You hold your controller until your thumbs go numb. You just need to run one more time. Hypnotic waves of colorful bullets fill the screen as you weave through the chaos, locked in an adrenaline-fueled flow state. But beyond the audiovisual and technical excellence lies a narrative reason to explore the hostile alien world of Carcosa.
Soltari enforcer, Arjun Devraj, played by actor Rahul Kohli, is deployed with a rescue crew, to Carcosa to secure a lost mining colony, although he may be harboring ulterior motives. Saros’ story takes Housemarque in a bold new direction, and it all rests on the shoulders of the actors behind the show.
Finding Carcosa: Becoming Arjun is a behind-the-scenes documentary that explores how Arjun came to life. Taking you into the shooting stages of the show, the film features exclusive footage and new interviews with Kohli and the development team, detailing exactly what it took for Arjun to find his voice.
“As a filmmaker and lifelong gamer, I’ve always been fascinated by what makes video game characters feel truly authentic. Truly pop off the screen. With this episode, I not only wanted to pull back the curtain to share a glimpse of the technical side of performance capture, but also shine a spotlight on the human process behind it.” said Paul J. Vogel, director of the three-part documentary series Finding Carcosa.
Technology and freedom capture performance
“I hated it,” laughs Rahul when asked about his first day on the performance capture stage. “It’s a very strange feeling. You spend most of your time worrying about how you look in this lycra wetsuit, wishing you’d gone to the gym. It takes an hour or two before you stop feeling ridiculous. It’s a strange thing. It starts with the heavy technology – calibrating your fingers. And once you’ve done that, it’s like an empty stage with actors and a director, and a script. Most actors are comfortable doing a lot with very little. From the first day in the rehearsal room, you work without props, without stage furniture. [the tech]just left.”
Rahul referred to advice he received from Troy Baker. “He said it was the purest form of acting you could ever do. And he was right. I’m not playing around with the camera… it’s just about me and [the other actors].”
Find characters by focusing on story-based scenes first
The studio made sure to arrange the shooting sequences so that the cast could settle into the roles of the characters, and find their own voices. “We started with more of a dream element,” explains Louden. “That way they don’t have to know exactly who they are. They can be more dreamlike and from there they appear more realistic and naturalistic.”
Gamers who become game protagonists
“He [Rahul Kolhi] a gamer too, so he knew what he was looking for in a videogame character,” recalls senior narrative designer Khalil Osaimi. “On set he had so many notes, even with the script. It’s really interesting to see him collaborate with Greg, because it’s like two kids with action figures [laughs]. They create an extraordinary spectacle.
“The collaboration was about adding these little details for the performers, and bringing this level of authenticity whether the performers were watching a recording of the performance or hearing the sound… it felt real.”
How jams helped Rahul find Arjun’s voice
“I had a flight to catch, and Housemarque couldn’t contact me for six months,” Kolhi said. “And they needed the trailer. And in order for me to make the flight, I had to shoot on the other side of town in LA like crazy early. And I was stuck in traffic. And I was furious and furious at seven, eight in the morning. We shot the teaser trailer. And the sound that came out was angrier, more intense than anything we had done or explored before. And Greg and I were just like… ‘wait, that’s it. That’s what we’ve been looking for’…. getting angry and not being good enough to hide it… that’s where Arjun was actually born.”
“Rahul’s anecdote about finding Arjun’s true voice is a perfect summary of how sometimes the creative nature of storytelling can be unpredictable. It’s funny because it’s not at all interesting. Stuck in traffic, already late for a recording session and fighting time to get on a flight. It shows how a character can come to life through research, practice and collaboration with your director… but sometimes all it takes is one really bad trip,” Paul continued
It was incredible to see Rahul’s dedication to finding Arjun, but also how much it meant to him personally. You can feel how Saros is a milestone in his career that he probably wouldn’t have dared to dream of just a few years ago. As both an actor and a gamer, he understands his duties and feels the burden of bringing to life a character that gamers around the world hope to resonate with.
Thank you so much Rahul and the entire cast, and thank you to all our players as well.
Saros is now available on PS5.
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