Bringing Fantasy Characters On Camera

A Christmas Release from Faes AR

Fantasy roleplay is built on imagination, voice, and presence. For decades, it has worked well without cameras. Dice rolls, descriptions, and shared context did the heavy lifting.

As more tabletop sessions, roleplay games, and creative collaborations moved online, cameras became unavoidable. That shift introduced a quiet problem. Being on camera often breaks immersion. Turning the camera off solves one problem and creates another.

We started working on Faes AR while trying to navigate this tension.

The problem with cameras in roleplay

When a camera is on, the performer becomes visible as themselves. That visibility pulls attention away from the character and toward the person behind it. When the camera is off, presence drops. Engagement suffers. Communication becomes flatter.

Avatars and AI-generated imagery offer alternatives, but they introduce their own issues. Avatars often feel detached from the performer. AI imagery lacks consistency in live settings and tends to drift visually over time.

None of these options felt particularly satisfying for live roleplay.

What Faes AR explores

Faes AR is an attempt to keep the performer visible while presenting the character directly on camera.

It uses a standard webcam and maps a 3D fantasy character to facial movement in real time. The result is a character that moves with the performer and can be used in live sessions, streams, or recordings.

The focus is not on spectacle. It is on continuity and presence.

First public release

This week marks the first public release of Faes AR. The current asset set is intentionally limited and designed for live use rather than post-production.

We’re paying close attention to how people use the tool before expanding the catalog or adding complexity.

To mark this first release, we’re offering a Christmas discount from December 19 to December 26.

Details and examples are available on Gumroad: https://araura.gumroad.com/l/qyoqv