Bringing Apex Legends character 'Mirage' to life at The Game Awards

The Game Awards took place at the Microsoft Theater on Thursday 12th December and was broadcast live on YouTube, among other channels. The highly anticipated annual awards ceremony honors achievements in the video game industry.

Co-directed by David Lawson, Lisha Tan and Creative Director Drew Stauffer, this never-before-seen blend between the virtual world and the real world all happened in real-time, allowing a virtual Mirage to interact with The Game Awards’ host, Geoff Keighley.

The high-energy live performance from actor Roger Craig Smith, who also brings Mirage to life in the game, was shot using motion-capture technology. The Animatrik team worked in partnership with Cubic Motion and The Mill’s Creative Technology department to develop a real-time rendered shooting technique. The team used the Unreal game engine to effectively direct the CG Mirage character, adjusting the character actions, the lighting, and even environmental textures, live. This one-to-one relationship, completely blurred the line between what is real and what is virtual.

A global audience watching every moment and the audience in attendance were stunned to witness such a monumental technical and creative achievement. This ground-breaking, immersive experience, delighted fans for Apex Legends, and subsequently launched a new era and medium in live entertainment.