Indiana Jones and the Great Circle: How Troy Baker Became a Hero

You might not expect one of the world’s most famous video game actors to suffer from imposter syndrome.

But, as Troy Baker will tell you, no one is immune.

His most famous character is Joel Miller, the protagonist of the post-apocalyptic adventure The Last of Us – a game regularly praised for its storytelling and performances.

He has also appeared in popular series including BioShock, Uncharted and Batman: Arkham.

But stepping into the lead role of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle was a different matter.

Troy says playing the iconic role of Oscar nominee Harrison Ford was difficult for him too.

“I turned it down,” he tells BBC Newsbeat, thinking back to when he was first offered the job.

“I was scared. I realized what the character meant.”

Troy says the performance capture team at developer MachineGames convinced him to change his mind, but there was one more person he had to win over.

Todd Howard, the boss of publisher Bethesda, had long dreamed of making an Indiana Jones game and oversaw the project.

But, Troy says, he “rolled his eyes” when the actor was first introduced.

Howard felt it would ruin the experience for players who were used to hearing it.

“I never thought my success would actually work against me,” says Troy.

Troy says that instead of landing the role, he had to audition with dozens of other people.

It eventually came down to him and another actor. The decision was left to a test audience and a “blind taste test” where they had to choose their favorite performance.

“Todd Howard said he picks you every time,” says Troy.

“And I thought that was a compliment.

“He was like: ‘No, it’s a challenge. That’s the standard’.”

The weight of expectation isn’t just on Troy’s shoulders – anticipation for Indiana Jones’ first video game release in more than 15 years is high.

Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax was bought by Microsoft in 2020, before it acquired Activision-Blizzard last year. for a record-breaking $69bn.

The games it nabbed in that deal — including Call of Duty and Warcraft — have continued to be successful, but its gaming division hasn’t had any new in-house hits this year.

They’re hoping Indiana Jones can change that.

Production on the game’s sets was superb, Troy says, with crews accurately representing boats, planes and other locations on giant motion-capture stages.

That’s not unusual for a blockbuster video game in 2024, but it would mean that The Great Circle would need to sell well to recoup the costs of making it.

The game will initially come out on Xbox and PC, and Microsoft recently announced that it will be released on the rival platform PlayStation 5.

This angered Xbox fans, who accused him of going back on promises to keep the game exclusive, but the company has stated that its main goal is to get its games on as many devices as possible..

Axel Torvenius, creative director at Swedish developer MachineGames, speaks to Newsbeat as The Great Circle is put through the finishing touches ahead of its release.

He doesn’t go deep into feature details but says he’s “happy” the game will be widely available.

Axel says his biggest concern was figuring out how to use the team’s expertise to create an adventure that felt authentic to its inspiration.

The studio is known for its work on the rebooted Wolfenstein series.

Like Indiana Jones, the 3D shooter’s hero William “BJ” Blazkowicz takes on Nazi enemies, but he does so using increasingly destructive firearms.

Axel says that this won’t go down well with the adventurous archeologist.

“It’s not Indiana Jones, it’s not the brand we’re working with. It’s something else,” he says.

Indiana Jones relies more on stealth than direct confrontation, and the game features many puzzles.

The game is also played from a first-person perspective, a decision Axel says was made early in the game’s development.

“We’re trying to make you feel like Indiana Jones, like literally stepping into his shoes and seeing the world through his eyes,” he says.

“There’s an intimacy you can’t get in third person.”

Mario Gavriles, who plays The Great Circle’s villain, Voss, had a slightly less rocky road landing the part.

Like Troy, he has also previously worked in video games, primarily re-voicing characters from English to German.

This is the first time he has been part of an original cast, and his character’s appearance is self-created.

Mario, who also has a TV credit to his name in Germany, says there is more crossover potential with video games.

While understanding the performance of motion capture – the problem Currently at the center of the actors’ strike. – Growing up, he tells Newsbeat that not everyone appreciates his work.

“Often we are referred to as voice actors,” says Marius.

“What we are actually doing is full acting.

“That’s something people forget, like we’re not just making noise.

“It’s the whole body, it’s the whole performance that’s being captured.”

Early reviews of The Great Circle’s acting have been positive. Many critics praised Troy’s version of Indiana Jones.

This will come as a relief to the actor, who tells Newsbeat that he spent his first days on set worried that he would be fired after Todd Howard’s initial skepticism.

But, he says, an email from the boss during the recording helped settle his nerves.

“He said: ‘You’re doing a hell of a job’,” says Troy.

“And I was like: ‘You have no idea how much I need to hear this right now’.

The final decision will come from the players when they get their hands on the game, and Troy says he plans to join them.

“I’ve already experienced this as an actor,” he says.

“But there’s nothing like picking up the controller and now you’re Indiana Jones. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.

“If you get to the end of the game and you’re like, ‘I was Indiana Jones,’ then I’ve done my job.”

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