Answering our questions all the way from sunny Mexico (not┬ápictured), we speak to the prolific writer behind Mirror’s Edge,Tomb Raider and Heavenly Sword.

(Words: Michael O’Connell-Davidson, Research: Michael O’Connell-Davidson & Rhian Carruthers)

“You do know I’m on Holiday, right? ;)” Rhianna Pratchett┬áhas sent us her responses while holidaying Mexico, after e-mailing┬áthem to her far later than we’d initially intended. The excited feeling┬áI get knowing that she’s responded to us in time to hit the printers is┬áquickly replaced by the growing feeling that we’ve done a very bad┬áthing emailing her so late.

Pratchett began her career writing for the “late, great” PC Zone. “I┬áspent a few years at the coalface of British games journalism before┬áleaving to go freelance. I was offered a gig as a story-editor for┬áa hard-core RPG called Beyond Divinity, and it all kicked off from┬áthere.” Chances are, if you’re reading this, you’ve played something┬áRhianna was involved in; she was the writer for, among other projects,┬áHeavenly Sword, the Tomb Raider reboot and Mirror’s Edge.

It’s a very different medium to write for, both in terms of the┬ápracticalities and the way the audience interacts with the text. “The┬árole that the player undertakes in a game, and the relationship they┬áhave with the narrative, is very different from that of a regular viewer┬áor reader. They absorb the narrative in an active, rather than passive┬áway. They don’t just watch or read the story, they are the story. It is an┬áexperience, an adventure, a journey.”

Yet despite the complicated player-narrative relationship, “the┬áindustry is still getting used to the idea of using professional writers,┬álet alone using them correctly.” She describes writers in the games┬áindustry as being in the “square-peg-in-round-hole” phase.

Despite the dystopian narrative being one of most memorable┬áaspects of the original Mirror’s Edge, Pratchett entered into the┬ádevelopment process towards the end of production. “Unless they are┬áalready part of the development team, a writer will often be brought┬áin a year or more into the development process and they will have to┬ácreate a story around existing assets. It’s a bit like writing a movie at┬áthe same time that it’s being filmed.”

“You are a cog in a machine, trying to turn well with the other cogs,┬áall of which have their own needs and agendas. You can still do great┬áthings, but you have to be very lucky with your team and working┬áenvironment.”

Despite that, though, things are only getting better. Director-writers┬álike Ken Levine and Tim Schafer are becoming more common, and┬áthere are many more games writers in business than there were even┬áfive years ago. “The press and players are taking narrative more┬áseriously and there’s much more discussion and advice out there┬áabout it. We’re still fighting a hard battle, but we have a few more┬ásoldiers in the trenches.”

Even so, this increased prominence of narrative in video games has┬ánot come without controversy. We speak about Zoe Quinn’s seminal┬áDepression Quest, which provides a unique insight into the mind of a┬ásomeone suffering from the titular condition. “The abuse Zoe received┬áover Depression Quest was utterly disgusting.”

Much of the criticism leveraged against her came from the fact that┬áthe game was text-based, but, as Pratchett notes, “Text-based games┬áhave a long and proud history in the industry.”

“Really that’s where the genesis of so many games stemmed from.┬áThe notion of ÔÇÿwhat is a game?’ absolutely needs to be challenged.┬áGames that explore deeply personal subjects and shed light on┬áexperiences that many people are unaware of are something weneed more of. Games can just be for sheer entertainment, but as a┬ácommunity and an industry it’s vital that we make room for games with┬ásomething to say.”

The games industry – and its associated community – has received┬áa lot of negative media attention in recent years. Blurred Lines: The┬áBattle of the Sexes, a recent BBC2 documentary, painted a picture┬áof the gaming community (and, indeed, the internet at large) as a┬ávirulent place for women, and the #1reasonwhy was described as┬áthe hashtag that “exposed games industry sexism” by The Guardian.

But Pratchett – who has been a gamer since she was a young┬áchild – thinks it’s more complex than that. “[It’s] not fair in the least.┬áCharacterizing any industry in just one light is unlikely to be accurate┬áor show the full picture.”

“The wider media tends to be wildly behind the times, and has a┬áhistory of depicting games in a negative light. This is partly due to┬áthe fact that society likes to have its scapegoats (the waltz, rock’n’roll,┬ávideo nasties etc.) and partly due to the fact that so many people┬á(parents in particular) are ill-informed about the content of games, or┬áthe sheer variety available.”

Indeed, Pratchett started a counterpart hashtag to #1reasonwhy,┬á#1reasontobe. “I wanted to show that although it’s important to shine┬álight into the dark corners of this world and show the battles being┬áfought, it’s also important to show what’s worth fighting for.”

She admits that her experience has been largely positive. “I haven’t┬áfelt particularly maligned or abused because of my gender. There’s┬áalways the trolls, but they are pretty much a given if you’re in the public┬áeye and online [but] there’s no denying that some women have had┬ávery negative experiences and that is awful. Hopefully more people┬áare becoming aware of the problems and doing more to alleviate┬áthem. It might seem like the trolls are winning sometimes, but I have┬áfound that there’s also a great deal of support out there.”

Gender representation in video games is very complex, and has been the subject of much critical debate by academics and games writers. Pratchett, who worked closely with developers on the Tomb Raider reboot, was involved in shaping the representation of arguably the most iconic woman in video games.

What was that like? “It really was a once in a life time opportunity.┬áI mean it’s Lara Croft, right? Even my mum knows who she is. It was a┬áreal honour to get to work on a character as iconic as Lara and a team┬áas hugely talented as Crystal Dynamics. It also felt that it was the right┬átime in my career to take on such a challenge. It’s really wonderful to┬ásee how warmly she’s been received. I’m delighted to have been a┬ápart of that.” Pratchett is still involved with the Tomb Raider project,┬áand is currently working on companion comics with Dark Horse.

But have representations of women in games changed for the better?┬á”It’s hard to tell because so few AAA games have female protagonists.┬áThere were only three in 2013 (Tomb Raider, Beyond: Two Souls and┬áRemember Me). However, I think we have seen some really interesting┬áfemale secondary characters emerging in recent years such as Ellie┬áin The Last of Us and Elizabeth in Bioshock Infinite. You do get more┬áfemale led titles in smaller, indie games, which unfortunately don’t┬áalways get the recognition they deserve, although I was pleased to┬ásee Gone Home get so many plaudits.

“I think the marketing of female characters is going through a shift┬áat the moment. The previous Tomb Raiders were often marketed in a┬ávery sexualised, just-for-the-guys way. Not only did it not really reflect┬áthe games themselves, but I think that was rather off putting for some┬áfemale gamers, myself included, and probably some male ones too.┬áNow that way of portraying a female character seems positively┬áarchaic. Lara is for everyone.”

Another strong female representation Pratchett authored was┬áMirror’s Edge protagonist, Faith, who was designed to resemble real┬áwomen more closely – a deviation from the women of Soul Calibur,┬áDead or Alive, and even the original Tomb Raider.

With a sequel set before the events of the original game in the works, I asked Pratchett how she felt about the project; despite writing the original (as well as working with DC on a series of comics), EA have begun development without her.

Does this feel like an undoing of her legacy? “I wrote the prequel┬ástory in the comics, so I guess they’re completely rewriting that for the┬ánext game. They own the IP, so it’s absolutely their right to do so.”

She notes her first clue was that nobody contacted her by the time of┬áthe announcement. “No one I worked with on Mirror’s Edge is even┬áat the studio anymore, let alone working on the next game. I know as┬ámuch about it as the average gamer. The first project was very hard┬áfor all concerned. However, it would’ve been nice for them to have┬áchecked in with me to see if I was even interested in working on the┬ánext one, as I’d spent more time expanding the world, stories and┬ácharacters than anyone else on the team. I think there would have to┬ábe a very different attitude towards the narrative this time around for┬áme to be interested in working on a sequel.”

It’s not all bad news, though: “considering I went on to work on┬áTomb Raider and helped reimagine Lara Croft, partly because of┬áMirror’s Edge and Heavenly Sword, I don’t really have anything to┬ácomplain about. Karma has a way of sorting things outÔǪeventually!”

We spoke briefly about her father, Terry Pratchett. Did having such┬áa famous author as a father influence her at all? “I’m not sure how┬ámuch he influenced me to go into writing. He certainly didn’t actively┬áencourage it. I guess it was just in the blood.”

Indeed, the relationship between Rhianna and her father is much┬ámore complex than a literary dynasty: “I’m immensely proud of what┬ámy father has achieved in his career, but I see him as being my dad┬áfirst and foremost, not ÔÇÿTerry Pratchett’ [the] famous author. He’s the┬áman who built me Moomin Valley out of papier-m├óch├®, taught me┬áhow to milk goats and who took me out of bed in the middle of the┬ánight to see glow worms and Halley’s comet.”

In an interview with New Statesman in 2012, Terry Pratchett┬ádeclared that Discworld was “safe” in Rhianna’s hands. “That┬áinterview had many people jumping to the conclusion that I’d be┬ácontinuing to write the books. I don’t have any intention of doing that.┬áWhen it comes to Discworld I consider myself more of a caretaker,┬áor a narrative gardener, than a successor – keeping things in line with┬áwhat I feel my father would’ve wanted.”

“However, I will be involved with things like adaptations (I’m┬áadapting Wee Free Men into a screenplay at the moment) and I am┬ápart of the creative team behind Terry Pratchett’s The Watch spin-off┬áTV series. That’s where I feel my strengths lie. The books are sacred┬áto dad.”

Concluding, I ask her what a typical working day is for her. As┬áwith many media professionals, she notes she doesn’t really have┬áa typical day. “Typical tends to make me a little bored. I usually try┬áand spend a few hours solid writing and then the rest of the time is┬áspent researching, reading, answering emails and interviews, and┬ápolishing my Hearthstone skills.

“Alongside my game projects (which I can’t talk about) I’m currently┬áfinishing the first draft of Wee Free Men and also working on the┬áTomb Raider comics with Gail. My first screenplay, an adaptation┬áof Janet Paisley’s novel Warrior Daughter (which I developed with┬áfunding from the BFI and Creative Scotland) is going out to directors┬áat the moment. Exciting times!”