Judges, Host, Studio, Menu, Contestant: What Each Pack Actually Changes

The Choicer Voicer, developed by YeahMaybe and sold on itch.io, bills itself as a game show where the player’s own voice is the star. Inspired by classic party games, it asks players to listen to a short audio clip and then reproduce it as closely as possible with their own vocal impression, while a panel of in-game judges scores the attempt. What makes the project unusual, though, is not the core loop itself but the fact that almost everything surrounding that loop is meant to be swapped out. The developer describes the base release as a “blank canvas”: very little content ships with the game by default, and players are expected to build their experience out of downloadable or self-made content packs.

This modular structure is organized around a Customize menu, where several categories of packs can be installed and mixed independently of one another. According to the official game description, the pieces that can be changed include the menu’s aesthetics, the studio used during gameplay, the judge panel, the host, and the contestants shown on screen. Because these categories are separate from each other, a player can, in theory, keep the same voice clips while completely changing who is hosting the show, what the set looks like, and who is sitting in the judges’ chairs. This article breaks down what each of the five customization categories actually touches, and how they relate to one another.

The Building-Block Philosophy Behind Packs

Before looking at each category individually, it helps to understand why the game is split this way at all. The Choicer Voicer treats every visible or audible element of its game-show format as a replaceable layer:

• The core scoring loop — play a clip, record an impression, get judged — stays constant no matter which packs are installed.
• Everything that frames that loop (who introduces rounds, who scores them, what the set looks like, what the menus feel like, and who represents the players) is treated as decoration that can be reskinned.
• Packs are simply folders of content dropped into the game’s directory structure, which keeps the barrier to entry low for creators who are not programmers.
• Because voice content and presentation content are separated, the same voice pack can be reused across many different visual themes, and the same studio or host can be reused across many different voice packs.

This separation is the reason the community has grown a fairly active pack-making culture around the game: a themed episode built around a particular streamer, show, or meme can combine a voice pack with a matching judge, host, and studio pack, without anyone having to rebuild the underlying scoring system.

Judges: Who Scores the Performance

The judge panel is the part of the show that reacts to and scores the player’s vocal impression after each clip. Swapping a Judges pack changes the characters or personas shown giving feedback and awarding points, replacing the default panel with something more thematic — for example, characters pulled from a franchise that matches the voice pack being played. Because judging happens after every single round, this is one of the packs players notice most often during a session, since it directly shapes the personality and tone of the feedback loop.

• Determines who appears on screen delivering scores and reactions.
• Sets the visual and tonal identity of the panel — serious, comedic, or absurd, depending on the theme.
• Is commonly paired with a matching Voice pack so the judges “fit” the impressions being performed.

Host: Who Runs the Show

The host is the presenter figure who frames the format itself — introducing rounds, guiding transitions, and giving the whole session its game-show feel. A Host pack swaps this presenter character out, which changes the framing narration and personality players hear between rounds, even though the underlying rules of the mode do not change. Host packs are often the first thing that gives a themed session its “voice,” since the host is the character most consistently present across an entire play session rather than just during scoring moments.

• Controls round introductions and transition moments throughout a session.
• Shapes the overall comedic or dramatic tone of the show, independent of the judges.
• Pairs naturally with Studio packs to create a fully themed “episode” experience.

Studio: The Setting for Gameplay

The studio is described by the developer as the backdrop “for gameplay” — essentially the environment or set in which rounds take place. A Studio pack changes the visual presentation surrounding the action: the stage, backdrop, and general atmosphere the player sees while playing, separate from who is hosting or judging. Because it is purely environmental, a Studio pack can be swapped without affecting the scoring, the host’s script, or the judges’ personalities, making it one of the more purely cosmetic — but still important — categories for setting a session’s mood.

• Changes the on-screen set and atmosphere during active rounds.
• Independent of scoring logic, so it can be mixed freely with any Voice pack.
• Often used to match a franchise or streamer aesthetic alongside Host and Judge packs.

Menu: The Aesthetics Around the Show

The Menu category covers the game’s aesthetics outside of active gameplay — the screens players see before and between rounds, rather than the show itself. A Menu pack reskins this surrounding interface, giving the whole application a different look and feel even before a single clip has played. This is the layer most disconnected from the actual scoring mechanics, since it deals with presentation at the application level rather than during a show, but it still contributes heavily to how “themed” a full custom setup feels from the moment it launches.

• Reskins navigation and interface screens outside of active rounds.
• Sets first impressions before the player even starts a game.
• Can be combined with any other pack type without functional conflicts.

Contestant: Who Represents the Player

Contestant packs govern how players themselves are represented on screen during a session — the character, avatar, or podium presence tied to each participant. In local multiplayer sessions, where up to four players can compete at once, Contestant packs give each participant a distinct visual identity, which becomes especially useful when a themed episode wants every seat at the podium, not just the host and judges, to match a particular cast of characters.

• Defines the visual representation of each player during a session.
• Matters most in local multiplayer, where multiple contestants appear at once.
• Completes a themed setup by making players part of the same visual world as the host, judges, and studio.

Comparing the Five Categories

The table below summarizes what each category actually affects, when its effect is visible during a play session, and how essential it is to a themed setup.

As the table makes clear, none of these five categories touch the actual judging logic that scores a player’s voice against a target clip — that mechanism stays tied to Voice packs and the game’s built-in evaluation system. What Judges, Host, Studio, Menu, and Contestant packs change is entirely the presentation layer: who says what, what things look like, and who is standing where, without altering how well an impression needs to sound to earn points.

Combining Packs Into a Themed Setup

Because each category is installed and swapped independently, players and pack creators can mix and match freely. A few common patterns have emerged in how people put these pieces together:

• Full theme replacement: Voice, Judges, Host, Studio, and Contestant packs are all built around the same franchise or streamer, producing a fully immersive “themed episode.”
• Minimal swap: Only the Voice pack is changed, while the default or a neutral Host, Judges, and Studio remain, keeping the presentation generic but the content fresh.
• Partial theming: A player might keep the default studio and menu but swap in themed Host and Judges packs to change the tone of feedback without a full visual overhaul.

Because the underlying game is described by its developer as still being in early access, with the core loop deliberately built as a blank canvas, the exact folder structures and file requirements for each pack type can change between updates. Anyone building or installing packs should always check the creator’s own instructions and the game’s current version notes before assuming an older pack will work unmodified with a newer release.

Conclusion

The five customization categories in The Choicer Voicer — Judges, Host, Studio, Menu, and Contestant — split the game show experience into independent, swappable layers. Judges control the panel that scores each performance, the Host frames and narrates the show, the Studio sets the on-screen environment, the Menu shapes the interface outside of active rounds, and Contestant packs define how players themselves appear. None of them change the actual scoring mechanics, which remain tied to the game’s core impression-matching system and its Voice packs. Understanding this separation is the key to building — or simply enjoying — a coherent themed setup rather than a mismatched pile of unrelated content.