Topic: PlayStation 5 --OT--

@Voltan I love it when games do these fourth-wall breaking things like that. Like Kojima’s MGS games, Hellblade, Nier Automata, etc.

This wall probably make the front page in a minute but I thought I’d share it here anyway.

Following God of War being elected the best game ever in a series of IGN polls, Christopher Judge (the actor who played Kratos) revealed that his health problems were the main reason behind GoW Ragnarok being delayed, as he required multiple surgeries to be able to walk again. Apparently Sony Santa Monica put the project (or the performance capture part anyway) on hold to give him time to recover.
He also said he wanted to quit after learning that Cory Barlog wouldn’t be directing but Cory convinced him to trust Eric Williams.

@Voltan oh wow… I know God of War 2018 was his first time as Kratos but I honestly would have been devastated if he wasn’t able to return for the sequel.

@colonelkilgore He was voiced by Terrence C. Carson in all the previous games (including Kratos' guest appearances in Everydoby's Golf, Soulcalibur, Mortal Kombat etc).
The reason they changed actors was that GoW 2018 relied heavily on performance capture with multiple actors on the set and Carson just wasn't tall enough

@Voltan yeah but it’s the voice for me. I’m not detracting from Judge’s motion capture performance nor Carson’s many turns as Kratos… but Judge’s vocal performance was a massive part of the change in perception of Kratos. Suddenly, he had so much pathos and deep-rooted emotion… it’s up there with Baker as Joel for me.

@colonelkilgore I agree, the change definitely worked out for the performance even if the reason for it was something else.
Carson was still very good as the younger, angrier Kratos though!

@Voltan @colonelkilgore Wow. Just goes to show that one never knows what’s going on behind the scenes. I bet everyone who was cranky about the delays feels really bad right now that the poor guy was laid up learning to walk again. We gamers are an impatient and demanding bunch, and sometimes can be a little unfair.

That said, is it really that essential to have the mo-cap done by the same actor who does the voice? I could see it being easier for the facial close up shots, but it seems like I’ve heard of plenty of times that a stand-in does the action scenes and body work. But I don’t know how all this works.

@Voltan @Th3solution just goes to show that Sony Santa Monica are pure class. Didn’t even try to deflect… they just ate the ****-sandwich rather than wheel out an excuse (albeit a legitimate one).

Also, sol… for my part (I studied film-making at uni) it is actually very important. The way a person moves, particularly when talking is very connected to their speech patterns and inflections and such. It really will be worth the wait for the total performance.

@Th3solution It's definitely not required and there definitely have been cases of it done otherwise, but I can see how it benefits the overall performance if the actors get to act out the actual performance that's closer to what ends up in the game. Otherwise you could end up with the body language being somewht disconnected from the voice acting, I guess.

@Th3solution @colonelkilgore @Voltan It is very sad to see people fling so much **** at developers for game delays and then at the same time see people complaining about crunch. You can't have both, and delays are inevitable in most large scale projects, games are no different. Surely these people would rather receive a polished product than something like Cyberpunk 2077???

For me Christopher Judge absolutely made that character his own and it wouldn't have been the same game if without him. Fair play to the guy as well, seems like he's almost a bionic man now.

@Th3solution @render @Voltan out of interest, who would you fan-cast as Kratos if they ever made a film or TV show?

@colonelkilgore Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson of course.

(just in case: I’m kidding)

@colonelkilgore @Th3solution @Voltan That's a tough question. It would need to be someone like Dave Bautista, especially as I think he's going to make a good Beast Rabban in Dune, but even then I'm not completely sure he's quite right.

@Voltan That was going to be my joke answer but you got there first 😂

@Voltan 😁 it’s a tough role to cast eh? Dave Batista would look the part but I’d have zero faith in him being able to convey the necessary gravitas and pathos etc. Another likely candidate would be Momoa but he’s far too pretty and would also struggle with the overall performance.

I’m really struggling to come up with anyone I’d consider suitable. Maybe Judge himself would be the best candidate.

@render you beat me to it on big Dave 👊

@velio84 I get that you’re joking… but just in case that you weren’t. As much as I love the sport of strongman, if Hafthor was cast as Kratos I’d avoid it like the plague.

On the Kratos fan-cast… and bare with me as I’m not convinced on this one myself… but Hugh Jackman? 🤔

@colonelkilgore Snap! Yeah he's a good candidate but just not right, like you say, now we've seen Judge and the way he comes across in that role. It would be a great audition room to be in.

@colonelkilgore I'll raise your Hugh Jackman with my Gerard Butler?

@render lol, I was actually thinking about him due to his turn in 300… for some reason I thought he may be a little short though. Turns out both he and Jackman are both 6 foot 2. Yeah, I think Butler would be pretty decent tbh.