No matter what, he's definitely Lyran
5
Duncan Fisher: Who is he and where do his loyalties lie?
Started by George Ledoux, Jul 30 2012 12:43 PM
55 replies to this topic
#22
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Posted 03 August 2012 - 11:26 PM
There's a lot between the lines we can build upon Ducan's story.
So Solaris is the Inner Sphere equivalent of Las Vegas, except arenas with 'mechs instead of casinos. Its a place, like vegas, where most people shine brite for a short time but the dark underbelly of the place eventually takes its toll. We know however that to Duncan, there really is no other place in the universe he wants to be. He thrives in the environment like a cacti in the desert.
So Solaris and Duncan are pretty much synonomus. I see Duncan as a young boy seeing a Solaris arena match on the holovid and knowing thats what he wanted to do with his life. Wherever he is from, it would have to be sufficiently rural enough for a young boy to be captured by the glamor and glitz that is Solaris.
From that point, I see Duncan doing whatever it took for him to find his way to Solaris. He isn't rich and probably made planetfall without so much as two c-bills in his pocket. As a result, he learned to be a witty talker. He schmoozed his way into Mechwarrior training and into a 'mech where after a few years on the tour he became quite good. In fact, he won the championships the year prior to his retirement where he enjoyed a few months of "the life" and where he met his trophy wife (amazingly who actually loved him and not just because he was the flavor of the month).
Next season Duncan participated in the games but a bad defeat early in the season and an ejection accident left him in the hospital for a number of weeks. He eventually recovered but seeing the writing on the wall and the concern his trophy wife had for him, he decided to retire but still couldn't tear himself away from the life. His fame led him into a number of gigs from advertising jobs to eventually the arena announcer.
He's doesnt have any political viewpoints and considers himself a Solarian (or whatever the proper term for someone living on Solaris is) and frankly doesnt care weather or not the planet is controlled by the Commonwealth or League (or whoever else as long as the games continue). Of course, he hates the Clans with passion because their philosophies are directly opposite what Solaris and his life are all about. Solaris is his life and he'd die a happy man if he never left it.
I don't see him having had any military service either, as he talks about combat more like the sports announcer he is and not like a war weary veteran who's seen the true horrors of war.
So Solaris is the Inner Sphere equivalent of Las Vegas, except arenas with 'mechs instead of casinos. Its a place, like vegas, where most people shine brite for a short time but the dark underbelly of the place eventually takes its toll. We know however that to Duncan, there really is no other place in the universe he wants to be. He thrives in the environment like a cacti in the desert.
So Solaris and Duncan are pretty much synonomus. I see Duncan as a young boy seeing a Solaris arena match on the holovid and knowing thats what he wanted to do with his life. Wherever he is from, it would have to be sufficiently rural enough for a young boy to be captured by the glamor and glitz that is Solaris.
From that point, I see Duncan doing whatever it took for him to find his way to Solaris. He isn't rich and probably made planetfall without so much as two c-bills in his pocket. As a result, he learned to be a witty talker. He schmoozed his way into Mechwarrior training and into a 'mech where after a few years on the tour he became quite good. In fact, he won the championships the year prior to his retirement where he enjoyed a few months of "the life" and where he met his trophy wife (amazingly who actually loved him and not just because he was the flavor of the month).
Next season Duncan participated in the games but a bad defeat early in the season and an ejection accident left him in the hospital for a number of weeks. He eventually recovered but seeing the writing on the wall and the concern his trophy wife had for him, he decided to retire but still couldn't tear himself away from the life. His fame led him into a number of gigs from advertising jobs to eventually the arena announcer.
He's doesnt have any political viewpoints and considers himself a Solarian (or whatever the proper term for someone living on Solaris is) and frankly doesnt care weather or not the planet is controlled by the Commonwealth or League (or whoever else as long as the games continue). Of course, he hates the Clans with passion because their philosophies are directly opposite what Solaris and his life are all about. Solaris is his life and he'd die a happy man if he never left it.
I don't see him having had any military service either, as he talks about combat more like the sports announcer he is and not like a war weary veteran who's seen the true horrors of war.
#23
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Posted 04 August 2012 - 05:22 PM
^^^^^ very nicely thought out, Kip Wilson.
I like it.
Damn, I should have made this into a contest or something. But then, I'd have to pick a winner and I like 'em all so far. Too bad it's not a contest being judged by the owners of the Battletech fiction properties.
I like it.
Damn, I should have made this into a contest or something. But then, I'd have to pick a winner and I like 'em all so far. Too bad it's not a contest being judged by the owners of the Battletech fiction properties.
#24
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Posted 13 August 2012 - 09:45 PM
Thanks George 
Thats kind praise coming from the man himself! If a good character profile gets nailed down then someone can write a canon fanfic (or maybe audiobook) for battlecorps, then Duncan can be inducted into the halls of fame. Or, at the very least, a wiki entry on sarna.net!
Thats kind praise coming from the man himself! If a good character profile gets nailed down then someone can write a canon fanfic (or maybe audiobook) for battlecorps, then Duncan can be inducted into the halls of fame. Or, at the very least, a wiki entry on sarna.net!
#25
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Posted 18 August 2012 - 02:41 PM
Solaris VII was the best part of MW4 Mercs, and Duncan Fisher was a huge part of why.
I see DF as a native of the gladiator world. He was from the International District with its universal appeal and complete lack of real authority. He probably worked as a technician's aide during his tweens and early teens, while picking up as much simulator time and watching as many matches as he could. He also made plenty of contacts among the stables that he worked, even if just because he left the Mechwarriors he especially admired a little something extra when he was working on their ride (hula girl in the cockpit, maybe?).
Eventually, around his very late teens, he saw his chance. A pilot was out drinking too much the night before an important team match, and his balance was shot. He could barely walk straight the next day, let along keep a 'Mech on its feet, so the match was going to be a forfeit (and cost the stable owner a bunch of money). Duncan seized the opportunity and offered his services, with his enthusiasm and relatively good relationship with the other pilots getting him his shot, at the controls of a Vindicator.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Vindicator
His first match was a win, with an epic finish leaving him with a bit of a reputation and a nice pay day. He went on to continue the team fights for the rest of the season, at which point he took home a 'Mech of his own (won as salvage in one of his fights). In subsequent years he faced mixed success, though he had generally more wins than losses and he maintained a flair for the dramatic that made him popular with the crowds and the announcers.
During the Clan invasion, he was an outspoken proponent of keeping the games going in the face of the wars, saying that it was important that the Clans not force the people of the Inner Sphere to change their ways of life, and that Solaris was a powerful symbol of freedom, opportunity, and entertainment, all things that the Clans threatened (with their rigid caste system, their strict rules and regulations, and their insistence on controlling everything including the right to have a family). This helped to establish his reputation not just as a Mechwarrior but as a Solaris institution.
That reputation served him well when he suffered a terrible mishap during his final match. His opponent, the beautiful Steiner-aligned Mechwarrior Elise Cruz, managed to core his 'Mech with a desperation blow using the last round in her Axeman's AC-20, forcing him to eject. His seat blew a rocket and went spiraling out of control, slamming into one of the arena's crowd screens. The blow to his head ended his career by damaging his inner ear.
Though at first only out of horror that she'd been responsible, but eventually because she grew to have genuine affection for him, Elise took great pains to help Duncan cope with the loss of his dream. It was her idea that got him to try his first announcing gig, and the rest is history. The two were married on the one-year anniversary of the first match that he called, and have been happily together ever since. She retired when their first child was on the way.
I see DF as a native of the gladiator world. He was from the International District with its universal appeal and complete lack of real authority. He probably worked as a technician's aide during his tweens and early teens, while picking up as much simulator time and watching as many matches as he could. He also made plenty of contacts among the stables that he worked, even if just because he left the Mechwarriors he especially admired a little something extra when he was working on their ride (hula girl in the cockpit, maybe?).
Eventually, around his very late teens, he saw his chance. A pilot was out drinking too much the night before an important team match, and his balance was shot. He could barely walk straight the next day, let along keep a 'Mech on its feet, so the match was going to be a forfeit (and cost the stable owner a bunch of money). Duncan seized the opportunity and offered his services, with his enthusiasm and relatively good relationship with the other pilots getting him his shot, at the controls of a Vindicator.
http://www.sarna.net/wiki/Vindicator
His first match was a win, with an epic finish leaving him with a bit of a reputation and a nice pay day. He went on to continue the team fights for the rest of the season, at which point he took home a 'Mech of his own (won as salvage in one of his fights). In subsequent years he faced mixed success, though he had generally more wins than losses and he maintained a flair for the dramatic that made him popular with the crowds and the announcers.
During the Clan invasion, he was an outspoken proponent of keeping the games going in the face of the wars, saying that it was important that the Clans not force the people of the Inner Sphere to change their ways of life, and that Solaris was a powerful symbol of freedom, opportunity, and entertainment, all things that the Clans threatened (with their rigid caste system, their strict rules and regulations, and their insistence on controlling everything including the right to have a family). This helped to establish his reputation not just as a Mechwarrior but as a Solaris institution.
That reputation served him well when he suffered a terrible mishap during his final match. His opponent, the beautiful Steiner-aligned Mechwarrior Elise Cruz, managed to core his 'Mech with a desperation blow using the last round in her Axeman's AC-20, forcing him to eject. His seat blew a rocket and went spiraling out of control, slamming into one of the arena's crowd screens. The blow to his head ended his career by damaging his inner ear.
Though at first only out of horror that she'd been responsible, but eventually because she grew to have genuine affection for him, Elise took great pains to help Duncan cope with the loss of his dream. It was her idea that got him to try his first announcing gig, and the rest is history. The two were married on the one-year anniversary of the first match that he called, and have been happily together ever since. She retired when their first child was on the way.
#26
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Posted 18 August 2012 - 08:41 PM
Hey Levi,
That's a pretty well done scenario except for the very end. According to the play-by-play Duncan did during the MW:Mercs arena fights, his wife doesn't seem to understand Duncan's fascination with Mechwarrior. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact quote handy.
If his wife was a former Mech jock she, of all people, would understand.
That's a pretty well done scenario except for the very end. According to the play-by-play Duncan did during the MW:Mercs arena fights, his wife doesn't seem to understand Duncan's fascination with Mechwarrior. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact quote handy.
If his wife was a former Mech jock she, of all people, would understand.
#27
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Posted 19 August 2012 - 08:46 AM
George Ledoux, on 18 August 2012 - 08:41 PM, said:
Hey Levi,
That's a pretty well done scenario except for the very end. According to the play-by-play Duncan did during the MW:Mercs arena fights, his wife doesn't seem to understand Duncan's fascination with Mechwarrior. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact quote handy.
If his wife was a former Mech jock she, of all people, would understand.
That's a pretty well done scenario except for the very end. According to the play-by-play Duncan did during the MW:Mercs arena fights, his wife doesn't seem to understand Duncan's fascination with Mechwarrior. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact quote handy.
If his wife was a former Mech jock she, of all people, would understand.
That's what I get for not doing my homework. Should have looked up some transcripts just to be safe.
How about this, then? He still gets a head injury during a botched ejection that ends his piloting career, but instead of his future wife being the Mechwarrior who caused it, it's the attending nurse. She doesn't like how all these Mechwarriors are risking life and limb for something as frivolous as mere entertainment, which leads to plenty of late-night debates between her and Duncan Fisher that don't change either of their minds, but that do form the basis of a real relationship.
I'm still inclined to say she works in a Steiner zone hospital, hence his affinity for her countrymen in his announcing, and I bet she tunes it just to hear him and lend him moral support, even if she doesn't watch the matches themselves.
She could still be the one who suggested announcing to him, too. She'd have been happy that he couldn't pilot a 'Mech anymore, but when she realizes how much he misses the arena, she urges him to have a go at calling the matches instead.
#29
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Posted 01 September 2013 - 05:14 AM
Hey!
Just wanted to say, the Duncan Fisher persona was for me and a lot of my friends one of -the- definative features of MW4 that we loved, the VO really sold the character and the universe and all of us re-played the solaris missions repeatedly just to try and hear all the dialogue.
Big props mate.
Just wanted to say, the Duncan Fisher persona was for me and a lot of my friends one of -the- definative features of MW4 that we loved, the VO really sold the character and the universe and all of us re-played the solaris missions repeatedly just to try and hear all the dialogue.
Big props mate.
#30
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Posted 02 September 2013 - 12:55 PM
Wow, I can't believe that I am just now finding this topic! 
The Solaris matches in MW4 were my favorite part of the game, and I loved the Duncan Fisher voice narratives! Glad to see you here sir!
The Solaris matches in MW4 were my favorite part of the game, and I loved the Duncan Fisher voice narratives! Glad to see you here sir!
#31
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Posted 02 September 2013 - 01:42 PM
May I say George that Duncan FIsher was one of my favourite elements of MW4 Mercenaries and you voiced him brilliantly.
I loved the fact that in the early games he is a very consummate professional caster, but as you progress through the matches he starts to sound increasingly unhinged.
I loved the fact that in the early games he is a very consummate professional caster, but as you progress through the matches he starts to sound increasingly unhinged.
#33
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Posted 31 October 2013 - 01:06 PM
I'd assume he was from one of the worlds near Terra, since he seems relatively unbiased towards to the factions as a whole. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the son of a Eridani Lighthorseman or Northwind Highlander who decided to get out of the fold because he'd rather kick butt and take names by himself. Which probably started with him fighting in the 40's, followed by a short stint against the Clans, followed by another few years before he ended up retiring from the arenas and started using his excellent vocal abilities to make MW4 highly entertaining.
#34
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Posted 05 November 2013 - 02:12 PM
George, you are amazing for your work, but to be honest in all reality YOU made Duncan, so....his life is technically yours to create, well at least on here
#35
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Posted 26 December 2013 - 02:23 AM
Humble-brag post imho. Post an original Duncan soundbite so we know it's you for sure please.
#36
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Posted 26 December 2013 - 04:53 AM
I like to think of Duncan Fisher as the Zapp Brannigan of the BT universe. Perhaps a lower-grade version of a Lyran social general.
#37
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Posted 26 December 2013 - 08:57 AM
Youre too modest, George. You humbly maintain that creating Duncan Fisher was just a gig.. one of many you’ve done. That’s of course true but from our perspective Duncan Fisher is a legend, his presence in every Solaris match ever played by the MW fans, his voice being heard in every game room and living room for almost 10 years throughout the life of MW4.
That makes you a celebrity in our community. You aren’t just George. You are THE George Ledoux and you are held in high regard among our other heroes. You are part of the myth now.
That is why we are honored to have you hanging out with us.
That makes you a celebrity in our community. You aren’t just George. You are THE George Ledoux and you are held in high regard among our other heroes. You are part of the myth now.
That is why we are honored to have you hanging out with us.
#38
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Posted 26 December 2013 - 02:40 PM
LakeDaemon, on 26 December 2013 - 08:57 AM, said:
That’s of course true but from our perspective Duncan Fisher is a legend, his presence in every Solaris match ever played by the MW fans, his voice being heard in every game room and living room for almost 10 years throughout the life of MW4. AND MW:LL
#39
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Posted 26 December 2013 - 06:29 PM
Dexter Herbivore, on 26 December 2013 - 02:23 AM, said:
Humble-brag post imho. Post an original Duncan soundbite so we know it's you for sure please.
I just posted a YouTube video last night of me singing. Yes, I am the voice actor who plays Duncan Fisher. I also have a Soundcloud stream and a facebook page. I'm not going to go to the trouble of recording a soundbite just to convince you, but I will post a tweet on Twitter right now.
https://twitter.com/GLedouxVoiceovr
mark v92, on 31 October 2013 - 09:50 AM, said:
Yay! someone listens!
#40
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Posted 26 December 2013 - 09:01 PM
A lot of us have listened to you over the years, sir. You even have a mention in some fan fiction on the Star Citizen site. Rather than send you a link, I'll just quote from TOG in Space:
I settle into the pilot's chair and lay the chip with my AI software onto a connection pad. Ok, it isn't a truly smart, self aware AI, but it has an exhaustive database of serious and not so much so info, status, and pseudo conversational quips and comments, professionally voice recorded by the guy who played the “famous” voicecaster Duncan Fischer from my favorite pastime game. The programs loads and a flat voice announces, “Spacecraft Voice companion with George Ledoux. To install, say 'Install'.”
“Install.”
The voice changes to the more familiar one, “Do you want a complete install, or the more complex version of the whole thing for morons who think 'complete' and 'the whole thing' are different?”
“Just do it.”
“Complete installation commencing. You know, there are a lot of folks who like the sound of my voice; you're obviously one of those smart ones. Why I can...
Duncan shows up regularly, always bringing a smile.
I settle into the pilot's chair and lay the chip with my AI software onto a connection pad. Ok, it isn't a truly smart, self aware AI, but it has an exhaustive database of serious and not so much so info, status, and pseudo conversational quips and comments, professionally voice recorded by the guy who played the “famous” voicecaster Duncan Fischer from my favorite pastime game. The programs loads and a flat voice announces, “Spacecraft Voice companion with George Ledoux. To install, say 'Install'.”
“Install.”
The voice changes to the more familiar one, “Do you want a complete install, or the more complex version of the whole thing for morons who think 'complete' and 'the whole thing' are different?”
“Just do it.”
“Complete installation commencing. You know, there are a lot of folks who like the sound of my voice; you're obviously one of those smart ones. Why I can...
Duncan shows up regularly, always bringing a smile.
Edited by cmopatrick, 26 December 2013 - 09:03 PM.
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