It appears as though the ceiling in the Gamepressure.com editorial office is rather lofty, yet this becomes less apparent when a man bearing a sword enters the scene.
Indeed, there were no injuries or harm during the interaction with the lamps, as Maciej Kwiatkowski from Alpha 7 showed exceptional skill and precision during his visit here. Notably, he is none other than The Witcher himself – the mastermind behind the combat styles portrayed in CD Projekt RED’s popular games, and also the performer who brought Geralt’s movements to life within the game through motion capture sessions.
Motion capture is an intriguing field. It’s one of those jobs that didn’t exist just a few decades ago but has grown along with technological progress, and it’s now deeply connected to video games as a medium. Interestingly enough, it’s also tied to theater, as Maciej Kwiatkowski pointed out to me, discussing the mysteries of his craft. For instance, how long does it take to move like a witcher? When does an animator need to intervene? How do technical constraints impact a game character’s mobility? Can performers mimic the movements of any character, regardless of gender, age, or size? Is realism or effectiveness more crucial when designing character movement, and can AI aid in this process? How does one transform a book description into screen-worthy motion? And lastly, what do Geralt of Rivia and Darth Vader share in common?
In this version, I’ve tried to keep the same structure and content while making it more conversational and easier to read.
But let’s start at the beginning.
Anna Garas: What is the difference between a stuntmen and someone who does motion capture?
Maciej Kwiatkowski: Initially, we struggled with our self-identification due to our background in stunt performances, where we were credited as stuntmen. However, as production demands evolved, it became crucial for performers to be versatile. Physical appearance doesn’t matter much, so the more roles you can handle, the better it is for both parties – the performer and the client, who won’t have to hire additional actors. Over time, I ventured beyond pure stunt work into acting, then into playing monstrous characters, which isn’t common except in theater. In Hollywood, such roles are a rare specialty among performers, but in video games, there’s a high demand due to numerous monster adversaries. By necessity, I learned these skills; I improved, but I also found that I have a natural talent for it. Ironically, I ended up being listed as a stuntman in the credits, despite playing the main character – but I’m not just an actor.
A.G.: It reminds me of performance art.
Yes, while it’s already implemented in our setting, I often come across it in the movie industry. Given our increasing interaction with the Western market, we’re streamlining our terminology to facilitate smoother communication. When it comes to stunt artists, we appreciate this particular classification because there are numerous domains, positions, and specialties within the stunt world. We have stunt artists who primarily execute stunts – such as falling from windows, enacting fight sequences, or driving vehicles. However, a significant portion operates behind the scenes, handling safety, rigging effects, ensuring the entire crew’s safety at heights, or prepping cars. The terms ‘performer’ and ‘performance’ encapsulate the internal diversity of motion capture best. Since there is body performance, there is also full performance capture, where the subject of animation encompasses not just the body, but also the face.
Regarding the subject of faces, one video you shared remains etched in my mind. The actor in it seemed incredibly expressive, as if he were a silent film actress. Is it necessary for facial motion capture to involve such exaggerated expressions?
In the video clip you referred to, it’s essential to understand the context – the character was intended to be over-the-top, even bordering on insane, which was the idea behind this portrayal. However, performance capture can be quite precise, and it’s something we make sure newcomers understand, particularly those from the acting or film industry. They often have preconceived notions about their craft within the film medium, and adapting to motion capture (mocap) can sometimes prove challenging. When filming cutscenes, the cameras are generally positioned for the scenes, there are storyboards available so the actor knows which angle to perform for. But when they were left in an empty space without scenery, costumes, or any context, they became disoriented.
When comparing motion capture (mocap) to film and theater, it’s more akin to theatrical performance. Unlike movies where the camera is often close to the actor, especially during dramatic or dialogue scenes, in theater, performers act for a distant audience. This means that our expressions and gestures need to be larger and more exaggerated, as they must be visible from afar.
For instance, taking deep breaths might require intense hyperventilation so that the movement can be seen clearly from 10 meters away. Similarly, if a character is wearing armor, we might exaggerate the movements of the shoulders to make it clear that the armor is moving with each breath. This emphasis on broader gestures in animation makes it easier for animators to work with.
Moreover, not all movements are necessarily emotional; even idle poses must be exaggerated for the audience to see them clearly. A good example of this is breathing. If a character needs to wear armor and it’s important that the movement of the armor with each breath is visible, we might further emphasize this effect by enhancing the shoulder movements.
In essence, mocap and animation tend to favor broader gestures because they are easier for animators to work with compared to making smaller, more subtle movements.
J.C.: I find an interesting comparison between you as Geralt and the legendary movie character Darth Vader, who was portrayed by two distinct actors. Although his voice was iconic, much of his appeal came from the imposing presence of David Prowse, who stood over 2 meters tall. Similarly, Geralt’s voice may differ across various audio versions, and his lines can be influenced by translators’ skills, but your performance as him remains consistent in terms of body language, which is a significant part of what makes Geralt who he is.
M.K.: You brought up a very cool comparison… Darth Vader was probably played by three actors.
A.G.: True, the third one is in this short scene, when we see him without a mask.
In a game scenario, a character can be a blend of traits from as many as five distinct individuals. For instance, one person might supply the facial features, while another handles the expressions. However, in essence, I can essentially control most of these characters, including those portraying females. Although it’s intriguing to consider a man playing a woman, or vice versa, that’s a topic for another discussion. It’s a complex task, but it’s achievable. However, controlling characters who are exceptionally large or small can be problematic due to the difficulty in simulating body size accurately – that’s just how physics works. The more mass a person has, the more energy they need to move it, and a child falling has less inertia than an adult. These nuances become apparent in motion capture technology.
A.G.: Does this mean that there are child mocap performers?
Absolutely – the performer portraying Atreus in the latest God of War game isn’t too far from the truth. Using children for motion capture can yield impressive results, but this practice is rarely employed due to production concerns. Child labor is heavily regulated by health and safety laws, limiting their working hours, requiring a guardian, and prohibiting risky activities. After all, they are children, prone to mood swings, reluctance, and fatigue sooner than adults. Working with children can be challenging, so it’s often preferable to hire small adult actresses instead. For example, the motion capture animations for young Aloy in Horizon were performed by Luisa Guerreiro, a talented motion capture artist and film actress who is of short stature and extremely agile. She was responsible for all the action scenes involving Aloy performing stunts like somersaults, fighting, and jumping over obstacles. It worked marvelously. However, a skilled child actor can never be replaced.
A.G.: Isn’t your work more than just fantasy and swords? I’ve heard that you received some guidance from GROM for a specific project.
In the production of an episode for the Crossfire series within Secret Level, collaborated with Platige Image for Amazon. This project is part of a larger narrative, serving as an anthology where each episode is crafted by different teams, yet overseen by main director Tim Miller and Blur Studio for quality assurance. Our focus was on realism, both in terms of photorealistic graphics and tactical authenticity. Navy SEAL consultants, with their combat experience, were involved to ensure accuracy. The director, Damian Nenow from Platige Image, is deeply interested in this subject and strives for authenticity, refusing to accept anything less than the real deal. He worked closely with Navy SEAL consultants, who would show us footage from their combat cameras to demonstrate the reality of situations we were directing. Essentially, they are experts who can’t be deceived, so our goal was to deliver the best possible product.
Initially, there were doubts about our capabilities due to being a Polish company, but these only served to fuel our determination. Fortunately, I had previously worked with Adam Rycman – a GROM veteran – on Alpha 7 and Go Ahead, Brother promotional materials, allowing us to involve him in our production.
What makes this project unique is that we’re not just relying on theories; we’re engaging real veterans with combat experience, unlike the 80s when it was more like the Wild West. Now, we aim for authenticity, sticking as close to reality as possible while allowing for subtle creative liberties, because truth simply makes sense.
From this viewpoint, I hold an even greater appreciation for the effort that went into designing The Witcher’s combat styles. After all, they seem almost impractical, don’t they? Since these techniques are meant for combating non-existent adversaries, carried out by individuals whose abilities far surpass those of typical humans. Yet, they work? So, how can this be possible?
In discussing the artistry of character movement in video games, films, and particularly stylized action sequences, the main focus is on aesthetics, aiming to create a visually pleasing experience for viewers and elicit a response. For instance, The Witcher’s dynamic fighting style is designed to be highly spectacular due to his epic nature and proficiency. However, some purists may critique this stylization, arguing that elaborate spins and twirls are more detrimental than beneficial and unnecessary. While I understand their perspective, I believe that every artist must traverse the path we have taken in our work. If we were to remove all the flashy moves, cool elements, and emotions-inducing aspects from combat sequences, leaving only practical, utilitarian movements optimized for winning a duel, the result would be dull and almost indiscernible. This is because effective combat movement should be swift, brief, and unnoticed by opponents to maximize its effectiveness. So, if we were to strip down combat to just these functional moves, it would lack excitement and entertainment value, leaving little for viewers to appreciate or enjoy.
When I was a teenager, my friends and I pondered over finding the right way to portray Geralt’s fighting style as we all were avid readers of The Witcher. After many hours, we devised the first choreographies for the Witcher, using real swords since we had access to steel weapons being part of knightly brotherhoods.
Later, when we collaborated with CD Projekt RED on this topic in 2005, the same question resurfaced – how could Sapkowski’s prose be translated into action, where Geralt performed pirouettes and oriental moves yet his swift slashes were nearly imperceptible? How to demonstrate this? Should we leave our character still while only showing his opponents falling? These are the challenges that must be tackled, and those who dismiss them fail to grasp their importance. If they saw what they desired, they would soon understand it’s not to their liking.
A.G.: So this requires a process of a more creative translation of these movements.
Absolutely! Over countless generations, including myself, we’ve perfected the art of storytelling, adding our unique touch that some might call extravagant, but it resonates with many because they find it delightful. As for depicting a character moving at supernatural speeds, that’s where animation comes into play. Initially, it’s us performers who capture the essence of these swift movements as our bodies permit. After hours upon hours and days upon days of rigorous training, I meticulously refine this movement to bring the witcher closer to the character from the books. However, in games, other characters can move even faster; it’s all about aesthetics, conventions, and mechanics – especially in fighting games where movements are condensed to individual frames.
In our chat prior to the interview, you shared that as a performer, your goal was to choreograph Geralt’s movements in a way that demonstrated his competence through every body position. I’m curious, if you were to portray a younger Geralt from “Crossroads of Ravens”, would he exhibit any signs of clumsiness?
During my initial motion capture session for the first Witcher game, I encountered an obstacle where the gameplay mechanics interfered. The developers had grand, cinematic concepts for attacks, but they informed us that our proposed attack couldn’t be executed due to the specific structure of their combat system. Gameplay is prioritized in this case and that was final. We aspired to make the character trip occasionally, however we were limited by the number of animations available at the time – although now, with more data capacity in the game, we could potentially add variations to attacks or incorporate unique movements during running, which would be considered additional data.
Absolutely, we’d love to see more freedom in character animations to make them feel more lifelike, immersive, and authentic. I had the pleasure of working on Quantum Break, where our main focus was to portray our character not as a superhero, but an ordinary man amidst a world collapsing and burning around him. This chaos was beautifully reflected in his movements, making him stumble and interact with the environment. This approach worked wonderfully for that game, but it might not be suitable for every title, correct?
In today’s gaming landscape, where characters have been perfected to a degree that they may no longer captivate audiences, adding imperfections can make them more relatable and intriguing. Take Geralt as an example; it would be fascinating to see him grow from a novice witcher to a seasoned professional throughout the game. This evolution in his fighting style would add depth to his character, making the experience even more engaging.
A.G.: Maybe over time he would learn the coolest attacks?
Sure thing!
M.K.: Indeed, yet technicalities need to be considered as adding more animation sets significantly increases an already substantial amount of work for the development team. As game developers aim to offer increasingly varied gameplay experiences, they create various types of animations such as basic moves, attacks, special attacks, contextual attacks, quick-time events (QTEs), finishers, character-specific and enemy-specific attacks, and animations for specific states like being drunk, moving in water, or wearing heavy armor. For example, each set might have 200 unique animations. With every new set adding another 200 animations, the production process cannot go on forever without limitations – this is the challenge we share with developers.
A.G.’s question could be rephrased as: “Could it be due to these production constraints that we seldom see playable characters with motor disabilities?
As a gamer, I can tell you from my experience: Taking on a character with less-than-perfect motor skills undoubtedly amplifies the gaming challenge. In my view, it’d be quite a daunting task, similar to cracking open an extremely tough nut. The protagonist is the heart of every game, and one unyielding rule is their swift response to my commands. Any delays in responsiveness are frustrating – that’s why character movement animations often skip the initial phase, making the character start running instantly upon analog stick touch, without a warm-up period. The attacks are designed to be as responsive as possible, and those wide, sweeping swings fall under the high risk-high reward category since they increase the chance that during them, I’ll expose myself to the enemy. So, yes, playing such a character would definitely heighten the level of difficulty.
In terms of non-playable characters (NPCs), whether friendly or hostile, developers often embrace eccentricities and oddities in movement. This can range from zombies missing limbs to monsters with multiple limbs. Such unconventional movements evoke stronger emotions. To achieve this, developers employ various tools. For instance, if a limb needs to appear larger, they might add weights to it since this would affect the character’s center of gravity and overall body movement. Another example is extending arms, which can be seen in productions like “Planet of the Apes,” where performers use specially designed stilts because humans have less developed upper limbs compared to apes, making walking on all fours uncomfortable and unrealistic. However, with extended arms, it becomes more manageable. Companies specialize in producing such gadgets for performers, offering items like adjustable stilts and even realistic tails that move naturally during movement.
A.G.: Sounds like a cosplayer’s dream.
In terms of cosplay, it’s fantastic, but not so much for motion capture, as everything ultimately increases the weight. I once tried out similar stilts, and while they work fine for walking, attempting turns or dynamic movements like jumps is a no-go. The body mass ratio makes this agile creature feel more like a man on extremely heavy stilts. [laughter]
A.G.: So, are they at least useful for walking gracefully?
When you start, it’s as if you’re a powerful train, propelled forward by your own momentum, and your motor skills are impressive, but creating animations for the entire gameplay sequence is beyond your capabilities. In the end, an animator will be more skilled at crafting those leg movements.
Regarding the concept of creating motion for non-human, grotesque creatures: I recall an interview with renowned director Hayao Miyazaki who critiqued a zombie animation produced by AI. The movement, using only its head, was eerie, and he expressed discomfort due to a perceived lack of empathy towards living beings in the method. I’m curious, do you think this use of AI could be successful?
The current application of AI involves producing fundamental human actions, although the outcomes may seem eerie at present due to the obvious “uncanny valley” effect. However, I anticipate that advancements in this technology will accelerate significantly since there’s substantial financial potential associated with it. On the other hand, as Mr. Miyazaki points out, AI encroaching into such uniquely human realms as creativity raises concerns – for instance, the unnatural movement it generates. I view this as an exciting prospect – for AI to create something beyond human capability. In our work on games featuring unsettling characters, we strive to depart as far as possible from human constraints to generate something truly chilling. Occasionally, we employ editing techniques because we can only deviate from our humanity to a certain extent. Naturally, we won’t abandon our physical forms or shatter our bones to perform inhuman movements; thus, there’s a limit to how far we can push the boundaries. I believe it is here that AI may astonish us, as we humans will always retain our humanity – albeit I think we have made remarkable progress. Madeline Page-Ulmer and I collaborated on Silent Hill 2, where I played the main male characters while she portrayed all female roles, including the iconic nurses. We had a strong foundation in the original Silent Hill, but we still needed to explore a considerable portion of this nightmare – and from what I’ve learned, it turned out effectively creepy.
A.G.: For me, it was definitely creepy enough [laughter].
M.K.: Developers often find themselves needing to go beyond the norm, challenge their limits, and grow in the process.
A.G.: Right, like everyone else. Great, thanks for the talk!
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2025-06-06 14:04