Running Hardcore Molten Core Using Motion Capture Software - The Rise and Fall of Graysfordays

Posted 2025/02/22 at 8:00 AM by Tharid

GraysfordaysMasonxGraysfordays completing Molten Core Hardcore Raid only using motion captureWowhead: Grays, What motivated you to start playing Classic WoW (and Hardcore in particular) through motion capture software only?Graysfordays: For starters, I stream Classic World of Warcraft for a living, and I have made it my job ever since Classic was released in 2019. When you only stream one video game for five years, you’re forced to think outside the box to try and differentiate yourself or even just to maintain sanity!

I was fortunate to be involved with the Hardcore community movement when it first began in 2020. The game mode gave me the creative freedom to elevate my favorite game of all time. I’ve done personal challenges such as only equipping gear I fished up from boxes, soloing dungeons, or trying to complete difficult red-level quests. Now, I’m able to elevate my favorite class in the game, Druid, by literally casting out Entangling Roots and dabbing my enemies to death with Moonfire - it’s been a lot of fun!Hardcore Molten Core w/ No Mouse & KeyboardWowhead: How did you come up with your personal animations for skills like Arcane Shot and Feign Death? Are there any animation limitations software-wise or things you couldn't do?Graysfordays: Fortunately, I have a Level 60 Troll Hunter with some of the sickest animations to imitate. I copied their in-game movements, but maybe I should have come up with my own version of Feign Death, or worn pants because I ended up with a mean carpet burn on my knees when the priest died in our run!

The more I’ve leveled with the software running, the more I’ve noticed things like my water disappearing from my bags because I go to itch my face with my right hand, imitating the “Drink” spell I created, so there’s definitely an overlap of certain casting animations. Sometimes, I’ll accidentally shapeshift into Bear Form when I throw both arms up in the air instead of casting Rejuvenation - but I think that’s more of a result of me not being familiar with the software, and creating two similar animations without rigid enough restrictions.Check out this video for more context about WoW Classic and motion captureWowhead: How did raiding with this kind of motion software feel compared to leveling a character?Graysfordays: I don’t know about you, but this is the first time I’ve ever been “sore” after killing Ragnaros! I literally pulled about 1200 arrows out of my quiver on a Sunday night - so, to no one's surprise, I woke up with a swollen right tricep. It was as equally exhausting casting Multi-Shot on Lucifron as it was running for my life from spiders on my Level 10 hardcore Druid. I have to admit that I didn’t anticipate the mental workout your brain endures trying to memorize and act out the spells you’ve created with the software.

I’ve been as mentally tired as my arms and legs after each play session, which only lasts about two to three hours, but similar to working out in real life, I’m slowly seeing improvement in the fluidity of my spell casts, which has me coming back for more every single day!Druid motion capture leveling showcase (yes, he dabs to Moonfire)Wowhead: You've completed a full Molten Core run playing without a mouse and keyboard. What challenge can viewers expect next?Graysfordays: I am what they call a Classic Andy, and they’re never satisfied with what they currently have and are always looking for the next "FRESH"! This motion capture software is my new “FRESH” experience, and I’m loving every second of it. In the same way Hardcore elevated items like Light of Elune and Target Dummy, I’ve quickly noticed this software does the same thing with abilities like Shadowmeld. I’m leveling a Night Elf Druid right now, and being able to quickly drink and Shadowmeld in place has given me a new love and appreciation for the Nightelf race - I end up saving a ton of steps I’d otherwise need to make in a 3-hour play session! Let the min-maxing the fun out of the game begin!Wowhead: Masonx, how did you come up with the idea to develop this kind of software?Masonx: I’ve been addicted to gaming ever since I was a little boy. My life has always revolved around math, physics, and video games. At a certain point in my life, mostly after 12 hours of gaming, I asked myself: "Am I wasting my time playing all these games? Could I be spending this time doing something in real life?" So, I needed to play games while improving something in real life at the same time. Also, playing games while staying in shape has always been a great idea. So I thought, why not develop a simple motion gaming system myself?

So, in 2022, I started watching CMU’s computer vision open courses online. But at the time, I never actually had the time to put that knowledge into action. Then, about two years ago, I don’t know if you heard the news that Blizzard broke up with NetEase and left China. Overnight, I stopped playing World of Warcraft and Overwatch. Suddenly,

I had a lot of free time. So, I started building a prototype script - initially just for myself to use for gaming. But after posting a video on YouTube and doing some streaming, a lot of people wanted me to release the software for them to try. So, I spent a year and a half of hard coding - building the user interface, writing quick training algorithms for pose recognition, and more, to create The Link, which I will keep developing and investing in the future! This future should be about your computer watching and listening to you to interact with it, and I hope the Link will be that platform.Masonx's first video showcasing The Link, the motion capture software he programmed to play World of WarcraftWowhead: What kind of setup is needed to play World of Warcraft through your motion software?Masonx:
Basic Setup: Technically, you can start with any webcam and microphone. However, in most cases, you'll need a wide-angle camera to capture your entire body while not standing too far away from the screen.

Alternative Setup: If you just want to try it out (and gradually upgrade your hardware if it meets your expectations), you can use software like DroidCam or iVCam to turn your phone into a camera and microphone. Phones can film vertically, which allows you to play closer to the screen.

Camera Positioning: Camera position is crucial for accurate motion tracking. All custom poses are trained the moment you say “capture” to the software, but walking recognition and hand recognition use pretrained models based on my data. It's highly recommended to recreate my camera view: place the camera at a low position, facing you and looking up.

Camera Quality: A better camera and proper lighting will improve your experience of course. High resolution camera isn’t necessarily required—higher resolution streams can sometimes introduce lag between your real movements and what the PC registers.

Conclusion: It's still pretty hardcore to set up and play a game with only a webcam and nothing else. Plus, The Link is still in its Alpha phase, so be prepared to invest some time into the setup and fine-tuning before you can play as smoothly as me or other streamers. But once it's dialed in, I can promise it is a very unique experience like nothing else.
Graysfordays' tragic death in his second Molten Core raid

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