Revoicing Undertale: how digital fan communities use vocal performance to transform game texts

Bertram, Joanna (2026) Revoicing Undertale: how digital fan communities use vocal performance to transform game texts. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

The following thesis investigates how digital communities use game sound to transform game texts via gameplay on platforms such as YouTube and Twitch, using Toby Fox’s Undertale (2015) as a case study. Undertale was chosen for its large and dedicated fan community, with one of the primary topics of discussion within it being what the characters would sound like if the game had voice acting. By combining findings from game studies, fan studies and voice studies literature, this research analyses how fan-produced voice acting affects how the original Undertale text is transformed through online gameplay. Using a survey distributed among Undertale fans, alongside three specific playthrough case studies, this thesis investigates if and how these imagined voices were realised in online shared gameplay. Ultimately, I argue that adding voice acting to Undertale in online gameplay presentations plays a significant role in transforming the game’s text to new mediums.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Subjects: M Music and Books on Music > M Music; Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA76 Computer software
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > Music
• Supervisor's Name: Harris, Professor Louise and Barker, Professor Timothy
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85954
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 22 May 2026 09:29
• Last Modified: 22 May 2026 09:30
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85954
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85954