By Kyle Wilson

We know Santa Monica Studio’s Game of the Year-nominated action-adventure God of War Ragnarök is packed with many memorable characters. Undoubtedly, however, one of the most fascinating is the side character Ræb from Svartalfheim. Not only is this dwarf playing a strange musical instrument, the character is actually portrayed by the game’s composer, Bear McCreary. If this easy-to-miss supporting role still fails to impress you, McCreary has revealed that his motion capture performance for Ræb was the most technically demanding in the entire game — something he never anticipated having to do.

In a post on the PlayStation Blog, McCreary talked about composing the Huldra Brothers theme and his work on God of War Ragnarök. He explained he was “blown away” by Ræb’s concept art and the invitation to play the character based on his likeness.

After seeing the artwork depicting “a stocky dwarf holding a beautiful hurdy-gurdy with a familiar, perhaps even handsome face”, McCreary soon found himself at Santa Monica Studio, “not as a composer, but as a performer”, to voice the character for God of War Ragnarök, joining the rest of the game’s talented cast.

McCreary recalled that when he first stepped onto the motion capture stage, he was initially “struck by how bare it looked”. But once he saw Ræb mirroring every movement he made on screen, he quickly became “delighted like a kid with a new toy”.

Interestingly, McCreary shared that Ræb’s motion capture was so intricate because “much of his performance involved playing an instrument.”

“Normally, one or two sensors are placed on the hands to capture arm movement, and all the fine finger motion is usually animated later,” McCreary explained. But to make Ræb’s hurdy-gurdy play accurately in-game required an unprecedented level of detail for motion capture — something Santa Monica Studio “had never done before”. Multiple sensors were fitted to McCreary’s fingers and the instrument itself to precisely record his movements while playing, achieving this high fidelity.

While McCreary found this advanced motion capture session thrilling, “nothing prepared me for the excitement of recording Ræb’s dialogue weeks later.” From McCreary’s account, no matter how familiar he was with performances from other actors, the whole process proved an eye-opening experience.

“I had never acted formally before, yet I found the collaborative creative process working with Matt as a performer similar to when I score narratives alongside directors and producers… I drove home from the recording studio lightheaded with my heart pounding. I can say for certain those few hours recording Ræb’s dialogue were among the most exhilarating creative experiences of my life.”

Ræb only appears in one realm within God of War Ragnarök, yet he forms a meaningful part of Kratos’ journey and should not be overlooked. We will definitely keep a close eye on his handiwork.