‘Baldur’s Gate 3’ Developer Larian Studios Enlisted Professional Intimacy Coordinators To Assist With The Game’s Numerous Sex Scenes
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Developer Larian Studios is confirmed to be the latest production and one of the first fully-rendered video game productions to utilize professional intimacy coordinators brought on to assist with sex scenes in Baldur’s Gate 3.
A Mind Flayer in Baldur’s Gate 3 (2023) via Larian Studios, YouTube
Developed by Larian Studios, Baldur’s Gate 3 is a sprawling open-ended Dungeons & Dragons-inspired role-playing game consisting of customizable genitals and over 17,000 potential endings.
One of the most significant of endings lies at the end of the game’s romance paths, which includes an infamous scene that sees the player having sexual intercourse with Haslin the Druid, who shape-shifts into a bear for their intimate act.
In a video posted on the developer’s official YouTube channel from a few years back, Larian Studios revealed all cinematic cutscenes in Baldur’s Gate 3 were filmed using motion capture.
Astarion and Halsin in bear form in Panel From Hell: Release Showcase (2023), Larian Studios
SAG-AFTRA defines intimacy coodinator as “an advocate, a liaison between actors and production, and a movement coach and/or choreographer in regards to nudity and simulated sex and other intimate and hyper-exposed scenes.”
Unlike movies and TV, the intimacy coordinators brought on for Baldur’s Gate 3 assisted with motion captured actors for video games are suited up in gear rather than undress for intimate scenes.
Voice actresses Jennifer English and Devora Wilde, Shadowheart and Lae’zel in Baldur’s Gate 3, revealed Larian Studios enlisted the assistance of professional intimacy coordinators to help members of the cast feel less pressure during the filming of romance scenes that could be uncomfortable to shoot.
Shadowheart in Baldur’s Gate 3 – Release and Reveal Date Trailer (2023), Larian Studios
Wilde told BBC news how grateful she was that game developer Larian enlisted the specially trained intimacy coordinators to prepare the Baldur’s Gate 3 cast for the filming of the game’s numerous sex scenes.
Despite having the trained intimacy coordinators, English confessed to feeling some weirdness while recording the scenes. “I never felt ‘yuck’ in a recording session at all. And I’ve got quite a low ‘yuck’ threshold.”
Regarding the infamous viral bear scene — which got Larian Studios temporarily banned from TikTok — Wilde said she found the whole situation amusing. “It just shows you how crazy in the best possible way this game is.”
A Tiefling Bard uses his powers while his human ally stands battle-ready via Baldur’s Gate III (2023), Larian Studios
Larian Studios themselves, BBC reports, expect other studios to follow suit and begin hiring intimacy coordinators for their own games’ sex scenes.
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