The modern video game industry constructs characters through a complex synthesis of creative disciplines: writing, animation, voice acting, and motion capture (mocap). This collaborative process, while yielding highly detailed digital personalities, often creates friction when traditional awards attempt to recognize individual talent.
A recent and highly relevant example stems from the celebrated title, *Clair Obscur: Expedition 33*. The character Gustave, a key figure in the narrative, ignited a conversation within the industry regarding the efficacy and fairness of the “Best Performance” category at major events like The Game Awards (TGA).
The Unseen Contributor: Mocap vs. Voice
At the center of this debate is Maxence Cazorla, the actor responsible for Gustave’s physical embodiment via motion capture. While the distinguished voice actor Charlie Cox received the sole nomination for Best Performance at TGA for his vocal contribution to Gustave, Cazorla’s critical physical performance remained, by design of the category, uncredited.
Cazorla’s stance is one of pragmatic realism: isolating a single facet of a composite character for recognition is illogical and inevitably renders the contributions of others—namely mocap artists and writers—invisible. Acknowledging the kindness of Cox, who publicly stated that Cazorla deserved equal recognition, Cazorla highlights that true character development is a cumulative effort. Gustave, like many contemporary protagonists, is a **combination of these two performances**, meticulously layered upon stellar writing and development work.
The irony inherent in this situation is acute. Mocap artists spend days in specialized suits, meticulously crafting the non-verbal communication, posture, and kinetic energy that define a character`s presence. Yet, when the digital character steps into the limelight, the award often defaults solely to the voice—a critical, but partial, contribution.
A Structural Deficit in Major Awards
The current “Best Performance” category assumes a singular artist can deliver the entire character experience, a model arguably outdated since the widespread adoption of split performance capture (where body and voice are delivered by separate professionals). Cazorla suggests that this structural deficit demands correction. His proposal is a shift toward a **”Best Character”** category, an approach he deems “more logical.”
Why “Best Character”? Because this award would celebrate the unified outcome: the writing, the vocal delivery, the physical manifestation, and the animation that brings them all together. It is an award that acknowledges the complex production pipeline rather than clinging to the antiquated notion of a single theatrical star embodying the role completely.
“Isolating a single performer and potentially leaving others invisible,” Cazorla observed, is the fundamental flaw in the current model. The goal is not to divide the spoils further, but to ensure the true nature of the collaborative artistry is recognized.
The DICE Awards Precedent: A Functional Model
Cazorla points directly to the DICE Awards (The D.I.C.E. Summit), which have already implemented this intelligent approach. The DICE Awards often recognize the character itself—the final, cohesive product—rather than nominating a single actor. This system successfully bypasses the controversy of separating voice from physical action, which is particularly complex when considering that some projects utilize a primary actor for full performance capture, while others rely on teams of specialized stunt and mocap performers.
For instance, the character Indiana Jones from *Indiana Jones and the Great Circle* recently won the corresponding DICE award. That recognition celebrated the entire character package, even though in that specific case, actor Troy Baker provided both the voice and the motion capture.
This “Best Character” philosophy is the **fairest way to celebrate performers**, recognizing that a powerful digital figure is rarely the product of a single isolated individual, but rather a testament to layered creative development.
The Future of Recognition
Whether award organizers, such as Geoff Keighley for The Game Awards, will adopt this model remains to be seen. Given the high-profile success of *Expedition 33* (which, notwithstanding recent controversy surrounding its Indie Game of the Year title due to AI concerns, was named GameSpot’s own Game of the Year), the discussion surrounding its performance credits serves as a crucial inflection point.
If major video game awards seek to maintain relevance and accurately reflect industry practices, they must update their mechanisms of praise. Until then, the Maxence Cazorlas of the world—the technical architects of digital life—will continue to perform their incredible, yet often unseen, work just outside the glow of the spotlight.
