While casting and recording for Kinect Sports Rivals throughout 2013, we got the chance to work with some highly talented, extremely versatile and occasionally hilarious acting talent. And it wasn’t confined to the voiceover booth: for KSR‘s team and training cutscenes we decided that full performance capture was the only way to go.
So we hauled our actors down to Shepperton Studios, stuck them in bodysuits and headcams, and let the magic happen. Then we got them to answer a few quick questions so that we could introduce you to the fine people behind the characters (in the English-language version, at least).
This week: weathered Wolf Clan wonder and long-term chieftain, Vargu. Or more accurately, well-spoken and not even slightly shouty gentleman Mr. James Goode.
Q&A: James Goode
Rare: Can you give us some background on yourself and how you got into videogame acting?
James Goode: I started out years back voicing the main character on the popular LeapPad kids platform, and the same guys who run those studios started to cast me regularly in other games. I guess I became a bit of a standing dish!
Rare: Was this your first experience of performance capture? If so, how was it? If not, are you worried that you’re starting to like the suit?
JG: Yes, I popped my cherry in performance capture doing this game. The sense of freedom you get as an actor is the thing I most enjoyed – your body is no longer a limiting factor, so you are free to play.
I’m a pretty skinny fella, so pretending to be a man-mountain like Vargu was huge fun.
Rare: Where are gamers and non-gamers most likely to have seen (or heard) your work before?
JG: Apart from the aforementioned LeapPad, I tend to pop up unsung in voiceovers all over the place, but gamers (or their kids) might have caught my villainous side in James Bond 007: Blood Stone, or more recently heard me as a myriad of crazy characters in the hilarious Lego City series.
Rare: How would you describe your character in Kinect Sports Rivals, and why do you think people should sign up for his team?
JG: Vargu is a very straightforward character – you’d definitely want him on your side in a battle. Tough and incredibly strong, loyal, doesn’t have a ‘side’ to him, will praise you only when it’s warranted but still encourage you when you’ve messed up. I find him appealingly soft-centred, especially when it comes to his beautiful daughter.
Rare: Did you have a particular favourite scene to shoot on the day?
JG: No one scene in particular – the whole experience was a delight!
About Vargu
Vargu’s achievements are the stuff of legend, earning huge respect from teammates and opponents alike. While still immensely strong and animal-fierce in competition, his place assured in a long line of Wolf Clan champions, Vargu knows that his days as leader are numbered. The towering strength of his spirit can’t overrule the physical effects of ageing forever. So to safeguard the stewardship of the Clan and the island, it’s time to set his only daughter on the path she was born to follow – all the while struggling with his own resistance to change.
Team: Wolf Clan
Role: Captain
Favourite sport: Climbing
Personality: Gruff, boisterous, candid and mercurial
Interests: Home brewing, amateur dramatics
Most likely to… solve a problem by headbutting it
Least likely to… talk quietly during a film
Soundbite: “Very good for such a scrawny one! Vargu will find more like you!”
Look out for the full game coming your way in April!
With thanks to James, and also to the team at Side.