Edward Kenway's actor reflects on recording performance capture for Assassin's Creed Black Flag compared to his new Resynced scenes — 'I didn't have as big a ****ing headache as I did the first time' | Tech Radar
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Edward Kenway's actor reflects on recording performance capture for Assassin's Creed Black Flag compared to his new Resynced scenes — 'I didn't have as big a ****ing headache as I did the first time'
Matt Ryan says he hadn't done performance capture since Black Flag
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Edward Kenway actor Matt Ryan says returning to record performance capture for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is much different from what it was 14 years ago
Ryan says revisiting performance capture has "reinvigorated" his love for the medium
He says voice actors are more than just voice actors
Assassin's Creed Black Flag actor Matt Ryan has said that returning to record performance capture for the game's upcoming remake, Black Flag Resynced, has "reinvigorated" his love for the medium.
Ryan, who plays Black Flag's pirate assassin protagonist, Edward Kenway, first recorded the role almost 14 years ago for the original 2013 game, but returning to the world of performance capture over a decade later is much different from it was back then.
"Well, I didn't have as big a f***ing headache as I did the first time when I did the first one, like [there was] this big contraption and you've got a camera in your face, like a dog with a muzzle," Ryan told Tech Radar Gaming at a Black Flag Resynced preview event in Paris.
Edward Kenway actor says among the new scenes for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced there's one that adds 'more weight' to the character's personal conflict
'It's kind of humbling to come back to a project after all these years, to know that the fans love the game and they love the character so much' — Edward Kenway's actor speaks about revisiting the character for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced
'There's a part of us wanting to kind of better ourselves, to elevate ourselves, to grow, to discover lands beyond us' — Edward Kenway's actor reflects on the journey of Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, says 'There's a part of Kenway in all of us'
Ryan went on to talk about how he hadn't done performance capture since Black Flag, and he'd always loved the process.
"This time felt much more comfortable in that, and I hadn't done any more performance captures since then," he said. "So I remember at the time saying I love working in that medium, and that I would love to do more, but I've been lucky enough that I've been really busy, so I hadn't really had a chance. But coming back to it, it's just kind of like, reinvigorated my love of that medium, and what you can do in that medium."
The actor continued, touching on how he still has aspirations within the medium, praising the performances and games that we've seen over the years, but said the role of "voice actor" is so much more than the title.
"I think that the industry has changed, but the media hasn't, because it's still called 'voice actors'. But they're not just voice actors, they're actors in a video game," Ryan said.
"I think that they're yet to catch up with that, because what I love about the games that you play is like, 'Oh my God, I recognize that actor.' It's not just like his voice, but you get to feel the whole physical presence of that person, even if he's in another skin."
While Ryan has expressed his love for Edward Kenway, he said that he doesn't dwell on whether his performance will be remembered in history, explaining that during the process, you "just do the job" and "do the best thing in front of you" with as much preparation as he can and "then put one foot in front of the other."
"At the end of the day, you're there to serve a story, to serve a character, to serve a director's vision, and you do that, and you try not to think too much," Ryan explained.
"Like when I got the role of Constantine, and then I started reading the comics, I was like, 'Oh sh**, this is a very important character to a lot of people,' but you can't think about that weight on your shoulders, like revisiting this [Black Flag], I can't think, 'Oh I have to be as good as I was.' You just can't think externally like that."
The long-awaited Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is scheduled to launch on July 9 for PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC.
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Demi is a freelance games journalist who helps cover gaming news at Tech Radar. She's been a games writer for five years and has written for outlets such as Game Spot, NME, and Games Radar, covering news, features, and reviews. Outside of writing, she plays a lot of RPGs and talks far too much about Star Wars on X.
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