AdHoc Studio’s debut game, “Dispatch” is only days away. “Dispatch” is a new take on the superhero story as workplace comedy in a superhero world. Players take on the role of Robert Robertson a former superhero known as Mecha Man whose technologically powered suit is destroyed. Hoping to find a way to repair his mecha suit Robert takes a job as a dispatcher. He is assigned a group of misfits and criminals turned heroes as he navigates their redemption and his own hopes for a second chance.

AdHoc Studio was established in 2018 created by video game industry veterans from Telltale Games, Ubisoft, and Night School Games. “Dispatch” features an impressive cast with Aaron Paul voicing Robert Robertson in his video game debut. The “Dispatch” cast also includes Laura Bailey, Travis Willingham, Matt Mercer, Erin Yvette, Alannah Pearce, Mayanna Berrin, Thot Squad, and many others.

In an exclusive interview with Temple of Geek Thot Squad, Alanah Pearce, and Mayanna Berrin discuss “Dispatch.” They explain what stood out about their characters and their approaches to redemption. They reflect on how “Dispatch” stands out from other superhero stories. The trio also explained how the comedy and mundanity is the key to “Dispatch.”

Dispatch Vocie Actors Explain How Their Characters Stand Out

Temple of Geek: What was it to you that stood out about each of these characters for you? And how did you found their voice?

Thot Squad:

I think that what stood out to me for my character is how just bold and brazen she is. And how like, “Yeah, this is your last chance girl or else you will go to jail.” And she’s still like cussing out her direct supervisor. And she’s like, “I’m gonna say what I want. I’m gonna do what I want. And if you don’t like that, I don’t know what you’re gonna do about it cause I’m still gonna be me.” And that’s who I strive to be every single day. It’s who I wanna be. And so being able to embody that, that is great.

Alanah Pearce:

Yeah, Malevola specifically, I think is, she’s a giant demon lady, you know? It stands out by itself. Got a big sword, she can make portals. And I think she’s really hot. She’s incredible. But there’s a lot of very fun things about getting to perform her.

I think the self-assuredness, the confidence is definitely kind of cathartic in a way. Not many of us have that level of self-assuredness. It’s very nice to kind of sit into. The most fun thing about the character for sure though was getting to hurl colorful insults at people. Very, very fun. The amount of swearing in the game is a good time. So yeah, it was just top to bottom really, really, really fun experience.

And so fun hearing everybody else’s characters. I said to Bunny a bunch of times today that I laughed so hard, like hearing her dialogue play before I was like responding to something she said just in the booth, like so surprising every step of the way it’s like, yeah, the writing’s just so good that it’s a delight to get to have anything to do with these characters for sure.

Mayanna Berrin:

Yeah, I think I just like how straightforwardly murderous Coupe is. It’s just, yup, she loves knives and hurting people. And she can’t do that unless it’s for justice now. And I think that that’s great. It’s very straightforward.

Temple of Geek: They figured out a way to do what they want and not get in trouble.

Mayanna Berrin:

Yeah, still do crimes, but for justice.

Temple of Geek: When you’re in the booth, how do you find that balance between kind of like the bombastic superhero-ness and then the more down to earth like office style workplace comedy? How do you know when to lean more into the other? How do you find that balance in the scenes that really kind of embody both?

Mayanna Berrin:

I think it’s so interesting because like, although they are superheroes and they have powers, I think more often than not, they feel very grounded as characters. I think it’s kind of funny because it’s like, if you had superpowers, you would probably not talk about your superpowers that much. You would probably just be like, “And I can fly.” It’s just like anything else. So it like, it kind of becomes a part of this organic, lived in human thing that all these characters are. I think like they’re just very natural, realistic, kind of sounding people who happen to be able to shoot like lasers out of their eyes.

Alanah Pearce:

Yeah, when you’re in the booth, I guess I can speak for myself, but I’m not thinking about any of the crazy superhero stuff really at all. I’m just thinking about who the character is as an individual person, what her wants and needs are, how she feels about other people.

So it’s almost like you strip those bits off and you just try to find the truth in the person. The things that you can relate to, the things that other people can relate to. The way that your life experiences can inform the way that even a fictional character might make a decision and how you find yourself in that character.

So it’s actually really intimate, even if the things that are happening are absurd. And I think that that’s like where you find the most truthful experience. And then there’s parts where you get to swing a sword and you have to go, “Ah!” And that’s just fun. Could you just be a superhero for a second?

Thot Squad:

I think that everybody has had a job, if not, bless your heart, has had a job where it’s like, “I can’t stand my supervisor,” or had a job where a coworker, they get too big for their britches. And in this one, we all just happen to be able to fight real good. So, the part where I like hop across the table with the knife and like all that stuff, that just seems like the natural thing. Like if I was in that situation at work, it might be like a stare, you know?

Alanah Pearce:

She just gets to live the thing that’s in your head. Exactly, that’s all we want.

Dispatch Has A Different Redemption Story For The Z-Team “Heroes”

Temple of Geek: One of the things I really like about your characters is it’s not this like, repentant need for redemption of like, “Oh, I’ve done wrong. Oh, woe is me. How can I improve?” It’s much more like, “I guess I’ll do good because I don’t want to deal with the alternative.” Why was that such a fun kind of twist? As opposed to what we usually see with these like superhero redemption stories, where it’s someone going from like villain to anti-hero?

Mayanna Berrin:

Yeah, I think it’s definitely more, it feels so very grounded in reality where it’s like no one’s sitting on a rooftop crying. Because I think, we love that. We love the drama and the melodrama and stuff, but I think that more often than not, we are very understated as people. I think more often than not, we sit in a more casual energy. And so I think bringing the higher stakes of life and death and crime and justice, but to a very, I guess, contemporary interpretation of a person. Yeah, it just gives you a little extra texture that you don’t really see, that I think is really fun and relatable in a new way.

Alanah Pearce:

Yeah, I think a lot of villains don’t know that they’re villains, right? So like they aren’t considering that they’ve done something bad, everything is justified to them. And usually I think the hero’s journey tells us that we need a redemption arc or like starting place in a dramatic ending point and this whole laid out picture that’s really very fantasy. 

I don’t think you can really get away with a fantasy story like that when it takes place in such a grounded office setting. So, yeah, I think just much more real. And I can’t imagine that a person who’s done something wrong, sits down and goes, and what is my redemption arc going to look like? Even though that’s fun to read, it’s just not real, you know, we don’t that as people.

So it’s definitely, when you’re thinking about it again, when you’re playing even someone who’s villainous, you don’t think about them as a villain, you just think about who they are as a person. And what they want to achieve as a person. And I think that’s the focus of the game across the board. It’s just authenticity. It’s a good word we keep using.

Thot Squad:

Yeah. I think about the Z-Team like, are they villains or are they just some folks with super powers who have done crimes? If I steal a bag of chips from the store, I’m not trying to take over the world. But if I steal a bag of chips at the store, but I do my shift powers to look like somebody else, is that still villainy or am I just using what I have-

Alanah Pearce:

Yeah. I’ll steal the chips. Yes. Don’t do that. Don’t do that.

Temple of Geek: One of the things that I think is very interesting about kind of where we are in the superhero landscape is you can have projects like this and “The Boys,” and “Invincible” that really take a different perspective on a superhero story. What do you think “Dispatch” brings to the table that these other superhero stories, be it like something Marvel, DC, or something that is more like looking at it through a different lens, how does “Dispatch” bring something new to the table?

Mayanna Berrin:

I think The Invincible and The Boys, there is this desire, I think, for us to be like, well, if superheroes existed, they would obviously be sort of god-like figures who don’t care about humanity and who would cause a lot of harm.

But I think that the thing that “Dispatch” does that I really love about it is some people just want a job. And they might not be qualified for anything else other than solving crime or doing crime because they have these powers. And I think in a world where there are bad people and there’s villainy and criminal enterprises going on, it’s nice to see people who are like, maybe I don’t have to be the most worst version of myself.

Maybe I took a stray down the wrong path, but I ultimately don’t want to cause mass harm to people. And maybe I can just get a paycheck and help a little bit. I don’t have to be a champion for justice, but I don’t have to tip the scales even more so into like bad favor.

Alanah Pearce:

It has a negative connotation, but I mean this with like as much endearing tone as possible, “Dispatch” is mundane. What these people are doing is mundane to them. And I think that’s very different to the two properties you mentioned, which are also fantastic.

But I think that the mundane feels very relatable and cozy in a way. And it’s just like these people trying to get their sh*t together and have these friendships and build each other up and figure out who they are as people together. And I think there’s something very beautiful in the mundane.

Thot Squad:

There’s “Game of Thrones” and then there’s “The Office.”

Alanah Pearce:

We’re really “The Office” of “Game of Thrones.”

Mayann Berrin:

We’re “The Office” of “Invincible.”

Thot Squad:

In the first three episodes, I haven’t been like, why would you do that? Why would you say that? And it’s no offense, cause see somebody gonna come to me, gonna tweet me or something and be like, first of all, Invincible is the best there’s no cartoon ever. It’s great. But sometimes I’m like, so we go into another universe again.

And sometimes I’m like, now this man is having relations with an octopus. It’s the realest, it’s so real and authentic and everything comes from somewhere and makes sense. And there’s no absurdity, which absurdity can be its own art form in itself. But you know what I mean? It’s grounded.

Alanah Pearce:

Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. There’s a real spectrum of superhero stories obviously have been for a very long time. And so many of them are so significant and so diverse and so wonderful and well-made. And I think it’s a testament to storytelling in general that there’s even in a niche that there’s a place for different kinds of storytelling.

The first two episodes of “Dispatch” debut on October 22. “Dispatch” can be added to your wishlist now.