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Far Cry 3 dev on game narratives: “almost no-one” can get great performances

PC Gamer speak to Far Cry 3's narrative director, Jason Vandenberghe about how Ubisoft captured the performance of Vaas, the sadistic maniac that starred in the Far Cry 3 E3 2011 demo. Mo-cap technology was used to capture body and facial performances simultaneously, allowing the directors to " play it as a movie."

However, Vandenberghe says that technology alone is not enough. “There are techniques in acting and performance that evoke great performances," he says, "and there are techniques in acting and performance that evoke good performances. The industry has gotten really good at getting good performances, almost no-one can get great ones.”

Kleptic5453d ago

That is all fine and great except Uncharted, as a franchise so far, has had better acting and writing than 85% of films released in the same time frame...

I guess that is why the term 'almost' is included in his quote...

GamerSciz5453d ago

^This...

Not to mention they are doing the voice over the same time as motion capture which requires even more skill.

NukaCola5453d ago (Edited 5453d ago )

Uncharted
CastleVania
Arkham Asylum
MGS4
Alan Wake
LA Noire
I think this gen has provided some stellar performances

PhantomT14125453d ago

Erm, I think lip-sync is more difficult than shooting face mocap and recording the voice at the same time (well, that's traditional acting + beans and golf ball all over your face/body).

Reznov in Black Ops was very good too although I doubt Gary Oldman took the time to shoot performance capture for the game and only did voice over (which defies the purpose of performance capture but the lips were very well synced and Gary Oldman's performance fit perfectly with the facial acting):
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Captain Qwark 95453d ago (Edited 5453d ago )

@Nukacola....

dont forget

gta4 ( game still sucks )
red dead
god of war 3
ratchet and clank
heavy rain

( sony in general since alot of thier action titles typically have very good stories )

to name a few more, when a dev wants it they get it. simple as that.

jony_dols5453d ago (Edited 5453d ago )

Yeah Gary Oldman (BO) & Kiefer Sutherland (WAW) have did a great job on the COD series. As did J.K Simmons & Steve Merchant on Portal 2.

But of course the daddy of great video game performances is Nolan North and the Uncharted cast!

Far Cry 3's devs need to stop making excuses if they have a crummy narrative and hire sub-par voice actors. Great games aren't just about having quality graphics...

BlackKnight5453d ago

Wait, how can you say "doing voice over the same time as motion capture" is harder than in movies where they speak AND move on camera?

If ANYTHING, it's easier with mocap because they can just edit the animation that was recorded to make a minor tweak instead having to shoot another take....

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 5453d ago
X-Zone5453d ago

After FarCry2 this guy is trying to condescend on the rest of the industry? LOL!

TheGameFoxJTV5453d ago (Edited 5453d ago )

Ok, fair enough. But what they showed in the demo backs up his point perfectly. Way to be stuck in the past.

Edit: and FC2 wasn't even that bad. lol

Baka-akaB5453d ago (Edited 5453d ago )

but it wasnt any good in particular when it comes to game narrative .

Sure they can get better , but until they've proven themselves , his opinion on that field seems moot . Especially when most hits of 2010-11 makes him looks like a fool here .

TheGameFoxJTV5453d ago

True. the were quite a few games with decent narratives this and last ear.

PhantomT14125453d ago

@Baka-akaB

I think the E3 demo alone was a proof. It wasn't just about the performance (which was marvelous) but also how they achieved to bring scary atmosphere in this heaven-like tropical environment.

Clayman5453d ago

The man speaks the truth.

Sidewinder-5453d ago

I wish Jack Carver was in this.

Show all comments (19)
50°

Far Cry 3 60 FPS Trailer

The new trailer for the free 60 FPS update is here.

TriniOutsider123d ago

I'm happy with Part 3 & Blood Dragon getting the 60FPS treatment. I'll eventually try Primal, maybe this weekend.

240°

Far Cry Has Become A Shadow Of Its Former Self

Following a series of repetitive games, a formulaic approach, and a disappointing last entry, the Far Cry series has been run into the ground.

Read Full Story >>
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JEECE671d ago

The trouble with most criticisms of this franchise is that they insist Far Cry 3 was the best game, but the things they claim to hate about the franchise are all the elements that 3 introduced.

Deeeeznuuuts671d ago

Couldn't agree with you more! I've always thought that, my personal favourite is two, the whole atmosphere, mystery, adrenaline, my vehicle steaming up because I've crashed too many times trying to escape and then getting in a shootout, having to pull a bullet out my arm while fire rages and bullets fly, can't beat it

JEECE671d ago

Yep, 2 is my favorite by far as well, and one of my favorite singleplayer games of all time. It was probably one of the last games Ubisoft made before they started homogenizing their franchises to be open world collect-a-thons with unnecessary RPG mechanics tacked on. I enjoyed 3 for what it was, but it was clearly an attempt to make the franchise appeal to a mass audience (which, in fairness, was successful).

LucasRuinedChildhood671d ago

That's not the issue. If Far Cry 3 never existed and they just made another 5 or 6 games that were increasingly generic copies of Far Cry 2 instead, would that make FC2 the real problem?

No. It's the lack of creativity and effort that followed that's the real issue.

And there are things that are genuinely different about FC3. Simple example - the story was easily the best. Best main villain by far too but it also has strong themes and wasn't afraid to explore controversial topics. The sequels are much blander.

Comparing the fun and creativity of Blood Dragon to the DLC in the sequels ... also says a lot about how Ubisoft fell off.

-Foxtrot671d ago

Yeah like even Far Cry 4 was decent, not as great as FC3 but they still gave us an interesting story, setting and villain. Pagan Min's random calls to Ajay were pretty funny.

They just got lazier and lazier, pumping them out while making it a little more streamlined each time. I mean Jesus, they gave us a silent protagonist with FC5 which really hurt the main story and are obsessed with pleasing everyone by trying to do two characters, male and female rather than just settling on one to tell the best story they can.

neutralgamer1992671d ago

I started FC6 and yes the game works fine but I just wssnt Fun. Do many Ubi games are huge playgrounds but feel empty and doesn't give the feeling of a world which is lived in

JEECE670d ago

I have found that the more recent FC games work better as what I call "background games." Basically what I mean is it's nice to have an active save in one of them going for those times you have 45 minutes to play games and just want to have fun and don't want to get bogged down playing a game online or starting a new game and spending all your time into an annoying tutorial. Like I haven't touched FC4 in years but I know if I had 30 minutes to an hour to play I could hop in and easily be back in the swing of things and attack an outpost and have a good time.

I think a lot of people use big RPGs like Skyrim or Cyberpunk in a similar way.

isarai671d ago

Yes because FC3 executed those aspects better. Every game since FC3 has just been Frankensteined off the bones of FC3 with half the effort.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 670d ago
Michiel1989671d ago

you could say it's a far cry from what it was

wesnytsfs671d ago

Ubisoft gets a lot of hate for their content filling of maps. Personally I enjoy the mechanic when i play an open world game I like revealing hte entire map and doing all the side mission stuff before i go into main missions. Far Cry and the RPG AC maps where a joy to play.

RaidenBlack671d ago

Far Cry 2 was soo unique ... it was ahead of its time and is often misunderstood (thank you Clint Hocking, can't wait for his next game Assassins Creed Hexe)
(yes, FC2 was a departure from from FC1, so in strictest sense, Crysis 1 & 3 are the truer successors)

JEECE671d ago

Yep. Unfortunately there has been so little since then that has scratched the same itch. Really the closest thing has been BOTW, which uses a lot of similar systems (though ironically FC2 came out before Ubisoft put the Assassin's Creed towers in Far Cry, while BOTW had Ubi towers). Obviously it isn't a shooter though. I keep hoping that that some indie dev will put an FC2-esque game out on Steam, but so far I've been left wanting.

Sircolby45671d ago

I actually enjoyed Far Cry 5 and New Dawn. Far Cry 6 was a joke. It was a step backwards in every way. That was probably the worst Far Cry I have ever played.

Show all comments (26)
80°

Why Far Cry 3 Was The Best Of The Franchise?

Far Cry 3, an open-world masterpiece that redefined the series. Gameplay and storyline makes it a timeless classic that still inspires today.

Read Full Story >>
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Deeeeznuuuts704d ago

It's gotta be Far Cry 2 for me, the feeling of that game I'm still yet to find again, just everything about it, I'd kill for a remaster, I'd even be happy with just a bump in resolution and frame rate, occasionally go back to it, think I'm gunna have to do just that now 😂

porkChop704d ago

A remaster of Far Cry 2 would be amazing, especially with the mods that fixed the broken stealth system and the dumb checkpoint respawns. Include those fixes and it would be a huge upgrade over the original.

JEECE704d ago

Enemies respawn in Far Cry 2? Terrible! It's a broken system! Make me a one-man army who can inexplicably hold an entire region!

Enemies respawn in Dark Souls and Zelda? Brilliant! So much more hardcore! Glad the devs took risks!

porkChop704d ago

The problem isn't them respawning. It's that they respawned after just 5 minutes. Like you'd still be in the area looking for diamonds, loot, exploring, etc, and the enemies would just respawn with you there.