#randy yuen

[lulu2992]

On the occasion of Far Cry 5’s fifth anniversary, they played the game live on Ubisoft’s Twitch channel. The stream was hosted by Chris Watters and featured Drew Holmes, the lead writer, as a special guest to talk about the game and answer a few questions. Here is a summary of what they said.

Drew Holmes explained he started working on Far Cry 5 around January or February 2016. He had played the previous Far Cry games but it was his first time working on one. He’s never been to Montana, but a large portion of the team visited the state before he joined Ubisoft. When asked what his feelings were, five years ago, when they were about to release Far Cry 5, he said launching a game is always weird because you work on it for years and, when it’s finally “out in the wild”, you suddenly have no control over it anymore. As a developer, you hope players will like it, but you are never sure… Thankfully, in this case, the reception was great, and it was even the best launch for a Far Cry game at the time.

As the lead writer, his job was to write, of course (mostly the cutscenes), but he was also involved in the casting process, supervised the performance capture shoots, and worked closely with the writing staff (which was “huge”) as well as all the other teams to make sure everything was “cohesive”. Each region had its own main writer so communication was essential, especially on a game as big as this one.

It was important for them that the story wasn’t just told in main missions and cutscenes; the world had to feel alive and believable. Information can be gathered through talking with NPCs, playing side missions, and reading documents, so everything moves the story forward. They also wanted the characters’ personalities to feel real and made sure each of them was clearly part of the game’s world, even the Seeds, whose impact on that county they’ve been living in for years had to be tangible. When they created the Guns for Hire, they wanted them to have strong personalities and unique abilities. These characters have all grown up in Hope County, know each other “to varying degrees”, and have a history with the locations, so everything they say had to reflect this.

They recruited Sharky during the live stream so they talked a bit more about him. Drew Holmes said they imagined this character before they got the idea of bringing “long-time Far Cry superstar” Hurk back in Far Cry 5. When they decided that they were cousins and what their relationship was like (Sharky admires his older cousin, the “world traveler”), it became easier for them to write him and for Dylan Taylor, who plays both characters, to get inspired. He ended up improvising about 75% of Hurk’s lines… which was great but would sometimes become a problem because missions are written and designed a certain way.

As he had already revealed recently, Drew Holmes had “no idea” all the Guns for Hire could hang out at the 8-Bit Pizza Bar. He even initially wondered if people on social media were “lying” about this because, although the team did want to create a place for these characters to meet and talk to each other (because many conversations were written and recorded), they had been told including that in the game wouldn’t be possible. But it turns out one of the devs did it in secret anyway, much to everyone’s surprise and delight.

Drew Holmes particularly enjoys the Prepper Stashes because they all have “a great puzzle design” thanks to “smart level designers”, and because they also give information about the world. They are an opportunity for players to “breathe” and experience “contemplative exploration”.

In Far Cry 3 and Far Cry 4, he thought the story was more linear, while in Far Cry 5, they needed to have “a 360 approach” and think about all the ways players could play the missions. In previous games, he also thought the cutscenes were mostly people talking and that players were just spectators, and he said that’s one of the limits of first-person games. In Far Cry 5, the goal was to make players feel like they were part of the action and not just the camera. This is why we carry crates to help Mary May after liberating Fall’s End, for example, or fly with Faith the first time we visit the Bliss.

Speaking of this scene, Drew Holmes said they wanted Jenessa Grant to actually “fly” so the cutscene would have a “weird ethereal quality” to it. To achieve this, they didn’t tie her to a rope… but hired ballet dancers to carry her around! This scene, which he remembers writing at 3 am one night, took about half a day to rehearse, but it was worth it.

There were other stunts in the game that forced the team to think of creative ways to shoot the scenes in performance capture and achieve the results they wanted. They built a fake helicopter for the opening mission and flipped it over with everyone inside, including “the Randycam” (Randy Yuen, camera specialist, who “played” the Deputy), so they really were upside down. And when the Marshal swims out of the car at the end of the prologue, they made a stuntman “swim through the air on a rig”. Drew Holmes gave a shout-out to David Footman, cinematic director, for all his “crazy ideas”.

When Chris talked about how cool he thought the opening cinematic was because learning about Eden’s Gate through interviews and from other characters’ points of view was a great idea, Drew Holmes explained that what they say is inspired by how real-life cults operate. Usually, at first, a few people move in, buy some land to “get a foothold”, and are joined by more and more people until they can be “the majority on the city council” and start passing laws. Then, they basically own the town, and other people either join them or go live elsewhere, but those who want to leave can’t sell their properties because the cult has driven the prices down… That’s basically the stories the team heard when they did research and worked with cult advisors.

Chris also asked about the Seed family and why they are always so close to the camera (and the player). Drew Holmes said there are several reasons. First, because they wanted the game to be immersive, they needed other characters (not just the Seeds) to have this proximity with the Deputy, to engage the player as a person and make them feel involved. Second, they had a very talented cast, so the closer the camera is, the better you can appreciate the “strong performances” they all delivered. And finally, when villains invade your personal space, you “tense up” and it’s “uncomfortable”, and the dev team wanted this too. In video games, he said it’s important to think about “what you want, emotionally, from the players”.

When asked who he thought the “most twisted” Herald was, he initially answered it was “a tie” between John and Jacob because the former tortures people and the latter “ate his friend” (which “sets you on a weird path” in life). At first, he said that, compared to her brothers, Faith was “more of a victim of Joseph”, but on second thought, since she’s “taken and run with it”, and because of the way she used the Deputy’s friends and killed “poor Virgil” as well as Burke, he concluded she was, in fact, as twisted as the other two. In the end, he thinks they are “all pretty bad”.

He was also asked about the Deputy and who they were as an individual. He sees them as someone who would always do whatever they can to help the people around them but who suddenly finds themselves “thrust into this insane situation”. They are a young, normal person in “a crazy context”, but also the only one who can truly do something about it and make a difference. But because they are a silent protagonist, making them feel like a real person was challenging, and this is why the rest of the cast had to be “very fleshed out”. Other characters had to be able to give some perception of what the Deputy would say if they had a voice.

It’s hard for Drew Holmes to pick a favorite mission or storyline in Far Cry 5, but he would probably choose one of Hurk Drubman Senior’s missions… even though he admits he’s a “very divisive character” and even a “piece of crap”. He also thinks Kim Rye is great, and the “Butch and Sundance” joke is one of his favorites.

Fun fact: they used the same animation for when the Deputy is on fire and when they are attacked by bees. He humorously called it “efficiency” and said that, when you tell people to act like they’re “putting out fire” or “swatting bees”, they do the same thing anyway.

[voices-of-hope-county]

Are there, by chance, voice files of the female deputy actually speaking, or a name of the voice actor who recorded the sound effects?

The female Deputy never speaks, but it sounds to me like she has the same voice actor as one of the cultists. You can find a transcript of most of her lines in this document if you search for “CULT_FOLLOWER_FEMALE_05”. One of the Angels might be played by the same person too.

I know Randy Yuen did motion capture for the Deputy in general, and maybe the male Deputy has his voice, but there is no information about who played “CULT_FOLLOWER_FEMALE_05” and the female Deputy…

The actor’s name must be in the credits, however, so probably one of these people:

VOICE TALENT Doug Abrahams Marty Adams Claire Armstrong Ted Atherton Kailea Banka Carolina Bartczak Lawrence Bayne Bruce Blain Jesse Bond Sarah Booth Marc-André Boulanger Wyatt Bowen Paul Braunstein Kimberly D. Brooks Jason Bryden Nicki Burke Mark Camacho Braeden Clarke Lucinda Davis Stacey DePass Bruce Edwards Jake Epstein Jonathan Goad Amber Goldfarb Alain Goulem Rob Greenway Gavin Hammon Ian Hanlin Lauren Jackson Julianne Jain Mara Junot Helen King Jameson Kraemer Gabe Kunda Tristan D. Lalla Erica Lindbeck Erin Mathews James Mathis III Jon McLaren Scott McNeil Cynthia Kaye McWilliams Chimwemwe Miller Julie Nathanson Mayko Nguyen Peter Outerbridge Lindsay Owen-Pierre Giles Panton Christopher Parson Kristen Peace Murry Peeters Simon Lee Phillips Geoffrey Pounsett Claire Rankin David Richmond-Peck Cara Ricketts Kyle Rideout Charlotte Rogers Paula Shaw Jesse Sherman Ivan Sherry Howard Siegel Jonathan Silver Dylan Taylor Jeff Teravainen Brett Watson Jane Wheeler Dan White Scott Whyte Debra Wilson Kim Yarbrough Farid Yazdani

And there is a little more information about who played who on IMDb.

This is all I know for the moment... but I hope it helps :)

[ulkaralakbarova]

The employees of an independent music store learn about each other as they try anything to stop the store being absorbed by a large chain. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Joe Reaves: Anthony LaPaglia Rex Manning: Maxwell Caulfield Jane: Debi Mazar Lucas: Rory Cochrane A.J.: Johnny Whitworth Debra: Robin Tunney Gina: Renée Zellweger Marc: Ethan Embry Berko: Coyote Shivers Warren: Brendan Sexton III Corey Mason: Liv Tyler Eddie: James ‘Kimo’ Wills Mitchell Beck: Ben Bode Croupier: Gary Bolen Woman at Craps Table: Kimber Sissons High Roller: Tony Zaar Reporter: Patt Noday Kathy: Julia Deane Autograph Girl: Kessia Embry Cop #1: Michele Seidman Cop #2: Diana Taylor Cop #3: Bernard Granger Cop #4: Michael Harding Lead Singer: Dave Brockie Flower Delivery Guy: Kawan Rojanatavorn Roulette Table Man: Corey Joshua Taylor Ballet Dancer: Melissa Caulfield Veronica: Lara Travis Film Crew: Director: Allan Moyle Screenplay: Carol Heikkinen Editor: Michael Chandler Production Design: Peter Jamison Art Direction: John Huke Set Decoration: Linda Spheeris Costume Design: Susan Lyall Producer: Tony Ludwig Producer: Arnon Milchan Producer: Michael G. Nathanson Producer: Alan Riche Co-Producer: Paul Kurta First Assistant Director: Joel Segal Second Assistant Director: Philip A. Patterson Camera Operator: Mitchell Amundsen Steadicam Operator: Rick Raphael First Assistant Camera: John Verardi Second Assistant Camera: Ken Hudson “B” Camera Operator: Jeff Moore Still Photographer: Jim Bridges Second Unit Director of Photography: Carolyn Chen Director of Photography: Walt Lloyd Casting: Gail Levin Music Supervisor: Mitchell Leib Negative Cutter: Mo Henry Color Timer: Bob Putynkowski Music Consultant: Karen Glauber Music Editor: Sally Boldt Supervising Sound Editor: Randle Akerson Sound Effects Editor: Joe Earle Sound Effects Editor: Linda Keim Sound Effects Editor: David M. Horton Dialogue Editor: Adam Sawelson Dialogue Editor: Benjamin Beardwood Assistant Sound Editor: Jonathan Phillips Assistant Sound Editor: Bill Ward ADR Supervisor: Linda Folk ADR Editor: Sukey Fontelieu ADR Mixer: Dean Drabin ADR Mixer: Paul J. Zydel ADR Mixer: Christina Tucker ADR Voice Casting: Barbara Harris Foley Supervisor: David Horton Jr. Foley Mixer: Brian Ruberg Foley Artist: Sarah Monat Foley Artist: Robin Harlan Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Gary Alexander Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Don Digirolamo Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Scott Ganary Dolby Consultant: Douglas Greenfield Dialogue Coach: Naomi Joy Todd Craft Service: Theresa Honeycutt Transportation Coordinator: William “Bill” Pitts Transportation Captain: Jeff Long Construction Coordinator: Jeffrey Schlatter Construction Foreman: Ralph Woollaston Location Manager: Mary Weisgerber Meyer Location Manager: Molly Allen Casting Associate: Tricia Tomey Stunt Coordinator: Jery Hewitt Key Makeup Artist: Jeff Goodwin First Assistant Makeup Artist: Rick Pour Key Hair Stylist: Aaron F. Quarles First Assistant Hairstylist: Lizz Scalice Costume Supervisor: Carolyn Greco Costumer: Sevilla Granger Special Effects Coordinator: Greg Hull Sound Mixer: Douglas Axtell Boom Operator: Robert Maxfield Key Grip: Randy Tambling Best Boy Grip: Dennis Zoppe Dolly Grip: Rufus Granger Jr. Dolly Grip: Clarence Brown Gaffer: George Ball Rigging Gaffer: Scott Graves Production Coordinator: Cynthia Streit Assistant Production Coordinator: Amy Chance Script Supervisor: Annie Welles Second Second Assistant Director: Stefania Girolami Goodwin Unit Publicist: Alex L. Worman Production Accountant: Karen Eisenstadt Assistant Accountant: Rick Baer Property Master: Robert Beck Assistant Property Master: Beth Giles Assistant Art Director: John Frick Set Designer: Evelyne Barbier Set Designer: Tim Eckel Set Designer: Alan Hook Set Dresser: Colleen Broderick Art Department Coordinator: Susan Agnoff First Assistant “B” Camera: Joe D’Alessandro First Assistant Editor: Thomas J. Nordberg Assistant Editor: Pamela Jule Yuen Movie Reviews: Filipe Manuel Neto: **An animated film, full of rebellion and energy.** Remember the stores that sold...

[miyayuki5]

Banana Fish / Episode 21 Preview

“The Undefeated”

[marsjapanalicecawdron]

WHAT IS WIRE FU 

Wire fu is an element or style of Hong Kong action cinema used in fight scenes. It is a combination of two terms: "wire work" and "kung fu."

Wire fu is used to describe a subgenre of kung fu movies where the stuntmen's or actor's skill is augmented with the use of wires and pulleys, as well as other stage techniques, usually to perform fight-scene stunts and give the illusion of super-human ability (or qinggong). It is exemplified by the work of Tsui Hark, Yuen Woo-ping, and Jet Li. Hollywood has subsequently adapted the style for the American film industry Almost all modern wuxia movies fall in this category. Not all martial arts films use wire work.

In the Chinese-speaking world, martial arts films are commonly divided into two subcategories: the wuxia period films , and the more modern Kung fu films , best epitomized in the films of Bruce Lee).

Kung fu films are a significant movie genre in themselves. Like westerns for Americans, they have become an identity of Chinese cinema. As the most prestigious movie type in Chinese film history, kung fu movies were among the first Chinese films produced and the wuxia period films  are the original form of Chinese kung fu films. The wuxia period films came into vogue due to the thousands of years popularity of wuxia novels . For example, the wuxia novels of Jin Yong and Gu Long directly led to the prevalence of wuxia period films. Outside of the Chinese speaking world the most famous wuxia film made was the Ang Lee film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which was based on the Wang Dulu series of wuxia novels: it earned four Academy Awards, including one for Best Foreign Film.

Martial arts westerns are usually American films inexpensively filmed in Southwestern United States locations, transposing martial arts themes into an "old west" setting.

Few MMA stars such as Gina Carano and Randy Couture have introduced MMA style fighting in Hollywood movies. They have spiced up their fighting styles by including some improvisations to their existing techniques such as flying armbars etc. Kevin James starer “Here Comes the Boom” is a classic example of an MMA style Hollywood mainstream movie. Viewers understand that fighters in Hollywood movies are natural human beings devoid of mystical powers or Superhuman skills. Hence, they like watching realistic fighting techniques that are acceptable in the real world.

As the movie brimmed with brains, it was important to balance it out with an impressive amount of brawn. Dealing with digital reality gave the producers the freedom to push the boundaries of what might be humanly possibly to achieve in a fight scene. "If the characters in The Matrix can have information instantaneously downloaded into their heads, they should, for example, be able to be as good a Kung Fu master as Jackie Chan," says Larry Wachowski.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgL7f5DAcoI

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN_AUhvH8Sw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcwKEA1UwaA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjcv-JtUOgA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3c8Dl2c1whM  

[spradleylobbyist-blog]

Gov. John Bel Edwards, once long-shot candidate, building war chest ahead of 2019 re-election campaign

BY TYLER BRIDGES

Gov. John Bel Edwards began raising money for his re-election campaign only eight days after taking the oath of office in January 2016 and ended the year having collected about $3 million, according to his fundraisers.

Most of those who sponsored the events were business lobbyists and others with interests before the governor and the Legislature, which is the norm in a state where private dollars fund candidates’ campaigns.

Edwards and his political allies are expecting a tough re-election campaign in 2019 from well-funded Republicans determined to prove that his election in 2015 was an anomaly in a conservative state dominated by Republicans.

“If there is opposition, you have to have the resources early on to wage a campaign,” said Dale Atkins, who helped organize a Sept. 28 fundraiser at the New Orleans home of Terrell Clayton, a developer of affordable housing.

Edwards, a Democrat, is following the example set by his Republican predecessor, Gov. Bobby Jindal, who raised $3.4 million during his first year and had such a bulging war chest (and high approval ratings) when he ran for re-election in 2011 that no big-name Democrats dared challenge him.

“If I’m looking at running for governor and see a guy with $10 million in the bank a year beforehand, I would think twice about it,” said Atkins, who is the clerk of civil court in New Orleans.

Edwards’ success in 2016 speaks to the power of his office and stands in sharp contrast to the difficulty he faced raising money for more than two years during the governor’s race when he was a long-shot candidate.

The first event for Edwards, on Jan. 19, 2016, was organized by two Baton Rouge lobbying outfits, Spradley & Spradley and Roedel Parsons Koch Blache Balhoff & McCollister, and consisted of a dinner at Dooky Chase’s, the famed New Orleans restaurant. Cost of entry was $5,000 per donor, the maximum allowed.

“We decided to get together to have a fundraiser for the new governor and then talked to our clients,” said Tom Spradley, a veteran lobbyist for a variety of business interests.

Randy Haynie, another prominent lobbyist, hosted a $5,000 per couple fundraiser at his Lafayette home on Oct. 25.

The invitation host list included lobbyist Tyron Picard; trial attorneys Glenn Armentor, Jim Roy and Craig and Pat Morrow; state Sen. Eric LaFleur, D-Ville Platte; and former Gov. Kathleen Blanco and her husband Raymond.

“A lot of these folks were citizens in Lafayette Parish who own their own businesses and care about the state,” said Haynie, whose clients include the NFL, the tobacco giant Altria and the Harrah’s New Orleans Casino. “Very few in that audience deal with the state of Louisiana businesswise.”

Haynie said he has organized fundraisers for the past five governors and acknowledged that putting on these events helps his business.

“But I’d do it if I was retired,” he said, estimating that the event raised at least $150,000.

As at other events, Edwards mingled with the crowd, posed for selfies and spoke to the group about his goals for the state, including his plans for ending Louisiana’s budget problems.

A dinner at Arnaud’s restaurant in the French Quarter raised more than $1 million, said Dan Robin Sr., the main organizer. It is believed to have been the biggest single event for Edwards in 2016.

Richard Carbo, the governor’s spokesman, declined to discuss Edwards' 2016 fundraising or to provide a list of the events.

Edwards won’t have to provide the specifics until he files a campaign report on Feb. 15 for his 2016 activities.

Emelie Tenenbaum, who raised money for former U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu and worked for the nonprofit New Orleans Business Alliance, is the governor’s chief fundraiser.

Robin said the Sept. 7 event at Arnaud’s collected $5,000 apiece from some 220 people, the maximum number that could fit in the restaurant space. Donors got a seven-course meal that ended with café brûlot.

“I had to turn away a lot of people,” Robin said, adding that he’s planning to hold another event around the same time in 2017. “We’ve never had a more honest person around. He’s a great young man who cares about the state.”

Robin announced a year ago that he, his son Dan Robin Jr. and Ted Jones, a veteran Baton Rouge-based lobbyist who also organized the Arnaud’s event, had affiliated with a New Orleans law firm, Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert. The news caught the eye of political insiders because James Garner had been a top campaign attorney and adviser to U.S. Sen. David Vitter when Vitter lost the 2015 race to Edwards.

In 2016, Edwards included Garner on a team of private attorneys preparing a lawsuit against oil and gas companies that alleges their drilling activities caused the coast to erode and that will seek heavy damages to restore the lost land.

Garner raised money from clients for the Arnaud’s event.

Garner wasn’t the only foe from the 2015 campaign who raised money for Edwards last year.

Oil and gas interests, which favored Vitter, hosted two events for Edwards in January.

“I’m raising money where I can,” Edwards said in an interview then. “You can’t start too early or raise too much. Running for governor and running for re-election are expensive.”

He said political reality explains why the groups are hosting the events.

“They opposed me last year, and I’m governor this year,” he said.

After getting their contributions, Edwards tried to curtail tax breaks that benefit oil and gas interests, but the Legislature did not agree.

Edwards followed up the oil and gas fundraisers with a Feb. 4 event at the Squire Creek Country Club in Choudrant, just east of Ruston.

Afterward, the governor was busy working with legislators to resolve the state’s budget crisis during two special sessions and the regular session, followed by the massive flooding in metro Baton Rouge and the high-profile shootings that convulsed the region. (The governor cannot raise money during the regular session or for the following 30 days, according to the state’s ethics agency.)

On Sept. 20, he attended a fundraiser at the Shreveport Club hosted by three public officials — Shreveport Mayor Ollie Tyler, Bossier City Mayor Lorenz Walker and Caddo Parish District Attorney James Stewart Sr. — and Wayne Brown, owner of Brown Builders in Bossier City.

Stewart said Edwards got a good reception from the crowd.

“It wasn’t the normal politicos entirely,” Stewart said. “It was a lot of average people excited about the governor.”

On Oct. 19, Baton Rouge attorney Kris Kirkpatrick hosted Edwards at his home, with hosts contributing $5,000 and attendees $1,250.

Hosts included lobbyists C.J. Blache, Gabrielle Kees, Darrell Hunt and Paul Rainwater, who served as chief of staff to Jindal.

Another host was Richard Lipsey, a Republican gun store owner who provided an important endorsement of Edwards in the 2015 race and was named by the new governor as chairman of the Board of Regents, a plum patronage position that oversees the state’s higher education policies.

Another host was developer Mike Wampold, who got the Legislature to change state tax law that benefited the construction of his Watermark Baton Rouge hotel downtown.

On Nov. 28, Edwards attended an event at the Uptown New Orleans home of Mickey and Hilary Landry, both attorneys.

Mickey Landry said Edwards was “very direct” as he described the state’s budget situation and added, “He’s a middle-of-the-road guy who tries to bring people together.”

Alton Ashy, who represents video poker truck stop and video poker machine owners, organized fundraisers for Edwards with his clients in November at Ruth’s Chris Steak House in Baton Rouge and at Hammond’s Trey Yuen restaurant in December.

“He’s been very fair with my clients,” Ashy said. “He feels like they are small businesses that want a fair shake.”

http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/politics/elections/article_b7e7eb34-df5f-11e6-9449-037ae02d2837.html

[lulu2992]

I was looking for more behind the scenes/performance capture footage for Far Cry 5 (because I’ve only seen the intro so far) and… I didn’t find much.

There’s just this short sequence in this video:

We can see the upside-down helicopter, followed by Jenessa Grant as Faith Seed and, I assume, the camera specialist who “played” the Deputy, Randy Yuen. Here’s the mocap footage slowed down:

That’s all I was able to find, sadly.

[lulu2992]

It’s entirely possible that the Deputy originally was male since they were “played” by a man (Randy Yuen, credited as Camera Specialist) and the character looked like this in the first trailer:

I also thought they probably made Hurk say he calls everyone “dude and bro and man regardless of vagitalia or penilenessness” so they didn’t have to record more dialog… Each GFH already has more than 1,200 lines!

How the role of women in Eden’s Gate apparently changed during the development of Far Cry 5, why I am glad it did, and what that can potentially explain

Despite being an extremist and violent cult, Eden’s Gate is surprisingly “progressive”: they accept everyone, no matter who they are and what they look like, as long as they are ready to follow the Father.

For the first time in the Far Cry series, we can play as a female character and, for the second time after the Izila in Far Cry Primal, we can face female enemies (aside from the secondary antagonists). In Far Cry 5 in general and in Eden’s Gate in particular, women and men are treated equally.

But it seems that things have not always been like this…

Screenshots from the Far Cry 5 Official Announce Trailer (left) & Inside Eden’s Gate (right)

In May 2017, when Far Cry 5 was announced, many people immediately assumed that the Seeds and their followers were white supremacists… which I have always thought was a bit strange considering that, in the very first promotional pictures and trailer, there clearly were non-white cultists. To my knowledge, there is no evidence that Eden’s Gate was ever supposed to have a racist ideology. However, I have never seen anybody note that, in early promotional material, none of the cult soldiers were women.

The first official visuals were these two images, clearly inspired by the famous painting The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci (also included below):

In the top promotional picture, there is only one woman: Faith.

In the bottom picture, she seems to be talking to another female character:

This other woman is unarmed and, like the man next to her, is wearing simple clothes. Their heads are shaved and they look like (future) Angels, which means they are being or have already been “brainwashed”. Unlike the other cultists sitting at the table, they appear to be submissive.

Sure, in the original painting, all the characters (Jesus and his twelve Apostles) were male, but since Faith is in the two pictures and we know the cult has female fighters in Far Cry 5, there could have been women among the soldiers too. But there aren’t.

In the Official Announce Trailer (May 2017), all the Eden’s Gate soldiers we see are men. At one point in the video, two of them are dragging a woman to baptize her by force. Interestingly, she is wearing the same clothes as the two cultists praying in the water, which suggests she is already part of the Project. It is unknown whether or not the two aforementioned praying cultists willingly joined the cult, but this woman clearly did not.

In Inside Eden’s Gate, again, all the soldiers are men and wear “regular” clothes while all the female cultists wear a white t-shirt with a red Eden’s Gate cross on it. They look very docile, harmless, deeply devoted to Joseph… and are clearly drugged.

As you can see, not all the drugged cultists are women, but what I am saying is that all the women who are part of the Project are drugged. In the short film, with the exception of Faith, not a single woman in the cult seems to have free will and to be in her right mind.

Similarly, in the “Anything Can Happen, Everything Will” live-action TV spot, the only female cultists we see, aside from Faith and unlike all the men around them, are wearing white Eden’s Gate t-shirts. Again, they look passive and most likely drugged. Without the Bliss, would they even be here?

However, in Far Cry 5 (which came out in March 2018), while the cult still takes and brainwashes all kinds of people during the Reaping, there definitely are female soldiers in Eden’s Gate’s ranks. Women are active members of the Project, can fight, and are not just there to be kept under control and docilely worship the Seeds anymore, which is a welcome change compared to what we previously saw and what appeared to be the situation in earlier versions of the story.

But I recently found something that intrigued me. Actually, this discovery is what inspired me to investigate and write this post. In the game’s files, every location in Hope County has a codename. I was trying to find which location each code corresponded with and stumbled upon troubling comments about Eden’s Convent (called “F5_MEGA_02” in the files). They are all from Hurk:

I heard they brought all the cult wannabes up here for reprogramming. Suppose there's worse places for stuff like that.

We used to call this place brainwash camp for girls.

This is where the cult sent their ladies to make 'em all holy and stuff. They came out all holey in the head more like it.

This is where they used to brainwash the ladies. Kinda like patriarch society sorta dialed to 11.

I took him to the liberated outpost and, weirdly, he still says all those lines in the game:

I say “weirdly” because he is the only character who says Eden’s Convent was solely for “ladies”. Of course, a convent is usually a place where nuns, who typically are women, live, but nobody else says this particular convent was reserved for women or that Eden’s Gate ever had nuns.

What other companions say is simply that it was Eden’s Gate’s first church, that they built it themselves, and that Joseph used to preach there. Before the Reaping, “spiritual retreats” were held in the convent. They also say that it now belongs to Faith, who used to preach at the location as well, imply that “convent” is the term she uses, and explain that this is where the cult brainwashes people, usually to turn them into Angels.

The outpost’s description in the deleted in-game encyclopedia pretty much said the same thing:

The very first building set up by the Project at Eden’s Gate in Hope County. People came here for spiritual retreats and to learn the Word of Joseph. When they left, if they did, it was with a permanent smile on their faces.

And in Far Cry 5, the description simply says:

The devoted can rest here during their pilgrimages as they walk The Path to Eden's Gate.

Cultists never say that the Convent was used to brainwash women specifically, either. And while some female cultists reveal that this is indeed where they were converted…

“This is where I opened my heart to Joseph.” - Cult Follower Female 01

“Heard the sermon that finally converted me right at this spot. I know I'm not alone in that.” - Cult Follower Female 03

“I may as well have been born here.” - Cult Follower Female 04

…so do male cultists.

“I came here on my first pilgrimage, beautiful spot.” - Cult Follower Male 04

“I first heard Faith speak here, and right then and there, I knew I'd be saved.” - Cult Follower Male 03

“Found myself here. Have a feelin' I'll die here, too.” “I'll never forget findin' Faith here.” - Cult Security Male 02

“Guardin' the site of my own conversion…The Father's given me so much.” “I had so many pet moths when I was a new convert here.” - Cult Security Male 05

“Watching over where I was baptized is an honor.” - Cult Security Male 08

By the way, there only are “Cult Security Males” and no “Cult Security Females”, probably because of how the cult used to treat women early in the game’s development and because the decision to include female soldiers was made quite late.

Aside from talking about “ladies”, Hurk mentions another interesting thing: he is the only character who ever uses the word “reprogramming”. This word is familiar, though; I have seen it before in the Far Cry 5 Collector’s Edition Guide by Prima Games, in Tracey Lader’s presentation:

When Tracey was deemed a loose cannon by the cult and sent to be “reprogrammed,” she felt the sting of betrayal. She had given the Church everything. Now she’s bent on crushing them into a million pieces.

And, in the files, we can still find what her description in the deleted encyclopedia was going to be:

A woman determined to bring down Eden's Gate, especially Faith. They used to be friends and the sting of betrayal fuels her wrath.

There is no mention of any kind of “reprogramming” in the in-game description, only of her anger towards Faith and Eden’s Gate... However, the fact that the expression “the sting of betrayal” is used in the two descriptions is interesting, and I believe it is no coincidence. The short biographies included in the Prima Games guide, which was written several months before Far Cry 5 was released, were probably provided by Ubisoft. To me, it looks a lot like Tracey’s description in the in-game encyclopedia is a modified, updated version of the one in the official guide. I suppose that, after the book was written, her backstory was changed and no longer involved any kind of “reprogramming”.

And it is interesting that Hurk says it was at the Convent that Eden’s Gate used to reprogram people because there is still a note in the building written by… Tracey. Now, I wonder if the letter is there because, in an earlier version of the story, Tracey was one of the women who lived in the Convent and were going to be reprogrammed/brainwashed. The note was not removed and its content still makes sense, but maybe there used to be a bigger and darker story behind it.

The convent being a place where the cult used to brainwash “ladies” can possibly explain something else a bit better: Faith Seed. Not just Rachel, but also Selena, Lana, and maybe other women before them.

In the final version of the game, we are not given a lot of details about Faith’s predecessors. In fact, we know so little about them and their fate that it has always seemed to me that this subplot had gone through many rewrites and that what remains in the game is a mix of outdated and still relevant information. Those changes must have been made quite late into development because, for example, Faith (Rachel) and the Henbane River are still frequently called “Selena Seed” and “Selena” in the files... Maybe, at one point, the plan was to only have one previous Faith, Lana, and players were going to uncover the dark secret surrounding her replacement.

Or maybe, because the note written by Tracey was for Rachel, and this is why I think Hurk’s lines are very interesting, there were going to be many previous Faiths, and Eden’s Convent was where they were all “made”. During the development of Far Cry 5, maybe Joseph, who, in earlier versions of the story, wasn’t always the well-intentioned and somewhat unconventional cult leader he ended up being, used to have all his female followers forcibly converted at the convent, and would sometimes pick a new brainwashed Faith Seed among them after brutally getting rid of the old one. Maybe, Faith (Rachel) wasn’t always a girl who chose to join a group that made her feel loved, accepted, and empowered, no matter the cost for herself and others, but used to be one of Joseph’s “nuns”: controlled, drugged, passive, and unable to think for herself, like many other cultists and women before her. In short, at some point, Joseph’s character and Faith Seed’s story might have been a lot darker and more uncomfortable than what they are in Far Cry 5.

I believe that Hurk’s lines about Eden’s Convent, combined with what we can see in early promotional material, are a glimpse of what the Project used to be and could have been, a testimony of an outdated and scarier past of which a few remains can still be found and give us some answers. Eden’s Gate is bad but, especially when it comes to the role of women and how they are treated, things apparently could have been worse.