Capturing Emotion and Movement for War of Being: A GAIN-Funded Collaboration

07 Apr 2025

As part of the Games and Innovation Nexus (GAIN), UCA’s motion capture studio recently hosted a unique creative collaboration with the team behind War of Being, an ambitious narrative-led game developed by conceptual metal band TesseracT and game director Dan Tompkins.

As part of the Games and Innovation Nexus (GAIN), UCA’s motion capture studio recently hosted a unique creative collaboration with the team behind War of Being, an ambitious narrative-led game developed by conceptual metal band TesseracT and game director Dan Tompkins.

This Knowledge Exchange project brought together cutting-edge performance capture technology and a highly imaginative storytelling world—blending music, gameplay, and cinematic visuals. Funded through GAIN, the collaboration provided dedicated access to UCA’s motion capture facilities, enabling the team to record bespoke character performances for key scenes within the game. 

Dan Tompkins, also the frontman of TesseracT, shared his vision in a recent behind-the-scenes feature. “It’s always been about world-building,” he explains. “We wanted to create something that allowed us to tell stories beyond music—something fully immersive.” UCA’s resources and technical team played a vital role in achieving this, with multiple character performances brought to life in a single day of capture.

In addition to the motion capture work, UCA’s Industry Engagement Lead and Director of the Games Incubator Studio, Andrew Bossom, has been consulting on the project—enhancing the user interface and leading the development of 3D character models. This work is being carried out in collaboration with UCA graduate Jamie Fisher, exemplifying the university’s commitment to supporting emerging talent and creating direct pipelines from education to industry.

For UCA, the project highlights the value of supporting indie developers and creative storytellers through access to advanced technology and cross-disciplinary expertise. It also reinforces the university’s commitment to building impactful partnerships that push the boundaries of what’s possible in games, film, and digital arts.

The War of Being game is currently in development and has already captured the imagination of fans across the music and gaming communities, and can be wishlisted on Steam now. UCA is proud to have played a role in helping shape its next chapter.