We Want Your Job!
Pestering the jammiest jobsmiths in the business.
This issue, it’s more ‘Rhi want your job’, as we talk to Heavenly Sword and Overlord writer, Rhianna Pratchett.
GM: Hi Rhianna, tell us what you do in the gaming industry.
RP: I’m a freelance script writer and narrative designer. That means I help game studios create and develop stories for their titles. I also write the dialogue (mainly from scratch, although occasionally I edit and polish dialogue written by the developers) and sometimes assist with casting and directing voice actors.
GM: Game scripts are notoriously longer than film scripts. How do you keep focused with such long projects?
RP: Very often you’re working on a level by level basis, with each of those levels slotting into the overarching story. That way it doesn’t feel quite so big and it’s easier to keep focused. It’s only when you get to the end that you realise how much you’ve written. Overlord II has about 50,000 words of dialogue. It’s about the size of two screenplays.
GM: Did growing up around Terry help shape your imagination and creativity? What influences do you draw on for your projects?
RP: We share the same sense of humour and way of looking at the world. As for influences, I believe that a writer takes their influences from everywhere – From movies, books, music, friends, family, politics, travel, news stories and from just living life. For a writer it’s rather like saying ‘where do you get oxygen from?’ However, a couple of my writing heroes are William Goldman (who wrote, amongst other things, The Princess Bride) and Joss Whedon.
GM: Do you play your games when finished? Are you ever disappointed if something isn’t translated to screen the way you planned?
RP: Time and budget constrains mean it’s often not possible to do everything you want to, which can be disappointing. Out of all my games I’ve played the Overlord titles the most (often during development.) Because I’m writing so much, I can’t always remember what I wrote in the past. So I sometimes find myself laughing at my own lines, which feels a little crazy. Although I put that down to our fine team of voice actors.
GM: How is it working with the likes of Andy Serkis? Is Hollywood the next step for Rhianna Pratchett?
RP: Andy was great to work with on Heavenly Sword. He was a wonderful asset and an awesome King Bohan. I think he had much more of a genuine impact than most Hollywood types who get involved in games and just phone-in their lines. As for me, I have an agent now, so who knows where that could lead. I don’t want to ever completely leave games, though. They’re my first love.
GM: Finally, any tips for youngsters looking to get into the biz?
RP: Network! Go to events like Develop or the Animex Games Festival (or if you fancy further afield shows like GDC) and get to know all you can about the industry and the people involved. Visit sites like www.igda.org and www.gamasutra.com which contain fantastic advice and articles about all aspects of the industry. Google is your friend.
CAPTION: Next stop Hollywood? “I have an agent now, so who knows where that could lead…”
TOOLS OF THE TRADE:
1: My laptop – for working on the move.
2: Tea – calming in stressful situations.
3: Red Bull sugar-free – for kick-starting mornings.
4: Movies – my ideal background music.
5: World of Warcraft – great for killing things!
