Just over a month ahead of Ascendant Studios’ fantasy-shooter Immortals Of Aveum launching, leading star Darren Barnet has told NME that he’s already keen to sign up for a sequel.
A new trailer for Immortals Of Aveum debuted yesterday (June 9) at Summer Game Fest, showcasing Barnet’s character — Jak, a warrior with magical powers — in action.
While Barnet appeared on-stage to introduce the game’s latest trailer, the Never Have I Ever star also took time to talk NME through his debut gaming role.
“It’s been amazing,” shared Barnet, who has been working on the game for four years.
“It was a strange time doing it during the height of COVID, because we started with motion capture and video game recording,” he explained. “I had to make a sound studio in a closet in a hotel room in Canada, and record part of it there, then come back to LA [for motion capture]. It’s great because you don’t really have to worry about what you look like — there’s no makeup and hair, which is very fun. It’s all about the performance, which is great.”
Barnet’s first experience with motion capture was “so rewarding,” and the actor describes the process as being “the closest thing to theatre” due to the importance of getting every line and movement right during each session. From his experiences playing Jak, Barnet says he can see why gaming is a big draw for actors right now.
“It’s an interesting era for an actor because there are so many different mediums you can act in now, it’s not just film and television,” shared Barnet. “[Gaming] is a fun, creative space. You’re doing things that are different to being on a normal set, and you’re getting to explore a character in a much different way. And the product — knowing you can play and see yourself in the game — is kind of thrilling.”
Although Immortals Of Aveum doesn’t launch until July 20, Barnet tells NME that he’s already interested in giving the EA-published game a sequel.
“If they wanted to have me in the writing room for a potential sequel, I’d be there,” he shared. When asked if there would still be room to go back and visit his character, Barnet teased that there’s “room for an entire world beyond this, for sure”.
Beyond a follow-up to Immortals Of Aveum, Barnet says he’s eager to be “more heavily involved in” the game industry. “I would love to be part of developing [a game], or helping write it, things like that. That’s definitely something that’s on my radar.”
When asked about the types of stories he would like to explore, Barnet first stressed that a sequel to Immortals Of Aveum would be “a lot of fun” — though he’d also be interested in creating a “cool gangster drama” set in the same “kind of world” as Martin Scorsese‘s Boston crime thriller The Departed.
Elsewhere, Summer Game Fest also saw John Carpenter step into the gaming world with an upcoming shooter he’s collaborated on.