Rhianna Pratchett has worked as a journalist at PC Zone magazine, and now works as a script-writer, narrative strategist, and story developer on video games such as Mirror’s Edge and the Overlord series. She also happens to be the daughter of fantasy novelist Terry Pratchett, creator of the experimental Discworld series.What drew you into the games industry at the very beginning?
Rhianna Pratchett: I was just six years-old when Mazogs on the Sinclair ZX81 started off my long-term love affair with games. I trained as a journalist and managed to get a little bit of games reviewing work on a couple of magazines. It was just enough to get a foot in the door of the industry and from there I got my first full-time job on the late, great PC Zone. My time on the magazine provided me with a brilliant industry grounding which meant, by the time I left a couple of years later, I had a bulging contacts book.What inspires your writing?
Anything and everything! A good writer is a constant sponge for knowledge and experiences. I guess growing up in the 80s—arguably the heyday of fantasy movies—influenced me a great deal. But these days it's far more likely to be from something as simple as just watching the news, or reading books on the history of social development and the weird and wonderful things that we humans have done to get by on this pale blue dot. Calvin and Hobbes cartoons are also pretty inspirational.Could you explain the process you go through from thinking of an idea to the development of that idea into a full-fledged video game?
That's a tricky one because everything I do is so closely woven in with the rest of the game's development, and it's also quite hard to isolate a single idea. I'm not hired as the person that has the idea for a whole game, I am hired as the person who looks at all the disparate pieces and helps pull them together as a narrative and fills in the gaps. It's like Ready Steady Cook — you're never quite sure what's going to drop out of the bag for you to work with.What’s the most complicated step in the process?
Often, I'll spend a lot of time developing the characters. Usually, when I'm brought onboard, there will be some concept artwork for the main characters and sometimes not even that. There might be a small bio if I'm lucky, but often it's about breathing life into a visual. I'll have to work out how a character lives in the game world, their goals, drives and the way they talk, react, maybe even the way they move. If there's no art, then I'll write notes for the artists. Then I'll construct a bio for the casting director, containing sample dialogue and scenes. Once the actor is cast, we'll record the character with them, possibly having them add voice to the animation and keep up regular sessions, until everything is in the can and the character is up and running in the game.What’s your favorite game you’ve worked on or written?
The Overlord games (of which there have been four plus an expansion pack) were a lot of fun to work on. I think the original is probably my favorite as it was the first time that we'd all worked together, sweating away in the game development mines, hoping and praying that somehow it would all come together. For a non-AAA game, which pretty much came out of nowhere, the positive reaction Overlord got was amazing.
What’s your favorite game you’ve played EVER?! (Hard question I know. Sorry!)
Don't make me choose! Psychonauts is certainly up there. I loved Half-Life 2 and the episodes, and also the Bioshock, Thief and Dungeon Keeper games. Blizzard titles have certainly garnered a lot of adoration from me over the years, particularly World of Warcraft and Diablo II.What’s your opinion on the future of gaming? Do you think 3D is a good thing? Do you like the inclusion of wand technology such as the Move device for the PS3 or the Kinect for the Xbox?
To be honest, I'm not particularly convinced by any of them yet. As a fairly hardcore gamer, I don't think that things like Move and Kinect are specifically aimed at me, although 3D could potentially be interesting. I want to see publishers taking more risks with new IPs and pushing the boundaries of gameplay and imagination, not creating more stuff around the games. Alas, I fear the future is very stuff-based.Your games usually revolve around a single player and an in-depth story. Do you get annoyed that the industry is moving closer to online multiplayer oriented titles?
You could argue that developers have been half-assing single player stories long before multiplayer-focused games became fashionable. However, I do think it's a shame that they don't put more time and effort into a cohesive story as the potential is usually there. I find it just as frustrating when games tack on multiplayer where it really isn't needed – often because of pressure to have an online presence. I loved the single-player component of Bioshock 2, but adding multiplayer as well was an odd choice. If it was deemed essential to the franchise, then it might have been better suited to a specific expansion pack, which would give the single-player more room, time and budget to breathe. I think having a game entirely devoted to multiplayer is much more honest and I'm looking forward to seeing what Splash Damage do with Brink.Your games frequently feature headstrong female main roles. Do you see yourself as a role-model for female gamers and developers?
Good Lord no! But that's mainly because I see myself as only a few small steps away from being a Sandra Bullock character – half way between Miss Congeniality and The Net. It's lovely if people do think that, although I have no idea how to live up to such an accolade. But then I've never hit anyone with a mobile phone (at least not deliberately), I've never snorted illicit substances off the toned torso of a level designer, and if I did want to swear at people via my nail polish then there've been certain gigs where I'd most likely run out of nails – so maybe I'm on the right track.Could you tell us what you’re working on now?
Sadly not, or bad men will come and kill my pets. I can only tell you that I'm working on two game projects and my first screenplay (which, refreshingly, has nothing to do with games!).
Rhianna Pratchett: I was just six years-old when Mazogs on the Sinclair ZX81 started off my long-term love affair with games. I trained as a journalist and managed to get a little bit of games reviewing work on a couple of magazines. It was just enough to get a foot in the door of the industry and from there I got my first full-time job on the late, great PC Zone. My time on the magazine provided me with a brilliant industry grounding which meant, by the time I left a couple of years later, I had a bulging contacts book.
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Anything and everything! A good writer is a constant sponge for knowledge and experiences. I guess growing up in the 80s—arguably the heyday of fantasy movies—influenced me a great deal. But these days it's far more likely to be from something as simple as just watching the news, or reading books on the history of social development and the weird and wonderful things that we humans have done to get by on this pale blue dot. Calvin and Hobbes cartoons are also pretty inspirational.Could you explain the process you go through from thinking of an idea to the development of that idea into a full-fledged video game?
That's a tricky one because everything I do is so closely woven in with the rest of the game's development, and it's also quite hard to isolate a single idea. I'm not hired as the person that has the idea for a whole game, I am hired as the person who looks at all the disparate pieces and helps pull them together as a narrative and fills in the gaps. It's like Ready Steady Cook — you're never quite sure what's going to drop out of the bag for you to work with.What’s the most complicated step in the process?
Often, I'll spend a lot of time developing the characters. Usually, when I'm brought onboard, there will be some concept artwork for the main characters and sometimes not even that. There might be a small bio if I'm lucky, but often it's about breathing life into a visual. I'll have to work out how a character lives in the game world, their goals, drives and the way they talk, react, maybe even the way they move. If there's no art, then I'll write notes for the artists. Then I'll construct a bio for the casting director, containing sample dialogue and scenes. Once the actor is cast, we'll record the character with them, possibly having them add voice to the animation and keep up regular sessions, until everything is in the can and the character is up and running in the game.
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The Overlord games (of which there have been four plus an expansion pack) were a lot of fun to work on. I think the original is probably my favorite as it was the first time that we'd all worked together, sweating away in the game development mines, hoping and praying that somehow it would all come together. For a non-AAA game, which pretty much came out of nowhere, the positive reaction Overlord got was amazing.

Don't make me choose! Psychonauts is certainly up there. I loved Half-Life 2 and the episodes, and also the Bioshock, Thief and Dungeon Keeper games. Blizzard titles have certainly garnered a lot of adoration from me over the years, particularly World of Warcraft and Diablo II.What’s your opinion on the future of gaming? Do you think 3D is a good thing? Do you like the inclusion of wand technology such as the Move device for the PS3 or the Kinect for the Xbox?
To be honest, I'm not particularly convinced by any of them yet. As a fairly hardcore gamer, I don't think that things like Move and Kinect are specifically aimed at me, although 3D could potentially be interesting. I want to see publishers taking more risks with new IPs and pushing the boundaries of gameplay and imagination, not creating more stuff around the games. Alas, I fear the future is very stuff-based.Your games usually revolve around a single player and an in-depth story. Do you get annoyed that the industry is moving closer to online multiplayer oriented titles?
You could argue that developers have been half-assing single player stories long before multiplayer-focused games became fashionable. However, I do think it's a shame that they don't put more time and effort into a cohesive story as the potential is usually there. I find it just as frustrating when games tack on multiplayer where it really isn't needed – often because of pressure to have an online presence. I loved the single-player component of Bioshock 2, but adding multiplayer as well was an odd choice. If it was deemed essential to the franchise, then it might have been better suited to a specific expansion pack, which would give the single-player more room, time and budget to breathe. I think having a game entirely devoted to multiplayer is much more honest and I'm looking forward to seeing what Splash Damage do with Brink.Your games frequently feature headstrong female main roles. Do you see yourself as a role-model for female gamers and developers?
Good Lord no! But that's mainly because I see myself as only a few small steps away from being a Sandra Bullock character – half way between Miss Congeniality and The Net. It's lovely if people do think that, although I have no idea how to live up to such an accolade. But then I've never hit anyone with a mobile phone (at least not deliberately), I've never snorted illicit substances off the toned torso of a level designer, and if I did want to swear at people via my nail polish then there've been certain gigs where I'd most likely run out of nails – so maybe I'm on the right track.Could you tell us what you’re working on now?
Sadly not, or bad men will come and kill my pets. I can only tell you that I'm working on two game projects and my first screenplay (which, refreshingly, has nothing to do with games!).
