Baldur’s Gate 3 drew on the expertise and motion-capture of 248 actors to bring its cast – including NPCs –…
Baldur’s Gate 3 drew on the expertise and motion-capture of 248 actors to bring its cast – including NPCs – to life.
That’s according to performance director Aliona Baranova, who posted a lengthy thread to Xitter over the weekend to detail exactly how much work goes into making your favourite games feel “so alive”.
“[For a]lmost ALL the dialogue we recorded, we ALSO captured the actors mocap data,” Baranova explained. “That means all 248 actors, ALL the NPCs and not just the companions put on a mocap suit and their movements, gestures, and physical choices were recorded and sent along with the audio files for the animators to use in game. which is why the performances feels so alive.”
The exceptions to the rule? Animals, of course, additional dialogue – Baranova gives the example of when you see a birds eye view of a character running while speaking – as well as cinematic cut scenes and, “occasionally”, when an actor was injured or unavailable to record the mocap along with their voice lines.
