The storied creative director and writer on starting a new studio and sticking to your guns
Storytelling in games is on the cusp of transformation: fittingly, so is Amy Hennig. The celebrated creative director and writer has become almost emblematic of the state of narrative design in games. Through her work on the Legacy Of Kain series at Crystal
Dynamics, and the Uncharted franchise at Naughty Dog, she helped push the medium to blockbuster heights thanks to an instinct for innovation – and a confidence that, by her own admission, hasn’t always been easy to maintain. She was set to continue with the singleplayer Star Wars game that she was working on at Visceral Games, before EA cancelled the project and closed the studio. Now, Hennig is looking to start up on her own, convinced that the future success of games as a whole lies in smaller experiences catering to a broader audience.
Firstly, congratulations on receiving the Lifetime Achievement award at the Game Developers Choice Awards. How was that?
It’s just such a warm feeling to feel recognised by your peers. I mean, we’re just all stuck in our heads and our own little worlds. We all have impostor syndrome. The people that don’t, there’s something sociopathic and wrong with them, probably [laughs]. You know, we never feel worthy of that kind of recognition. But you don’t want that to look like a lack of gratitude. I’m incredibly humbled and grateful.
This story is from the July 2019 edition of Edge.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the July 2019 edition of Edge.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles
Anyone familiar with the concept of kitbashing is already halfway to understanding what Tomas Sala’s open-world builder is all about.
Children Of The Sun
René Rother’s acrid revenge thriller – an action game with its limbs broken and forcibly rearranged into the shape of a spatial puzzler – is at once a bonafide original and an unlikely throwback. Cast your eyes right and you wouldn’t blink if we told you this was a forgotten Grasshopper Manufacture game from the early PS3 era (we won’t be at all surprised if this finds a spot on Suda51’s end-of-year list).
Post Script
What does Rise Of The Ronin say for PS5 exclusivity?
Rise Of The Ronin
Falling in battle simply switches control to the next person up, and then quick revive fixes everything
Post Script
The pawn and the pandemic
Dragon's Dogma 2
The road from Vernworth to Bakbattahl is scenic but arduous. Ignore the dawdling mobs of goblins, and duck beneath the chanting harpies that circle on the currents overhead, and even moving at a hurried clip it is impossible for a party of four to complete the journey by nightfall.
BLUE MANCHU
How enforced early retirement eventually led Jonathan Chey back to System Shock
THE MAKING 0F.... AMERICAN ARCADIA
How a contrast of perspectives added extra layers to a side-scrolling platform game
COMING IN TO LAND
The creator of Spelunky, plus a super-group of indie developers, have spent the best part of a decade making 50 games. Has the journey been worth it?
VOID SOLS
This abstract indie Soulslike has some bright ideas
