Baldur's Gate 3 "feels so alive" because it used mo-cap and 248 actors to bring its characters to life

[John Elden Ring]

"Which means Shadowheart's iconic head wiggles were Jen’s actual head wiggles."

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."

 

[Darth Vader]

This is the real biggest scope game of all time, or at least a contender. Not Starfield.

 

[Jim Ryan]

Fantastic, can't wait to start into this. Already looking at builds... A rogue or thief build suits me most I think.

 

[anonpuffs]

Fantastic, can't wait to start into this. Already looking at builds... A rogue or thief build suits me most I think.

Don't worry too much about builds. Early into the game you get the option to respec for 100 gold. As a rogue/thief main I'd say that they are probably one of the weaker builds if you play them straight.

 

[PropellerEar]

Fantastic, can't wait to start into this. Already looking at builds... A rogue or thief build suits me most I think.

Did you find a "well oiled weiner" build?

 

[Kokoloko]

Impressive. I wonder how much the budget was and how many people are in the team

 

[anonpuffs]

Impressive. I wonder how much the budget was and how many people are in the team

Started with 150 and ended up over 400

 

[flaccidsnake]

Fucking crazy man. I assumed there was a decent amount of procedural camera and animation work. Honestly I sort of wished there was so that mod campaigns could be feasible for a small group.

 

[Airbus]

248 people

 

[Maverick]

Facial animations of BG3 and Starfield have generational differences.

 

[PropellerEar]

Downloading now...

 

[flaccidsnake]

Downloading now...

It casts a spell