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It uses AI tool xVASynth to modify the dialogue.
Thanks to AI voice-acting tool xVASynth, modders have a way to generate new dialogue in the voices of existing NPCs—or at least a half-decent approximation of them. Its creator, Dan Ruta, has demonstrated another use for xVASynth by modifying existing dialogue in Skyrim: Special Edition so that NPCs refer to your character by whatever name you enter.
Yes, even if it’s xX_dragon_killer_420_69_Xx.
The mod’s called Say My Name, and you can see it in action in the video above. It’s not perfect, but it’s not as robotic as text-to-speech software used to be, and if you were annoyed by how often characters would call you the Dragonborn, now you can change that. Dragons will still call you Dovahkiin, however, because that’s how they roll. (And also because their voices are harder for xVASynth to get right.)
To use Say My Name you’ll also need to download xVASynth, which can be found on NexusMods or Steam, and install voices for all the NPCs who’ll need to be altered. (There’s a full list of them on the mod’s description page.) Then download the batch file from NexusMods, open it in a text editor, and run a search and replace to swap «___» for whatever you want Ulfric Stormcloak, Delphine, and the rest to call you.
After that, set xVASynth to 44100 Hz, drag the batch file into it, and run. It’ll generate a bunch of files you can either copy directly into your Skyrim: Special Edition folder or install with the Vortex mod manager.
Say My Name currently only works for English-language dialogue, and doesn’t modify the subtitles. It’s pretty neat, though. I wonder how it’ll do with my character,
Axebeard MacBeardaxe?
Jody’s first computer was a Commodore 64, so he remembers having to use a code wheel to play Pool of Radiance. A former music journalist who interviewed everyone from Giorgio Moroder to Trent Reznor, Jody also co-hosted Australia’s first radio show about videogames, Zed Games. He’s written for Rock Paper Shotgun, The Big Issue, GamesRadar, Zam, Glixel, and Playboy.com, whose cheques with the bunny logo made for fun conversations at the bank. Jody’s first article for PC Gamer was published in 2015, he edited PC Gamer Indie from 2017 to 2018, and actually did play every Warhammer videogame.
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