Richard Armitage to voice Bhairava in virtual reality video game

Richard Armitage will be the new voice and likeness of Bhairava.

 

Several outlets are now reporting that Richard Armitage will be revealed Monday morning as the voice and likeness of the main character of a new virtual-reality videogame, called Embracing the Vampire, developed for the Oculus Go standalone headset platform. Players who already own a headset will be able to download a game app for a $4.99 monthly subscription price.

Armitage will be playing the character of Bhairava, named after the Hindu god of annihilation. Bhairava will appear in the avatar of a mutant vampire with pale skin, sparkly lips, gleaming teeth and dangerously spiky stubble. He will be the darkest of the vampires and appear at the most advanced levels of the game. Players will not only hear his voice, they will also see his body and face in a series of gestures and poses captured through mocap and digitally enhanced for participants.

In the game, players are confronted with a series of challenges that lead them to confront mutant vampires. First they must seek out the vampire, then they must discover the reason for the mutation of each character and take countermeasures, before they are able to metaphorically defang their opponents. In the final phase of each level, however, the player must attempt to kiss the mutant vampire opponent while the vampire tries to bite them. The kiss with Bhairava must last a minimum of forty-five seconds before the level is completed. Players who are bitten before they can kiss the vampire, however, will lose the level and must sit out for five minutes while listening to Armitage’s narration of the Manhattan phone directory before they can attempt to kiss the avatar again.

Oculus Go offers the option of watching or playing with friends, so it will be possible for groups of up to three people to team up to neutralize Bhairava’s mutation and then kiss Armitage the vampire. The game producer was uncertain how many players would want to take advantage of this feature, but there will be bonuses for teams — possibly in the form of more kisses of the vampire for each player. The company spokesman refused to reveal the nature of Bhairava’s mutation or how it can be circumvented, but he assured us it would take lots of effort and “plenty of strokes.”

Oculus is optimistic that this game will draw many new players to the platform, which retails for around $200 U.S. However, an advisory downloaded with the app suggests that players locate themselves in a secluded area, as the head motions of the player — twitching back and forth in an attempt to avoid a bit or time a well-placed smooch on the vampire’s lips can be disturbing or hilarious to others who are not wearing the headsets. To some extent, the game producer admitted, they are counting on the possibility that players will let themselves be bitten repeatedly in VR in order to continue playing the game.

Neither Armitage nor his publicist has returned requests for confirmation.

April Fool!

[Servetus adds: but those rumors that he is on track to do a new sound effect for Candy Crush Soda Saga must be true.]

~ by Servetus on April 1, 2019.