For the past week, rumours and false claims have been spreading aboutKarlach’s epilogueinBaldur’s Gate 3. Many believe that a good chunk of her story was cut in Act 3, butthat isn’t true. The reality is that actor Samantha Béart was called in post-launch to add to Karlach’s story, resulting in the epilogue that was released in August.
Many then assumed that most of the visual performance was from other mocap actors with Béart simply providing the voice. This was spurred on by Tav and mocap actor Joshua Wichard when he replied to a fan, but he later said that he worded things poorly.
“Back in October, someone in a YouTube comment of Karlach’s epilogue that was added was suggesting that it had already been pre-made, and I was trying to say, ‘No, they did it, this is how they did it’,” Wichard said in an apology video on Twitter. “I woefully and terribly fired off a comment which, reading back, made it sound like I did all of the mocap for Karlach, when I was just trying to suggest that I only did some of it, mainly Wyll and Tav who are in that scene.”
Before this video, Wichard emailed an apology to Béart, but they have now gone public to clear the air. However, this video is also an attempt to curb the harassment they have faced over the subsequent backlash, as fans not only spammed Wichard with hate and negative comments but also went as far as to contact his parents.
For this to have been the reaction has just been a really fuing shiy week […] I’ve been really fearful about posting this because I don’t want more backlash. The past week has been horrible and I can’t take another week of torrential abuse online.
Béart likewise posted a statement on Twitter, addressing the confusion. They explain that there are two mocap facilities - one in London where actors have to remain in the same spot, and one, seemingly in Surrey, where they can move freely. So if a character is seen pacing around, it was likely filmed by another mocap performer separate from the actor voicing them. However, scenes are blended, so you’ll see a mix of actors' performances in-game.
Wichard replied to Béart’s statement four days ago, “Shot off a very poorly worded and ill-considered comment which suggested that I did all of the mocap for that scene which is absolutely not true at all and totally undermined and discredited the insane amount of work Samantha has put in. Dumb mistake on my part”.
Since Wichard’s apology, many fans have voiced support, calling out those who targeted his family and harassed him.
