"We rely on the expertise of the talent a lot when doing those combos. We can ask, What is a common three-move combo? And they offer solutions like, Well there's this, this, and maybe a sweep."

The five-move combo is requiring some extra choreography. Several practice runs leave Hiro in awkward positions by the third or fourth move. It all looks very deadly and quick, but reaching that last move requires extra maneuvering that drops the feel of the action from deadly to staged.

Jake studies each run intently as they work out just exactly how they're going to get five moves out of this. "I'm looking for the content of the motion," he explains. "I spent a lot of time with the designers of the game covering what they wanted to see, what they needed to happen from a system standpoint. So I need to know that the motion is going to solve the gameplay function."

Hiro begins another move, slashing, spinning, and slashing again. His and his trainer's wooden swords smack together. Hiro's in a low position, so he goes with a sweep. That's four...

But then he's too low, and the momentum of the action dissipates.

"Obviously, there's the concern of whether the move is interesting or dramatic enough, and consistent with this style," continues Jake. "We kind of know the type of moves that would make sense, but not necessarily what makes sense in that discipline. When we did three-move combos, for example, the talent said, 'we can do this and a sweep,' and we said, Is there one you can do with a kick? We suggest moves so it will look different. They said, 'yeah, we can do an arc kick, and a spin." So, they sort of invent the moves with our help. That's why having the guys with the martial arts experience is important. They are able to bring a lot more information to it."

Then, the team gets it.

Crack! Smack! Crack! Swish! "Hoouh!"

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Five fluid moves, three slashes, a kick, and a final coup de grbce with a reverse thrust of the sword to his enemy, and it's over....

For the first day anyway. During the next two days of the mo-cap shoot, the team will record a host of other moves, including ranged weapons, force powers, and, yes, dancing! Stay tuned for part 2 of the look behind Star Wars Galaxies motion capture next month!

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-Clayton Kroh (ckroh@soe.sony.com)