul's motion capture department, Kento Kojima, noticed one particular actor working with them was highly flexible and able to mimic Voldo. Impressed, Kojima utilized him in motion capture sessions for some of the character's animations for Soulcalibur III, stating in a later interview, "I was astonished that a human being could actually move like that. It left quite an impression on me. You probably can't tell which part is motion capture and what was just animated by hand by our animator."

In video games

File:Young-voldo.JPG
Voldo's appearance as a young man

Voldo was the right-hand man of Italian weapons merchant Vercci, also known as the Merchant of Death. Vercci desired Soul Edge to form part of his collection of rare weapons, and Voldo stood as the head of the expeditions in his search, even contracting the services of the feared Spanish Captain Cervantes de Leon, and later accompanied Vercci when he decided to take the search personally. When word came that the Italian Wars broke on Italy and that Vercci's possessions were the first targets, Vercci became angry and moved his fleet, his only remaining possession, to an uninhabited island off the coast of Sicily. After construction of Vercci's vault was completed, Voldo was instructed to slay the sailors who had helped in the construction to prevent the location of Vercci's Money Pit being revealed. Voldo would remain sealed underground, becoming blind and insane in the process. He became the guardian of the tomb and began slaying those who ventured to steal, leading to rumors of the island, its treasures, and its "ghost guardian" spread around the globe. Years later, Voldo would hear his master's voice commanding him to search for Soul Edge once again, making him leave the tomb.

In the sequel Soulcalibur, Voldo's search for Soul Edge ended in failure, and he returned to find the Money Pit flooded by a storm. After saving what he could, Voldo remained in the vault, later to reemerge from the pit following a woman with the essence of Soul Edge, Ivy, who tried to find leads on the sword for herself. In Soulcalibur II, Voldo returns to the Money Pit after taking Yoshimitsu's katana, mistaking it for Soul Edge due to its evil aura. Voldo realized it was not Soul Edge and set outside on a new search, collecting its fragments along the way.

His profile in Soulcalibur III reveals that during one of his periodic visits to the Pit, Voldo found the tomb ransacked and the sword he mistook for Soul Edge stolen alongside the fragments he collected in his travels. Since the thieves were apparently interested in Soul Edge, he decided to track them down and force them to reveal any information they may possess regarding the sword. He also came to realize he was eventually going to die and leave the pit unprotected, so he began to search for a worthy successor as well. During the events leading up to Soulcalibur IV, Voldo managed to locate Soul Edge at Ostrheinsburg, resting in the hands of the Azure Knight. After finally claiming Soul Edge for his master, a familiar voice spoke to him, instructing him to protect Soul Edge. However, the voice belonged not to Vercci, but Soul Edge, which assumed his form in Voldo's mind. But after he was set free from this illusion, Voldo returned to the pit to find it ransacked. He then went on a rampage and murdered every thief to return the treasures. Seventeen years later, Voldo once again served Nightmare, who had disguised himself as Graf Dumas. In the new timeline of Soulcalibur VI, Voldo ruthlessly guarded Vercci's collection but ventured out of the Money Pit to retrieve his master's notes that were stolen by Ivy.

Promotion and reception

In August 2003, Todd McFarlane Productions released a Voldo sculpture amongst a set of five based on characters from Soulcalibur II. The immobile figure was modeled after his primary outfit and stood six inches tall with a base. In 2006, Namco released a Voldo figurine as part of a Soulcalibur III set based upon his promotional artwork for the game. While not posable, the PVC figure came with three interchangeable weapons for it to hold; an alternate color version was later released in a secondary set.

Voldo's attire and unusual fighting style has been a source of discussion regarding the character by several gaming publications. Game Chronicles described Voldo as "that guy is sick...in more ways than one." PlayStation Magazine described Voldo as "nothing if not the master of freakiness." Game Vortex reviewer Robert Perkins described him as "a warrior that can best be described as martial artist/contortionist meets Edward Scissorhands." Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine noted him in their "Characters with Character" article, citing him as a staff favorite but also for his bizarreness. The New York Times described him as "perhaps the oddest character ever to appear in this genre", noting similarity between his movements and a go-go dancer. The article later added after a discussion of his attire and weaponry "the character is a pastiche of every Satanist stereotype imaginable." Voldo placed fourth in UGO.com's "Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters" article, stating, "Voldo is here because he's top-tier fighter who also happens to be a highly skilled contortionist and an S&M fetishist." IGN listed Voldo as one of the series' top ten fighters at number four, stating, "Voldo scares us. He isn't a man so much as a twisted mass of writhing muscle, all wrapped up and held together in 16th-Century bondage gear...Even a fighter who prepares for all possible opponents has taken Voldo's unique moveset into account." GameDaily ranked him number two on their "Top 10 Ugliest Game Characters" article, noting his lack of clothes and describing him as a "one-man freak show, plain and simple." Daniel Kurland in an article for Bloody Disgusting named Voldo one of the scariest characters from fighting games, drawing comparisons to Street Fighter characters Vega and noted his blindness and inability to speak "makes him feel more like the monster that he looks". In an in-depth study for Polygon, Patrick Gill described Voldo as a monster "introduced to unsettle the audience's normie sensibilities", drawing comparisons to characters like the cenobites from Clive Barker's Hellraiser series. He further described the character as graceful, setting him apart from a lot of other male fighting game characters and represented the idea of fighters not "forced into a masculine mold".

Several published works have provided more in-depth examinations of the character. In the paper Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early Novels and Recent Video Games, Christina Lupton and Peter McDonald noted he challenged simple readings of entrenched stereotypes, stating his "sado-masochistic and sexualized appearance makes the player uncomfortably aware of the conventions governing depictions of perfectly muscled men and women with cartoon breasts." On the other hand, University of Delaware professor Rachel Hutchinson cited Voldo as an example of a 'deviant' stereotype, noting the contrast between other series characters own insanity and how his is reflected sexually through his clothes and mannerisms, and also a stereotype of how Japan perceives the males of Western cultures through his muscular body and large weaponry. In the book Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation, Sylvie Bissonnette described Vodlo's animations as exploring psychomania, pointing out the gracefulness of his regular animations in contrast to his insect-like attacks, and added "Perceived as a freak, Voldo's performances of both balanced and twisted contrapposti can symbolize his hybrid nature Voldo successfully wrestles opposites, namely grace and strength, human and cyborg, biped and insect, and dancing and contorting." Game design lecturer Michael Anthony DeAnda stated Voldo "doesn't fit society's gender norms", further calling him a "little ray of hope" in his life due to his design and mannerisms, how he contrasts against other male characters in the game, and can serve as an example to others looking for games that model or explore queer experiences.

In a 2002 poll by Namco prior to the release of Soul Calibur II regarding their favorite character, Voldo placed third, with 13% of the tally. That same year Christ Brandt while playing Soulcalibur at a party with a friend took notice that Voldo's movements could be timed to the music at said party. Building upon the concept, they recorded similar footage as a video titled Dance, Voldo, Dance, which is now recognized as one of the first examples of machinima-based music videos.

See also

References

  1. ヴォルド　キャラクター原案 (in Japanese). Namco Bandai. Retrieved on 2008-12-22
  2. ^ OPM staff. Behind the Game: Soul Calibur III Archived 2013-02-27 at the Wayback Machine. 1Up.com. Retrieved on 2008-07-30
  3. De Marco, Flynn (2007-09-20). Tgs07: Soul Calibur Director Katsutoshi Sasaki on Weapons, Characters and Storyline Archived 2007-07-28 at the Wayback Machine. Kotaku. Retrieved on 2008-07-30
  4. CVG staff (2005-10-10). Soul Calibur III Interview. CVG. Retrieved on 2008-09-05
  5. Interview with Hirata-San (Web Archive backup). Namco Bandai. Retrieved on 2008-09-06
  6. Voldo Soul Calibur II Archived 2008-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. Spawn.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-02
  7. 『鉄拳5』＆『ソウルキャリバーIII』の キャラクターたちがコレクションフィギュアに！. Dengeki Online. Retrieved on 2008-07-31
  8. Namco Game Character Collection Soul Calibur III Series 1 Set of 6 Figures (2nd Colors) Archived 2008-09-14 at the Wayback Machine. ToyWiz.com. Retrieved on 2008-09-07
  9. Smith, Mark (2008-08-14). Soul Calibur IV Review. Game Chronicles. Retrieved on 2008-08-30
  10. PSM Staff (December 2003) "Soulcalibur II" PlayStation: The Official Magazine.
  11. Perkins, Robert. Soul Calibur IV review. Game Vortex. Retrieved on 2008-08-30
  12. OPM Staff (October 2003). "Characters with Character". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine
  13. Spiegler, Mark (2000-04-20). Game Theory: Brutal Charm for Both Players and Spectators New York Times. Retrieved on 2009-04-29
  14. Top 11 SoulCalibur Fighters Archived 2008-12-08 at the Wayback Machine. UGO.com. Retrieved on 2008-08-29
  15. Schedeen, Jesse. Soulcalibur: The Top Ten Fighters. IGN. Retrieved on 2008-08-01
  16. "Top 10 Ugliest Game Characters". GameDaily. Archived from the original on December 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-08.
  17. Kurland, Daniel (2019-06-21). "The Scariest Characters From Fighting Video Games". Bloody Disgusting. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  18. Gill, Patrick (2021-07-07). "What's up with Voldo?". Polygon. Retrieved 2023-04-14.
  19. Lupton, Christina; McDonald, Peter (2010-12-01). "Reflexivity as Entertainment: Early Novels and Recent Video Games". Mosaic: 170.
  20. Pulos, Alexis; Austin, Lee (2016-12-24). Virtual Colonialism: Japan's Others in SoulCalibur. Springer. p. 160-162. ISBN 978-3-319-43817-7.
  21. Bissonnette, Sylvie (2019-03-11). Affect and Embodied Meaning in Animation. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781351054447.
  22. Kocurek, Carly A. (2015). "Tabled for Discussion: A Conversation with Game Designer Michael De Anda". QED: A Journal in GLBTQ Worldmaking. 2: 171.
  23. Soul Calibur 2 -- New Screens And Character Info. Retrieved on 2008-08-02
  24. Brandt, Chris. "Dance, Voldo, Dance: A Machinima Music Video". Bain Street Productions. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
  25. Lankshear, Colin; Michele Knobel (2006-11-28). "Machinima!". Blogspot. Retrieved 2009-09-10.
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