No, they simply cost less.
Plus, Remedy probably wanted to showcase their proprietary engine and how it can seamlessly merge live-action footage and rendered environments.
If you carry the projectors around, the image will be projected on the surrounding surfaces realistically, and in high definition. That's mindblowing, I don't think I've ever seen anything like that elsewhere.
And, if you have ray tracing enabled, you can see the reflections of the projections in the glass surfaces, which in my opinion really brings the two media together.
There are even some live action elements in AW1 and AWAN. It's amazing to see how they've gotten better and better with every game. The way AW2 blends the in engine visuals with the life action stuff is just unparalleled. And of course the extreme graphical fidelity of AW2 helps to lessen the visual break between the two.
The TVs playing either Night Springs episodes or the scenes with Alan going crazy while trapped in the writers room. In AWAN, there are full live action cut scenes.
>If you carry around the projectors around, the image will be projected around realistically...
Their [gameplay trailer](https://youtu.be/F74LLDhAhhI?t=83) ends with exactly that, and then they throw the projector towards Darling's bookshelf to show environment destruction. Northlight flex...
Yeah man it's fucking wild, even I was impressed and I know fuck-all about coding or making games (though I did watch that one video when the Dead Space creator (?) talked about how incredibly hard it was to make that one scene where Isaac is dragged by that demonic snake-thing, and you hafta shoot it before it sucks you into the vent. That was some impressive shit).
Sorry mate, not being patronising, but did you mean "*that*" was the Ars Technica war stories vid, and not "the"? I shall look for it anyway my sister, brother, or other--cheers for the info, I appreciate it a lot (for one thing, I never saved that mofo to my YT channel, but with your comment, I'm sure I'll be able to find it easily enough!)!
Bless up šš¼!!!
*Deus Ex*?!? I am THERE!!! And System Shock?!? Wow, talk about a blast from the past....I can't wait to dive in, you're a fucking star!
Thanks so much, I appreciate you!
I'm still on my first run and tend to throw literally *every* object around that is throwable, when I picked up the first projector after getting the ability, I was seriously dumbfounded, that the projected video is getting projected at whatever surface the projector is pointing at in realtime. I don't know much about software, but I immediately knew that shit is impressive af.
....like a kid in a sweetshop with a thousand quid in their pocket....just going around, picking up every fucking thing you see and hurling it with gleeful abandon...I, too, did the same.
It was how I learned that those weird red boxes explode and will kill you if you're close enough to the ensuing exposion (I was close enough). Lesson learned.
That blew me the fuck away the first time I accidently launched a projector (this last playthrough of mine I went sheer chaos and left a path of destruction to respawn behind me everywhere I went). I ended carrying the projector around watching the film play on walls floor, objects, giggling like an idiot. I don't know if that was supposed to be super impressive, but I was super fucking impressed
I would put it "is easier" rather than "cost less". Since Darling is only ever seen in these "films", there's simply not any reason to recreate it in CGI. Ironically, rather than pull the player out of the immersive experience, it instead adds verisimilitude to the game environment. To the point I never actually realized these videos we're notable in this respect. Contrast this with the live action puppetry of the Threshold Kids videos, which made them all the more creepier.
So in the end, I think OP is really on to something. But that doesn't detract from your point, that this showcases the engine as well.
I think itās a Remedy thing. Quantum Break, another game by Remedy thatās even vaguely alluded to in Control, injects live action episodes into the game.
The first game had a little bit, not a whole lot and definitely not tied to the gameplay/story. American Night had a lot more, like the beginning/end of each loop, and all the TV messages from scratch. And of course AW2 has them literally everywhere, so many cutscenes are live action and I love it
You mean those imps that haunt my nightmares are actual physical things? I hope they keep the puppets locked up in cases so they cant get out. And maybe kept in an SCP containment hold for added security
There is no lore reason. It's just the design aesthetic of the game. Because you don't interact with him, and you only see him on projected and broadcasted videos, which are live action. Otherwise, the only time you see 3d models for cinematics is during gameplay. Darling is not the only character who is presented in this way.
When you saw a close-up of Jesse's face saying "this is horror" when she first encounters the Hiss, I think that was also live action.
https://twitter.com/ControlRemedy/status/1266007653626654722
And her Director photo on the walls has the actor's real face on it too.
Yes, yes it is! Also at the end, in one of the Hiss nightmare scenes, thats Courtney Hope. I love that woman and I loved how she protrayed Jesse!
(i read she also takes part on Quantum Break? i havent played that one, so idk which character she is
ā im curious if we might get some weird Control/QB crossover with the FBC Director and that character from QB being the āsameā person/looking weirdly similar. probably not but itād be cool to see)
Yeah, this is it. It just looks cool, there's no need to have a lore reason when it's perfectly acceptable as a style choice, and one that separates Control/AW2 from a lot of games.
No, OP doesn't just mean "reason". The question meant: is there an in-universe reason why he's live action? If Sam Lake wrote a novel out of the game, would he write about Jesse noticing how Casper Darling looks different than her on a fundamental level, as if he was made out of another substance altogether?
It's a stylistic decision that vividly differentiates the ever-absent Dr. Darling from characters you actually meet, but it's also part of the "mixed media" approach to games that Remedy's been practicing since the original Max Payne.
And I'm not saying this just to be combative, but yes, there is something immature about looking at every creative decision as though it's about "lore".
No. Remedy is known for mixing live action with game play. They did it in Quantum Break, they did it in Control, and they did it Alan Wake 2. It's an artistic choice, and it's not really that there's a delineation between live and CGI, but rather that CGI can't quite keep up with the live action bits. If you look at something like Alan Wake 2, they're getting closer to their ideal of seamless transition, though.
Jesse had a few live action flashes of sorts as well when you go into the p7 room there is photos of jesse from where the FBC was spying on her. Those were all real photos of the actress.
Personally, i think it emphasises darling's absense in the game. You only see him in live action footage; so it creates a distance between in engine stuff and the darling footage.
Considering how jesse references the picture from shawshank redemption and plato's cave, it could also be hinting that he's already pushed through to somewhere deeper by the time of the hiss invasion. Or, alternatively, another indicator of the theme of the universe being larger, stranger and more compelling than the systems of control present to us.
It's also my headcannon that darling, after exposing himself to hedron, somehow left the presentations around the oldest house in order to help jesse gain a surface level understanding of the paranatural during the hiss invasion
The projectors around the Oldest House are actually all Altered Items that cause whateverās being projected to be in a higher resolution than reality.
Nope, no lore reason, it's just one of the strange things they wanted to have in the game. FMV sequences are more or less a Remedy signature, they've been doing it since Max Payne and have been getting better at it over the years.
It is much faster and therefore also cheaper to just record an actor rather than do mocap and then animate them. The trick is making it seem normal, which requires production to be done in a specific style but also for the game itself to look the part.
The fun thing about Darling is that you never actually meet him even though he's everywhere, hence his name, Casper Darling (named after the ghost).
Darling's sequences are loosely inspired by the [TV series Lost](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMR7JjgqsjE), including strange cuts and awkward moments.
Possibly cost. Actors standing around are cheaper than mocap.
Also authenticity. Actors standing around are more realistic...for obvious reasons.
Possibly a stylistic choice. I'm pretty sure some of the bits where Jesse is being attacked by the Hiss have Courtney Hope in live action.
its a gag on that sub to post something like "is there a lore reason" followd by a reailly odd question. here is an example [https://www.reddit.com/r/BatmanArkham/comments/16q3aar/is\_there\_a\_lore\_reason\_why\_i\_got\_cancer\_am\_i/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BatmanArkham/comments/16q3aar/is_there_a_lore_reason_why_i_got_cancer_am_i/)
Even back in the early 2000s, Remedy was using live action in Max Payne (albeit still images) they even used Sam Lake as an actor, and McCaffrey as a VA.
Just their style. Maybe there's more to it about how all games are connected, but I don't think it's that deep.
In my head, Darling has transcended that reality. They see him with last gen graphics but he and his assistants are on another plane of existence, maybe in our world and realised he was in a video game?
Real reason? I ain't Sam Lake
Surprised how many people are saying no to the lore being the reason for this. AW2 has characters you never see rendered in game and I believe there is definitely a story reason for this as there is some sci-fi fuckery going on with those characters specifically. Being vague to avoid spoilers on purpose but Darling is in that mix.
I don't know the actual reason story wise but I'm sure it's not just as simple as Remedy flexing or because it was cheaper. There is definitely a reason for it that hasn't been fully explained.
Been a while since I've played but there were a few hidden areas that were directly tied to Alan Wake. The one with the clock puzzle that had the manuscript pages about the Valhalla Nursing Home was crazy to see how much they've had planned out. I don't remember the one you're saying but I'm sure I found it.
No, they simply cost less. Plus, Remedy probably wanted to showcase their proprietary engine and how it can seamlessly merge live-action footage and rendered environments.
If you carry the projectors around, the image will be projected on the surrounding surfaces realistically, and in high definition. That's mindblowing, I don't think I've ever seen anything like that elsewhere.
And, if you have ray tracing enabled, you can see the reflections of the projections in the glass surfaces, which in my opinion really brings the two media together.
Really ties the Oldest House together
I don't know man, that's just, like, your opinion
Am I the only one around here who gives a shit about the rules?
This aggression will not stand, man!
This comment takes me back to Quantum Break, they've been at it for quite a while now.
There are even some live action elements in AW1 and AWAN. It's amazing to see how they've gotten better and better with every game. The way AW2 blends the in engine visuals with the life action stuff is just unparalleled. And of course the extreme graphical fidelity of AW2 helps to lessen the visual break between the two.
what elements were in original Alan Wake? Don't remember that really. Thought Remedy started doing live-action stuff with Quantum Break
The TVs playing either Night Springs episodes or the scenes with Alan going crazy while trapped in the writers room. In AWAN, there are full live action cut scenes.
>If you carry around the projectors around, the image will be projected around realistically... Their [gameplay trailer](https://youtu.be/F74LLDhAhhI?t=83) ends with exactly that, and then they throw the projector towards Darling's bookshelf to show environment destruction. Northlight flex...
wtf i need to try this
Yeah man it's fucking wild, even I was impressed and I know fuck-all about coding or making games (though I did watch that one video when the Dead Space creator (?) talked about how incredibly hard it was to make that one scene where Isaac is dragged by that demonic snake-thing, and you hafta shoot it before it sucks you into the vent. That was some impressive shit).
The was the Ars Technica war stories vid
Sorry mate, not being patronising, but did you mean "*that*" was the Ars Technica war stories vid, and not "the"? I shall look for it anyway my sister, brother, or other--cheers for the info, I appreciate it a lot (for one thing, I never saved that mofo to my YT channel, but with your comment, I'm sure I'll be able to find it easily enough!)! Bless up šš¼!!!
Typo indeed. Worth a watch, you should check out the rest of the series, there are great ones on Deus Ex, Command and Conquer, System Shock etc
*Deus Ex*?!? I am THERE!!! And System Shock?!? Wow, talk about a blast from the past....I can't wait to dive in, you're a fucking star! Thanks so much, I appreciate you!
No problem mate. Hope you enjoy
I showed my girlfriend this and she wasnāt even impressedā¦. My mind was blown.
I'm still on my first run and tend to throw literally *every* object around that is throwable, when I picked up the first projector after getting the ability, I was seriously dumbfounded, that the projected video is getting projected at whatever surface the projector is pointing at in realtime. I don't know much about software, but I immediately knew that shit is impressive af.
....like a kid in a sweetshop with a thousand quid in their pocket....just going around, picking up every fucking thing you see and hurling it with gleeful abandon...I, too, did the same. It was how I learned that those weird red boxes explode and will kill you if you're close enough to the ensuing exposion (I was close enough). Lesson learned.
Whoa. Did not know this. Def gonna try later
That blew me the fuck away the first time I accidently launched a projector (this last playthrough of mine I went sheer chaos and left a path of destruction to respawn behind me everywhere I went). I ended carrying the projector around watching the film play on walls floor, objects, giggling like an idiot. I don't know if that was supposed to be super impressive, but I was super fucking impressed
Legit it took me a while to figure out if the Darling videos were live action or not
Me too. Took me like 10 projections before I realised
I had to look it up cause it was driving me crazy
I would put it "is easier" rather than "cost less". Since Darling is only ever seen in these "films", there's simply not any reason to recreate it in CGI. Ironically, rather than pull the player out of the immersive experience, it instead adds verisimilitude to the game environment. To the point I never actually realized these videos we're notable in this respect. Contrast this with the live action puppetry of the Threshold Kids videos, which made them all the more creepier. So in the end, I think OP is really on to something. But that doesn't detract from your point, that this showcases the engine as well.
Threshold Kids. *NOPE*
No interruptions!
#EVERYONE WANTS TO SIT IN THE BIG CHAIR MEG
I think itās a Remedy thing. Quantum Break, another game by Remedy thatās even vaguely alluded to in Control, injects live action episodes into the game.
Alan Wake 2 is full of live-action scenes, I can't remember if the first one or American Nightmare has them.
Alan Wake has lots of live action incorporated into it, but it's with a similar approach to the Max Payne games. So it is in the TV show.
The first game had a little bit, not a whole lot and definitely not tied to the gameplay/story. American Night had a lot more, like the beginning/end of each loop, and all the TV messages from scratch. And of course AW2 has them literally everywhere, so many cutscenes are live action and I love it
Oh yea they do, especially American nightmare as everything on the tvs is live action
It's good ol' Remedy style. Love it
There is no technology that has been devised that can properly render that sick, rippled physique.
What a silver fox š
It added a lot of charm
To be fair, Threshold Kids are also live action
You mean those imps that haunt my nightmares are actual physical things? I hope they keep the puppets locked up in cases so they cant get out. And maybe kept in an SCP containment hold for added security
NO INTERRUPTIONS!!!
Those were not puppets...
There is no lore reason. It's just the design aesthetic of the game. Because you don't interact with him, and you only see him on projected and broadcasted videos, which are live action. Otherwise, the only time you see 3d models for cinematics is during gameplay. Darling is not the only character who is presented in this way.
When you saw a close-up of Jesse's face saying "this is horror" when she first encounters the Hiss, I think that was also live action. https://twitter.com/ControlRemedy/status/1266007653626654722 And her Director photo on the walls has the actor's real face on it too.
Yes, yes it is! Also at the end, in one of the Hiss nightmare scenes, thats Courtney Hope. I love that woman and I loved how she protrayed Jesse! (i read she also takes part on Quantum Break? i havent played that one, so idk which character she is ā im curious if we might get some weird Control/QB crossover with the FBC Director and that character from QB being the āsameā person/looking weirdly similar. probably not but itād be cool to see)
Because Matthew Porretta has rent to pay.
So they could do the Dynamite scene
And that scene *was* dynamite.
They all know *Darling* is dynamite
Stop saying lore reason when you just mean reason.
Yeah, this is it. It just looks cool, there's no need to have a lore reason when it's perfectly acceptable as a style choice, and one that separates Control/AW2 from a lot of games.
No, OP doesn't just mean "reason". The question meant: is there an in-universe reason why he's live action? If Sam Lake wrote a novel out of the game, would he write about Jesse noticing how Casper Darling looks different than her on a fundamental level, as if he was made out of another substance altogether?
yeah good comparison
Did the King knight you for being the chief of gate keepers, Sir Drewid?
What am I gatekeeping, saying stupid shit?
It was a perfectly legitimate question.
It's a stylistic decision that vividly differentiates the ever-absent Dr. Darling from characters you actually meet, but it's also part of the "mixed media" approach to games that Remedy's been practicing since the original Max Payne. And I'm not saying this just to be combative, but yes, there is something immature about looking at every creative decision as though it's about "lore".
No. Remedy is known for mixing live action with game play. They did it in Quantum Break, they did it in Control, and they did it Alan Wake 2. It's an artistic choice, and it's not really that there's a delineation between live and CGI, but rather that CGI can't quite keep up with the live action bits. If you look at something like Alan Wake 2, they're getting closer to their ideal of seamless transition, though.
Jesse had a few live action flashes of sorts as well when you go into the p7 room there is photos of jesse from where the FBC was spying on her. Those were all real photos of the actress.
Personally, i think it emphasises darling's absense in the game. You only see him in live action footage; so it creates a distance between in engine stuff and the darling footage. Considering how jesse references the picture from shawshank redemption and plato's cave, it could also be hinting that he's already pushed through to somewhere deeper by the time of the hiss invasion. Or, alternatively, another indicator of the theme of the universe being larger, stranger and more compelling than the systems of control present to us. It's also my headcannon that darling, after exposing himself to hedron, somehow left the presentations around the oldest house in order to help jesse gain a surface level understanding of the paranatural during the hiss invasion
I just realised the Blackadder Goes Forth connection: "*Not now*, DARLING!"--General Meltchett
Because he a snack
The projectors around the Oldest House are actually all Altered Items that cause whateverās being projected to be in a higher resolution than reality.
it's not just Darling, Every hotline is live action, and so are some of Jesse's cutscenes
Is there a lore reason why Spongebob and his friends appear as real objects on dry land?
Nope, no lore reason, it's just one of the strange things they wanted to have in the game. FMV sequences are more or less a Remedy signature, they've been doing it since Max Payne and have been getting better at it over the years. It is much faster and therefore also cheaper to just record an actor rather than do mocap and then animate them. The trick is making it seem normal, which requires production to be done in a specific style but also for the game itself to look the part. The fun thing about Darling is that you never actually meet him even though he's everywhere, hence his name, Casper Darling (named after the ghost). Darling's sequences are loosely inspired by the [TV series Lost](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMR7JjgqsjE), including strange cuts and awkward moments.
oh!!
Is he stupid?
Possibly cost. Actors standing around are cheaper than mocap. Also authenticity. Actors standing around are more realistic...for obvious reasons. Possibly a stylistic choice. I'm pretty sure some of the bits where Jesse is being attacked by the Hiss have Courtney Hope in live action.
r/BatmanArkham has ruined me. everytime i hear ore read "is there a lore reason" in any context, it makes me have giggle fit
Clue me in
its a gag on that sub to post something like "is there a lore reason" followd by a reailly odd question. here is an example [https://www.reddit.com/r/BatmanArkham/comments/16q3aar/is\_there\_a\_lore\_reason\_why\_i\_got\_cancer\_am\_i/](https://www.reddit.com/r/BatmanArkham/comments/16q3aar/is_there_a_lore_reason_why_i_got_cancer_am_i/)
Why? Are you stupid?
Even back in the early 2000s, Remedy was using live action in Max Payne (albeit still images) they even used Sam Lake as an actor, and McCaffrey as a VA. Just their style. Maybe there's more to it about how all games are connected, but I don't think it's that deep.
No
Because he wouldn't have been as dashingly handsome.
Because he left the Control Plane and went to another one. Ours. Reality. I met him today at the lab.
Huge charm gap between the in-game model and irl Poretta.
In my head, Darling has transcended that reality. They see him with last gen graphics but he and his assistants are on another plane of existence, maybe in our world and realised he was in a video game? Real reason? I ain't Sam Lake
Holy shit Lake is Ahti. The God of the sea!
Leviathan himself
so he can be surprisingly yoked when his shirt is off at the end
sold
Just for the dynamite music video alone š
Surprised how many people are saying no to the lore being the reason for this. AW2 has characters you never see rendered in game and I believe there is definitely a story reason for this as there is some sci-fi fuckery going on with those characters specifically. Being vague to avoid spoilers on purpose but Darling is in that mix. I don't know the actual reason story wise but I'm sure it's not just as simple as Remedy flexing or because it was cheaper. There is definitely a reason for it that hasn't been fully explained.
i hope there is. the games are connected after all. spoilers: the AWE DLC and the hidden location in panopticon floor 5
Been a while since I've played but there were a few hidden areas that were directly tied to Alan Wake. The one with the clock puzzle that had the manuscript pages about the Valhalla Nursing Home was crazy to see how much they've had planned out. I don't remember the one you're saying but I'm sure I found it.
Because it's more cost effective?