260 Hours of MoCap: Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach Actor on Game Performance | GDC Side Quest

[music]
Hello everyone and welcome to the Game Developer podcast. I'm Bryant Francis.
And I'm Beth Elderkin.
And this is GDC Side Quest. Uh Beth, you've got a pretty amazing guest on the show today. Could you tell us a little bit about them?
Yes, so on the latest episode, I had the great pleasure to talk with Samantha Béart. Uh they are an actor and performer. They've been in video games like they're in the recent 007 First Light, Marathon, but they're perhaps best known as Karlach from Baldur's Gate 3. Uh but interestingly, it's not actually their body of work that inspired me to want to talk to them in the first place.
Mhm. Oh, tell us more. Tell us more. What made you want to bring them on to the show?
Well, they actually do something similar to what we do. Uh so they actually host a YouTube series called It Takes a Village where they talk with quote the people who make our games. And they were filming some live episodes at the 2026

GDC Festival of Gaming and so I wanted to talk with them not just about their body of work, but also about telling the stories of game developers and professionals and those who bring the games to life. They've talked with uh Jackie Aiko, Sophie Knowles, and composer Austin Wintory who will actually be on an upcoming episode of GDC Side Quest.
We do all love talking to Austin. No, really, we do all love talking to Austin. He's great. Um yeah, it is kind of this natural instinct that you think you see in games and creative works right is like, you know, look us as journalists, you know, we're taking kind of the journalism angle on it, but people in games want to share insights from their time making games, from their friends time making games. Um knowledge is, you know, just always sort of like bursting trying to get out. You really can't contain it. So, whether your job is, you know, like an actor performer or a journalist, you know, that instinct is just there and it's cool to see. It's cool to see Samantha pick that up and go running with it.
Yeah, it's one of the only professions that I've encountered in my experience

where the the passion almost it's the passion is right alongside the professionalism. It is such a dedicated and passionate industry where people want to help each other. They want to support and uplift each other and they want to get advice and give advice. It's just such a really wonderful give and take industry and it's grown so much over the past 20 years. It's just really great to see.
Yeah. Anyway, that's enough from us. How about I let you and Samantha take it away.
I actually met Craig Mazin through BAFTA Breakthrough. I'm a big fan of his work Chernobyl and The Last of Us and Mythic Quest. He's not snobby about putting actors who are known for video games into TV. So I hello. It turns out he very much likes Karlach. So you know, he's a man of good taste he's actually I didn't want to get this wrong cuz you know, I'm going to get quoted on it. So I have actually prepared a statement directly from Craig to be read in public. So I'm just going to read it.

Hello and welcome to the GDC Side Quest podcast right there and also right here. Hello everybody. I'm Beth Elderkin the content marketing manager for the GDC Festival of Gaming. Today I am so excited to talk to Samantha Béart. They are a BAFTA nominated actor and performer known for many video games notably Baldur's Gate 3 where you played Karlach which has been one I played on repeat. I swear I think I have about 600 hours in that one at that this point which I don't have anything near to that in any other game. It's like so normal now. That's a normal number for the hours put in for people. You need to get into four figures before they they they will consider you for a job at Larian's. There's a few people with a thousand hours in here. So
All right. Well, I got to play more then so then I can replay
at the beginning of it.
I got to find a marketing job over there and be like I've got 2,000 hours now. I promise. It's an investment. So so have established, we are a Side Quest podcast, so I wanted to start by asking, what is your favorite Side Quest?
Oh, Molly. Oh, gosh. So, I have ADHD, so

everything's a Side Quest, you know. Just like, oh, now this is the main mission. Oh, what were the I didn't write the other quests down, did I? Oh, no, they've gone out of my mind. What do you mean, Side Quests or hobbies and in video games? Um I don't really understand your question. Like, what do you mean by one of my favorite Side Quests are?
Oh, so you have a main quest in a video game, the main storyline. For example, you're going through and saving the day in Baldur's Gate, and then you go on a date with Karlach. Karlach is a Side Quest.
I don't feel that's true. I think she's a main story, but that's fine.
That is very accurate and fair.
[laughter]
What do you mean, my favorite Side Quest in a video game?
Yes.
Ah, of course, you're right. Yes, Mass Effect 2. It It's the the Shadow Broker mission. I just one of my I just was so unexpected and interesting and constantly just pulled the rug out from under you, and I thought this is incredible storytelling. It's one of the reasons I even considered getting into video games as an actor. So, I thought this is very mature and interesting and and emotional and
And who doesn't love a heist?
Right?
[laughter]
So, what is your favorite line or moment

from a character that you've played?
Gosh. They were just The writing is so good. It's really hard to I feel like you thankfully gave me some questions in advance, so I have thought about it. Excavation of Hob's Barrow. It's actually in the trailer, but it's also part of the game. So, if you don't know it, it is a cozy horror game set in the late Victorian period. People played this, by the way. If you think MR James and The Wicker Man mashed together, it's really cool. And we've got some Baldur's Gate 3 caster in it because it's a very small pool. And the line was, "Mother, what have I done?" Which was our lead for the whole thing. It's this mystery, you know, I said a little bit Wicker Man, so being led by the nose into this mystery in the countryside.
read in that moment? Is it longated, "Mother, what have I done?" How was it read?
versions Cuz um it's it it she's writing a letter. So um there's the version where where we did it for the trailer and there's the version where she's very broken at the end of the game and there's a version of it there. So we have two.
What is the most surprising or funny

moment that's happened to you during a recording session?
Um There's so many. I'm just like it's it's it's like a Rolodex in my head. I remember Baldur's Gate in general, they would you know, you come in cuz a new a race has been introduced to it and you know, they'd say, "Okay, so then they we're in this line they're they're Myconids, right?" And I went, "Oh, so they're mushroom people, right?" And I went, "Yeah, yeah." And then they went, "They're sentient mushroom people, yeah." Can you romance them? And then they go and write to Larian. And they go, "Yeah, you can romance them. We're going to have to do those lines." And I went, "Right, okay, great." And they'll be like, "Here's a sentient piece of dirt. Can you romance it?" "Yes." "What is wrong with you? What is this game? Can we just calm down?"
Can you romance the mushrooms in the Underdark?
I was told you could, but then I don't remember actually doing those lines, but the intention was there. Someone's romanced them, even if it's not in the game.
Somebody just had you do that so they could just store it away for themselves for later on.
I got paid, I don't care.
So you were the first actor to enter the

BAFTA Breakthrough Initiative for a video game. What did that recognition mean for you personally?
It's turned me into the monster that I am today. Uh so what happened is is my performance in Hob's Barrow was longlisted, uh which is incredible. It was a it was the year of God of War. Um and I was in the top 10 for this this game that very few people have played, you know, so to someone had noticed it. And I thought, "Well, maybe I am good at this. I should put myself in for the for the breakthrough as as a as a film TV theater performer. You have to be the lead in a TV show to to be a breakthrough." So I wasn't I never qualified for it. I'd been aware of it. And I was like, "Hang on, I've played the lead in a video game." Which had then got me Baldur's Gate, which I was under NDA for. So I entered under uh Hobsbarrow. That's how I Yeah, and it was It was lovely, you know, we There's a sense of community among BAFTA folks. The industry is so young, there's no equivalent of Spielberg or Nolan to be intimidated by. Like everyone in the room is your peers, they're not going to be much older or much younger than you. It's It's quite truncated in terms of age, horizontal almost. Um it's a wonderful community

and then in like this year I was able to be a judge for a judging panel for this year's people. I feel we put some really cool people through on on the game side of things. Um I got connections to people through that. Uh but yeah, just that rubber stamp. I'm not normally one for external validation, but funny enough it works.
And what do you What did it mean for the industry to actually have video games being part of BAFTA for the first time?
So no, they've always had video game practitioners in there. I was just the first actor to get in on that. Um what's it What it's done is it's turned the other actors into monsters as well. So they will all now self-nominate for that forever because of me. If that's the legacy, then I'm very happy with that. Very much, yeah.
Well, as I'm sure you know, Craig Mazin is he's going to adapt the story of Baldur's Gate 3. And in an interview, he says he's plans to reach out to the cast. I imagine you cannot speak to that in direct terms, but in vaguer terms, is it

something you would like to see happen?
I can speak very directly about that. I actually met Craig Mazin through BAFTA Breakthrough. I'm a big fan of his work, Chernobyl and The Last of Us, Mythic Quest. He's not snobby about putting actors who are known for video games into TV. So I was like, "Hello." It turns out he really likes Karlach. Um so you know, he's a man of good taste. And um he's actually I didn't want to get this wrong cuz you know, I'm going to get quoted on it. So I have actually prepared a statement directly from Craig to be read in public. So I'm just going to read it here. It says, "Craig Mazin has personally expressed to me his belief that the key cast of Baldur's Gate 3 should be meaningfully on screen in the show either as someone familiar or someone new. What are you looking at? Sorry. So, yeah, so that's that's that's the statement.
I'm listening to the beauty of your words and and your statement.
I've an email for me just say that. Just say that. Yeah.
[laughter]
Well, that's fantastic. And how does
way off by the way. If you're looking for poll quotes, he's doing The Last of

Us season 3 before he starts even thinking about this show. By the way, and it's also set directly after the events of Baldur's Gate 3. Don't get upset. He's not going to make weird choices about like what he personally did. Although obviously Karlach is the main character in it.
But what if Karlach is the Mind Flayer by that time?
We'll have to deal with it, won't we?
That would be quite the story. Karlach as the Mind Flayer as the protagonist.
Karlach pretending that she Karlach the Mind Flayer pretending she actually is still Karlach even though she's not.
Oh, that's a Oh, man. You're You're putting too many ideas in my head.
[laughter]
So, how does it feel knowing that this character that you helped create has taken on a life of its own with fan art, with cosplay, with this enduring legacy, with a lot of shipping and a lot of, you know, a lot of romance. How does that feel?
I'm incredibly lucky to be sitting here. I mean, that's that's what it is and it's it's been 2 and 1/2 years now and it's the hype train kind of slowed down, but there's there's definitely been a knock-on effect. You've got live service

games that have been around 10 years suddenly putting romance into it. Um I you know, doing Absalom, which is a beat-'em-up. That has got narrative. It's got storyline. I did um It'll be released later than much later this year, but um you know, a real-time strategy game. You build castles. You defend your keep. I did motion uh facial capture for it. You know, there there are cinematics in it. So, it's done me very well, actually. I've got But interesting examples you made because those were always the benchmarks. You I think when I saw the cat cosplay and I heard the Jonathan Young song, he did a whole album of songs for the Gate origin characters. So, I was like, "Okay, there's some cultural relevance here." Yeah, it's been quite the ride.
Uh Karlach is actually the only character I have played as the origin because I always make my own character or a Dark Urge because who's not going to do that? And I'm I'm curious what it was like uh voicing that part because for the most part, you know, Karlach is a an it accompanies the character, has her own story, but then you are essentially the protagonist of the story, the main character. What are the differences in

performance there?
There wasn't. I mean, it was all in it was all in one. So, you would have Okay, I think the Gortash fight scene is a really good example cuz everyone knows it. I think everyone knows it. Sorry if you're in the wrong place. But um there is a origin version where you she hasn't Maybe she hasn't got the team around her. Like you have to think of every edge case. And so, the same day we did it with the companions, which is quite a well-known scene, we had to do an origin version where she kind of talks to herself. So, they those they were done thematically rather than uh chronologically, if that helps to
Interesting.
Yeah. But um do you know that I did full mocap for that game? I did 260 hours in the studio. I'm not going to let it go.
I knew the mocap part. I did not know how many hours. That is
a lot.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah, cuz we had to do it line by line so you can stitch it together.
Oh my goodness.
Yeah. So, when you got a good monologue, you're like, "Come on."
How much does it weigh? I have to know.
The the the the setup. No, it's it's like a it's like a a very
Oh, you don't have the headset?
No, no. It wasn't It wasn't facial capture. It was body and hands, weirdly enough. They had our hands moving around a lot. Um yeah, it was like a a very unflattering wetsuit uh with dots on

them because we were coming out of the pandemic. I would bump into people I hadn't seen for 5 years, you know, we're both looking awful. I mean, no one is flattered in these suits. And Hi, try not to stick to each other. And
[laughter]
It was really fun. Uh yeah, and then again, horizontal, you know, people like Dave Jones, Amelia Tyler, Tim Dow. I've known these people for years. And then suddenly we were the leads in this thing. And we were like, "Did we Did we actually make it?" And we didn't know it was going to be huge, but like to play the leads all together, being the same generation, that was quite it was just a weird feeling, yeah, cool, but oh, okay.
So, I'm going to take a complete left turn for just a moment. What is the question you've always wanted someone to ask you about your work?
So, uh on my show It Takes a Village, that's an annoying question I ask people.
[laughter]
I was By the way, I was actually planning to ask you that before you mentioned it earlier.
people always get stuck, and now I'm stuck. Uh because I get to talk about myself rather a lot now, so uh so that's uh that's that's fine. But, um I don't know. I don't I like talking about the work, so if you like my work, I'll I'll do that. Um I'm

uh horribly introverted for an actor. For a human, I'm horribly extroverted, but for an actor, I'm quite quiet about things. Um I mean, I I sort of was like, "Yeah, we did mocap, so I've already done that bit."
[laughter]
There's some other games, like just come on my Instagram, find out the other stuff I'm doing. But, yeah, there's interesting stuff, some old theater things that I've done in the past, it's all up there. We're chronicling like what I've done in my career. Um and it takes a village, you know, and and people are now asking me about that first before I have the chance. So, I'm I'm I'm actually quite happy.
[laughter]
So, um tell me about the collaborative process uh between actor and narrative designer per a production. Has it changed over the course of your career?
I'm feeling that I'm forced changing it myself by talking about it so much. Um I think it's because people are in in um games are tending to come in from the tech side, or it's seen as a more tech thing, even though it's so creative, we're not bringing those creative practices in, like table readings, chemistry tests, things that will cost

you nothing to do, and very quickly without putting it through the pipeline, without iterating and going, "Oh, those two actors do not work together at all." You know, that's a really expensive way to do things. Um I've noticed more and more recently uh Fading Echo is a game I'm doing with some folks from Critical Role and former Blizzard devs. There's no NDA, please ask me anything. I just won't do story spoilers. Um that's open doors, and I'm on their Discord, and I chat to their narrative designer, found out what a narrative designer does, cuz that's quite hard to imagine when you don't actually see them plotting every line in the game physically. Um, and I go into the studio, and we had a good I had a good hour talking to Manu about the Bible, like where we're going with it, cuz there's a lot more to it. We're seeing about 5% in this first game. It's based on a TTRPG, and why not make a video game out of it? That's a good idea. And um, I also spent an hour with Anaïs Sorento, who is the lead animator on it. And as soon as I saw one moving, and she's very elastic. She's a little bit Luffy from One Piece with a bit of Björk in there as well. She's just sort of goofy and wacky. And that

really helped me, you know, when I'm not in the studio where time is literally money, asking basic things like what does my character look like? How does she move? Does she like the world she's in? You know, all of that. So, that's that's now be getting the work. And then having talked about that and Village, and going I want to work with you more. I want to get to know you, cuz before it's just the director. You're just in a room with the director, and you hope the director plays games and has that link to the writer, and that will probably be the end of that chain, right? Traditionally. Um, yeah, I just got a job recently based on the fact that um, that studio work the way they do. And this studio is former AAA devs who want to bring the best of that and leave the worst behind and form their own thing. Um, that and Village helped me get that job. So, maybe if we just talk about the things we want to do, maybe that'll inspire other people, and they go, "Yeah, we can work more collaboratively." Cuz I think it is the most collaborative of all the screen industries, for sure.
I remember I talked to uh, Jennifer Hale recently, and she was mentioning how there was a special moment for her when she was doing BioShock Infinite, where Ken Levine brought her and the other

actor in to perform the Lutece twins together. Do you have any special memories like that? A specific moment of collaboration where you really felt the the that this the performance was strengthened by what was happening?
It's a game I can't talk about, but it's that um, [laughter] it's that real-time strategy game that I had my uh, facial capture for. I did that with the other actor in the room. And it was like, we should do more of this. It's a lot easier to do it. And and it wasn't branching narrative, so it wasn't too complicated. I can't imagine having the six of us in one room together and going, "Okay, now in this this path, we're going to do like there was logistically it was never going to work like that." But yeah, I'd love I'd love that. It's black box theater essentially. Once you start getting, you know, I've seen behind the scenes on The Last of Us and God of War when they're actually in the room and they're standing on apple carts imagining that that's a, you know, I I don't know, a multi-dimensional gateway over here. It's just a little flag or something, you know. I love all that and that's just pure theater and it makes me very happy.
How do you envision those in the moment? Like you're being like, "Okay, over there is a giant statue that you're

going to be paying reverence to and over here is a ditch. Do not fall in the ditch and be scared of the ditch." How do you, you know, how do you visualize that as an actor?
Just like theater, you know, like I said, if you're in a some low-budget thing or you're in a play maybe where there isn't time or budget to have the the, um, props on stage then yeah, you have to imagine you have to sell it. We call it magic space. It's, um, very early on in the training. Oh, was it, Peter Someone can look this up. Come on.
[laughter]
Oh, what's he called? Oh, I can't remember, but he he, um, in the '60s and '70s came up with his rough theater. There's you know, magic space. There's all these different techniques, but very early on it was tell the story without any words. So, you know, they'd say you're in prison. Of course, people start pacing up and down. They're like, "Okay, we're waiting for your dog to come back from the beach." You know, we had to like really be very specific physically about where we are. And and I mean, a good quick one in in in Baldur's Gate 3 was like, "You're in you're in the Underdark." Right? And the the ceiling is there. So, if you look up, "Oh my god, I'm taking it in." That doesn't read. That's going

to be really weird in game. So, it's just, you know, they would physically tell us where we are. And and if if you've done that training, it comes back very easily and it's it's all right.
[laughter]
So, let's have a little bit of a scenario.
Peter Brook. Peter Brook. I got there in the end. I mean, "The fifth in and nerves are here. Sorry.
Oh, by all means. No, of course. So, let's say you've been given the keys to the castle. You are the head of a studio. Congratulations.
Thank you very much.
What is the first game you're going to make?
Oh my. Oh gosh, I don't know. I've I've I grew up loving um action adventure games. It would have been some sort of first-person action adventure games maybe with a little RPG element, maybe not. With a strong storyline. Um I'm describing Assassin's Creed, but that's fine. I can do that. I love early Assassin's Creed. It was I mean, Ezio, what a character, right? It's like it's fully formed character. It's a lost Shakespearean anti-hero. I just loved it.
I loved Ezio, and you know, he had the three game series, and then after it was just the one-offs. And it's great. Like, I love the Assassin's Creed series, but
We have a lot of Ezio. But yeah,

who doesn't love punching the Pope in the face? I love like the argument about like um oh, well, there's historical accuracy. Like, yeah, like punching the Pope in the face, talking to Athena. You sure that happened?
It's like an orb, and the orb is magic, and apparently we're all descended from aliens.
[laughter]
So, how do you think that narrative designers and production, cuz you know, we are in a group of game developers, how can they better interact with actors and bring out your best performances?
Have as much contact as you as you can with us. Get get together with us before the game. Don't be scared of getting us on board. I think you should find actors that play games. I mean, I I I I really do think we need to respect the medium, you know, and I know there's a lot of actors that treat it as a out of work job to do, and that's that's their thing. But, there is no other You can't like You can't audition for the RSC and go, "Look, I've heard I should probably do some Shakespeare cuz it'll be good for my career. I'm not really into it, so just tell me what I need to You You're just not going to get that. You're never

going to get seen again. But, but we can do that in video games, and I think it's a real shame that um actors aren't that either interested or um yeah, just just be you know, every actor has a story of how they were called up during the game awards and someone's going are you the lead actor in franchise? And they'll go, oh yeah, I remember doing a lot of sessions. They're like, yeah, you're the you're the main bad guy. And everyone has that story. Yeah, so I just be you know, be curious and and and but that's partly because of a lot of the time we're treated as outsourcers. And I get it and again, if if you're coming in from tech, yeah, you are you kind of plug us in and then but but what a shame because you you basically have free publicity from us. We will absolutely like talk about the game like Fading Echo. By nature of not having an NDA is something now people want to ask me about. So I talk about they gave me a key to play this game. I am I am enthusiastic about it. I went and met the composer the other day. We hung out. It's it's really nice to meet the people before award season if it gets cuz that's what I'm used to. I'm going,

oh you did that and you okay, bye. Nice to meet you and then it's over and you think what a shame. We had that chance we should have had that chance to connect. So I hope I hope in future we have more opportunities to to do that. Just that early collaborative process together.
And on the flip side of that, what would your advice be for actors who are looking to enter the game space? How can they best bring their craft into you know, what for some might be an unfamiliar territory?
Yeah. Um well, first of all, some really good materials out there. I'm thinking of The Art and Business of Video Games by Julia Bianca Shuffling. She's a casting director from the Halp Network. It's incredible book if you're if you're an actor coming in. The first page just goes like, are you an actor? If you're not, just become an actor and come back to this book cuz that's the important bit. People get stuck on the voice acting. It's kind of changed since then. You have to be very versatile because of NDAs you might not know it's fully mocap till you step on set. So that's the thing. And then as it goes on

she talks about demos and everything the business side of it how to promote yourself and everything. But like be curious about the medium if you actually want to work in it either play the games or watch an actual play watch streamers. You don't have to spend a penny researching this medium and and it will help you when you go in and they'll go I know it's a dungeon crawler. If you don't play video games you're not going to know what that means and where to pitch it or if it's like you know, we could do like a domestic drama it doesn't come up very often. But that's a very different performance from a space opera like Mass Effect you know, so that just knowing what genre you're in and to ask that question I think it's really important and then it is like you know, if they're being super secretive ask the engineer what game you're on that's it. They'll tell you. Cuz they'll assume and they'll go great. Right. So now I don't talk about it till it's out but now I know what I'm actually looking out for.
Well last question I had for you is a bit more of a personal one. What do you love about working in video games?
I love the interactive medium. I love that there are there is a multiverse of Calax and person she becomes because of your

influence on her. I love the fact that everyone has a completely different version of that game in their head and what is canon for them and everything you know, I love it. I love the fact that because this is removed from the picture I've I've played roles I'd never get to play on screen. Like it is astounding the range of roles I've been allowed to play in in this medium and I will continue to do so until they remove me from the premises. Do give me a follow on Instagram and stuff there's lots of stuff coming out. But yeah, I played a bad guy in in Star Wars The Old Republic. Like I wouldn't normally get cast I play sort of heroic types normally and yeah just the range of characters in in as I said Limerence is a game that's coming out soon do look out for it super low budget indie so you will have to look out for that and that's the story about a found device and you're going to find out all about Claire and her life who like we had to make UX of her Instagram, her WhatsApp, her bank details, her friends like we licensed music for it. It will suggest music because you're sad, you like this. And and uh she forms a relationship with an AI

and it's not speculative fiction. It's very much what's happening. We've been developing this for 2 years and every time we think we're ahead of things it gets worse. But we finally hitched onto it and it's it's a really interesting tale for our times. So that's a really domestic piece and that's all about like overheard conversations and it's intimate and it isn't meant to be performed out loud. It is voyeuristic and strange, you know, and um Yeah, and I've done FMV as well. Yeah, I'm just getting to do everything and it's it's so fulfilling as an artist.
So folks can find you on Instagram and
And the blue sky.
And the blue sky.
And the and the YouTubes.
Yes, cuz A Kicks the Village is on YouTube, correct?
Fantastic. Well, thank you for joining us for GDC Side Quest and now back to the main quest.
Hey, I would play that game that Samantha was talking about making. I love how they referenced um the Assassin's Creed Ezio's trilogy, which is like Assassin's Creed 2, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, Assassin's Creed

Revelations. Um that's really a high watermark for the series. Uh it's also a series where the character is so the character and the actor behind them are so foundational, right? Uh that's Roger Craig Smith voicing Ezio. Um they Samantha was talking about how ludicrous that series can get, right? Like you're punching the Pope, you're talking to like kind of ancient pre-human civilization people. Um but it's Smith uh who really helps ground it all and still puts this human element on it, you know, and like Samantha talking about performers being integrated with the craft. Like it all it all kind of lines up there, right? To to reference that game series like that.
It really does and it reminds me of a uh a personal experience that I had with the Assassin's Creed the Ezio story. In fact, my oldest cat is named Ezio.
Yeah.
And um one of the most impactful moments that I've had watching a cutscene in a game was at the end of Assassin's Creed II where Ezio he heads into he's he's he's beaten the Pope he's done

everything he needs to do he goes into that final room and then there's the the the goddess the maker the creator whatever they're called I just don't remember there's way too many alien pre-human details just you don't think about it it just exists it's there it's wacky and there's a lot of fun lights and and special effects. But then the the goddess character first is talking to Ezio but then she's talking to you she's talking to Desmond when she and then the way the she turns and she's looking straight at the camera I had never experienced something like that it got me to my core the acting performance of Ezio during that whole moment is so great he's so exasperated and desperate and he doesn't understand what's going on but you as the audience do and it's just it's such a great scene.
Yeah very um very like a character who's just finding out slowly that like they're they're sort of not the main character right like they're sort of now one piece in a bigger puzzle which is what made the game so cool at that point was that

you're right that cutscene just like wow that rings in my head another one of those like all right yeah games are awesome actually moments you know games are you look you generally understand games are awesome but then sometimes you sit down and go wow like games are awesome anyway with that deep insight for you dear listeners thank you all for listening today today's episode was edited by Beth Elderkin and Thomas Mason our theme music is by Mike Mehan and of course game developer and GDC Festival of Gaming are sibling organizations under Informa Festivals Beth thank you once again for another great episode of GDC Side Quest.