Rhianna Pratchett has been involved in the conception of some of modern gaming’s most iconic characters and emotive narratives, with previous projects including Heavenly Sword and Mirror’s Edge. We caught up with Rhianna and asked her about the creative process in the games industry, the importance of character development and why the tits’n’ass approach is no longer relevant.
What have been your gaming highlights of 2011 so far?
“Due to being in the writing burrow most of the time, I tend to be a little behind the curve when it comes to new releases. Consequently, the games I’ve played and had fun with in 2011 aren’t necessarily the ones that came out then. Portal 2 is probably the only new release I’ve managed to play so far. Aside from that I’ve finished Batman: Arkham Asylum (which I enjoyed immensely) I replayed both Bioshock and Bioshock 2 on hard mode and I’ve also recently been reminiscing with Diablo 2 in preparation for the Diablo 3 beta. I’m currently on nightmare mode, which is fiendishly hard.”
In an ideal world, would you get involved in the creation of a narrative before the game mechanics have been devised or do you prefer having the foundations of the game in place before you bring the story to the table?
“What makes a game a game has to be in place otherwise you might as well be creating a story for anything. Often I’ll come in and the developers will have some idea of the story they want to tell and I’ll help them achieve that, bring out different themes and nuances, and put flesh on the bones of the world, characters and narrative. It’s always a collaborative process. However, generally speaking the sooner a narrative professional (‘writer’ is too narrow a term for what actually has to be done in order to create an impactful game story) is brought in, the better.”
How far do you go when developing characters and their origins and do you find it difficult to trust the developers to handle them as you intended?
“I think any creative has a hard time trusting other people with their creations, but sometimes you have to learn to let go. I’ve had my stories and characters realised well and I’ve had them realised badly, and either way it’s often out of my hands. I love to do a lot of backstory on my characters as it’s really the only way you can find their true voice. Unfortunately, I don’t think this investment in character creation is given the time it deserves in the average development cycle.”
Single player games like Heavenly Sword are now judged heavily on their storytelling, as well as their gameplay mechanics, although games have had engaging stories for quite some time. When was the first time a game’s narrative really gripped you?
“Like many gamers of my age the Lucas Arts games (Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, etc.) were a big part of my childhood. Sierra’s Conquest of Camelot: The Search for the Grail was also an important one for me and I have fond memories of playing it with the little girl who lived next-door. She always made me play the scary parts! The original Baldur’s Gate games and also Planescape Torment had a big impact, although that was more for their characters than their overarching story.”
James Cameron famously conceived the idea for Avatar over a decade ago and chose to wait for the technology necessary to deliver his vision. What, narratively, do you expect to get out of future gaming systems and do you have something you’re holding back until the technology is ready?
“For me it’s not about gaming systems or future tech, it’s about the industry gaining a more mature attitude towards the creation of narrative in games and what that entails. Story and proper character development should not be deemed an after-thought, which can just be slotted into the development cycle when everything else is nearly finished. That’s a hugely damaging attitude. I tend not to take on projects that just require me to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear, but there are still plenty of them about. Narrative needs to be treated with the same professional attention and respect as any other part of a game’s development. The fact that it isn’t as standard is still a big problem to overcome.”
Two of the games you’ve worked on, Heavenly Sword and Mirror’s Edge featured strong and dynamic female protagonists. Do you feel that games are moving away from the gender stereotypes of old?
“I think developers are trying to be a bit more imaginative with their characters. The gravelly-voiced male, spouting quippy one-lines is still an industry standard, but at least the lines are getting better! We’re still a long way behind some of the phenomenal characters that are created for, in particular, TV shows (especially US ones) but largely that has to do with not spending enough time in the character creation and development phase. Visually developers are starting to move away from tits‘n’ass female characters (although Nariko was more legs and hair!) and certainly Faith’s non-hypersexualised look went down very well with gamers. How much this translated into sales, therefore how likely that kind of thing will be allowed to happen again, isn’t clear.”
Ninja Theory collaborated with Andy Serkis, famed for his performance capture in Lord of the Rings and King Kong, to help flesh out the characters in Heavenly Sword and more recently Enslaved: Odyssey to the West. As gaming stories become increasingly more intricate, do you believe more high profile actors should get involved to add gravitas to your characters?
“Andy was terrific and he did a lot more than just voice his characters, he was the dramatic director on both games, which meant that he was more integral to the process than actors usually are. I think that made a big difference. He also brought with him strong narrative sensibilities and a level of professionalism that made everyone raise their game. However, I don’t think the fame-level of an actor should matter as much as whether they’re right for the part, can dedicate the necessary time to the role and won’t be a pain-in-the-ass to work with. Fame might generate press releases, but it doesn’t always equal right.”
The Overlord series is acclaimed for its use of comedy, however so few games effectively deploy humour. Do you consider this a problem of the technology or of the writing?
“Overlord’s comedy was built-in from the ground up. Along with the script and VO, the mechanics, the animation, the world and level design were all done with a large dollop of humour. I feel that gave the comedy texture and depth because it wasn’t done as an after-thought, it was integral to the process. Let’s be honest here, a lot of the subject matter of AAA titles tends to be pretty grim stuff: murder, death, destruction, war, headshots, revenge, angst, realistic weaponry etc. and that doesn’t always lend itself very well to being humorous. Often NPC characters can be used to lighten the world, but you really need a writer’s deft touch in there somewhere to know how to hit the right notes. So it’s largely a problem of not designing set-ups where humour is appropriate and not getting the right narrative people in to draw out the humour. Sorry, that was the least funny answer to a question about being funny!”
As someone who has contributed chapters to books concerning the games industry, what is the best piece of advice could you give to someone wanting to get into writing for games?
“Network. Who you know and, more importantly, who knows you, matters. Go out, meet and greet, see who’s hiring. Be courteous, professional and buy them large drinks.”
And finally, from your own creations, which game character has been your favourite and why?
“I have a real soft-spot for Gnarl in the Overlord games. He was voiced so wonderfully by Marc Silk and he was definitely the cuddy face of evil. I really enjoyed writing the characters of the mistresses, as well. They were a lot of fun. But writers are fickle and usually your favourite character(s) are the ones you’re working at that moment. It’s certainly the case for me, but unfortunately I can’t talk about those yet. Boo!”
–
To find out more about Rhianna’s work and current projects visit her official website http://www.rhiannapratchett.com/
