The timing may seem appropriate, as one of Chelsey Moore’s favourite songs to sing at her home in Black Creek when she was young was ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ by Mariah Carey.
Now Moore has taken one step closer to what she wants in her professional career, as the Comox Valley actress is getting ready for the December release of Altdeus: Beyond Chronos, a Japanse virtual reality game for Oculus set for worldwide release Dec. 3.
She voiced the main character, Chloe, for the English version of the game, which is set in 2080 following an alien invasion of the Meteora. Humanity sought safety and salvation deep underground, establishing augmented Tokyo – a 2km radius underground city became humanity’s last bastion.
In 2280, Chloe, a member of the anti-Meteora military organization Promethus, defends the city in her Makhia, a massive battle robot.
For Moore, the reality of the role sunk in when she recently watched a trailer of the game.
“I haven’t seen anything that wasn’t released to the public, but I sent my dad (a copy) of the trailer. That was exciting; I watched it back and thought ‘whoa, that’s my voice,’ ” she notes from Vancouver, where she now lives.
Growing up in Black Creek, Moore attended Miracle Beach Elementary where she credits one of her teachers – Mr. Gardner – for putting together a musical for their grade 6 class.
“It was all part of it – I was obsessed with singing. I remember my Dad driving me to the Old Church Theatre for rehearsals. My parents were always very nurturing and supportive.”
Music and acting run deep in Moore’s family; her mother was an actress and model in Vancouver in the 1980s while she recalls her dad “always listening to music,” particularly ’70s classic rock and the Beatles. She says her pivotal moment in making the decision to become an actress came after high school during a trip to England. She attended a birthday where Keira Knightley and Chris Hemsworth were also in attendance.
“I cowered in the corner,” she notes with a laugh. “But it was really great seeing that a career in the arts is possible.”
Following the trip, Moore moved to Vancouver where she attended the Vancouver Academy of Dramatic Arts and hired a coach to record a demo reel. She began doing voice-over work about three years ago as an alternative to singing.
“Voice-over work does provide a good avenue. As a film and TV actor, it’s a lot of fun to do voice-over work because you’re a bit more free. You’re usually alone in a booth and your whole body can get into it.”
She was cast as Chloe following her initial audition tape, right at the beginning of the pandemic. She says she recorded the audition in her makeshift home studio – under a blanket with a microphone – and then forgot about it. About a month-and-a-half later, her agent told her she booked the role.
She recorded most of the script at a Burnaby studio when most productions got shut down. The advantage of voice work is that it can be done in isolation; she spent most of her time alone in an audio booth with a microphone and headset.
“I can’t believe how lucky I was. We recorded for a month and a half, three to six hours, four times a week. (The studio) would send the script as we were going.”
As for playing video games herself, Moore says as a kid of the ’80s, she’s used to Super Mario and Duck Hunt, and recently just got a Nintendo Switch. On the day of the game’s release, she is hoping to do a livestream to interact with players but admits she’s really new to the world of virtual reality games.
As for future roles, she’s hoping to build from the success of Altdeus as various productions in the Vancouver area begin filming again.
To view a preview of the game or for more information, visit altdeus.com.
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