Sometimes, the best way that an actor can showcase their talents is by branching out of their comfort zone. Usually that looks something like a familiar comic actor taking a more serious, dramatic role. For instance, John Krasinski made a name for himself on The Office, but after the sitcom ended, he started to pick up lots of action roles. It’s good to see actors push their boundaries, but sometimes, it’s even better to see them push out of film and TV altogether. Lots of TV and movie actors are actively exploring video games as an acting medium, such as Far Cry 6‘s Giancarlo Esposito. Another actor putting his foot forward is Vin Diesel, as is evidenced by the recent reveal of Ark 2.
Vin Diesel stars as Santiago in Studio Wildcard’s upcoming sequel to Ark: Survival Evolved. However, this isn’t the first time that Vin Diesel has interacted with gaming before. He’s developed something of a reputation in the gaming community for his adoration of Dungeons and Dragons, and he’s played roles in a few video games before Ark 2 as well. He seems to be returning to video games after something of an extended hiatus. In order to get a sense of Diesel’s experience in video games, it’s valuable to look back on his past roles.
In the early 2000s, Vin Diesel was quickly developing a reputation as a steely-willed action star with a memorably deep voice. One of his signature roles at the time was Richard B. Riddick, the main character of the Chronicles of Riddick franchise. These movies spawned two video games: 2004’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay and 2009’s The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena. Both games were played in first person and blended action-adventure with stealth elements. Escape from Butcher Bay was a huge success, receiving high praise from critics across the board, and five years later, Assault on Dark Athena was warmly received as well.
It’s evident that working on Escape from Butcher Bay was to Vin Diesel’s liking, because he didn’t only work on tie-ins to his movies in this time. He also starred in Wheelman in 2009, in which he played Milo Burik, a CIA agent sent on an undercover mission in Barcelona, where he enters the city’s criminal underworld in search of sensitive documents being bought and sold by local crime syndicates. The game can be described as a cross between Grand Theft Auto and The Fast and The Furious, focusing heavily on driving while fighting through Barcelona. The game featured a unique Airjack mechanic that allowed Milo to leap from one moving car to another and hijack the new vehicle. Unfortunately, Wheelman wasn’t as well-loved as the Riddick games, and only got mixed reviews.
After Wheelman and Assault on Dark Athena, Vin Diesel took an extended hiatus from video games. However, 2020 proved that Vin Diesel is getting back into the medium. In early August, Fast and Furious Crossroads released for PC, PS4, and Xbox One, starring Vin Diesel in his longtime role as Dominic Toretto. While there have been many Fast and Furious games and crossovers with other racing games, this was notably the first time Diesel played Toretto in a video game. Naturally, Crossroads was racing focused, but included action RPG elements and involved using weapons on cars to destroy obstacles. Despite Vin Diesel’s contributions, Crossroads generally received negative reviews.
Even so, Diesel is clearly far from deterred from exploring video games, as his role in Ark 2 makes apparent. It’s worth noting that, while he only contributed voices for his characters in the 2000s, his newest roles involved motion capture as well. Maybe his experiences as Groot in the Marvel Cinematic Universe have made Vin Diesel develop an interest in motion capture acting. Details on Ark 2 are scarce for now, since the game was just announced, but Studio Wildcard could have more to say about the game in early 2021. Vin Diesel’s skills have taken him far and wide, and it’s good to see him continue to experiment. There’s always room for more talented contributors like him in the game industry.
Ark 2 is in development.
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