Switch Lights

The lights are on

What's Happening

Ken Levine Interviews Amy Hennig On Irrational Podcast

Listen in as two of gaming's most talented storytellers trade notes on the art of game writing. As part of the ongoing "Irrational Interviews" podcast series, BioShock creator Levine picks the brain of Naughty Dog's Amy Hennig, who has won praise for her work over the years, including writing the scripts for Sony's blockbuster Uncharted franchise.

Here's the full description of the episode, per Irrational's site:

In this episode of Irrational Interviews, we sit down with Amy Hennig, Naughty Dog’s Creative Director and writer. Amy is best known for her work on the groundbreaking Uncharted series, for which she’s won two Writers Guild of America awards.

The topic is, of course, storytelling. How does a writer create a complex narrative for a big budget video game? How does one drive the creative process of a large, intricate game development team? In this episode of Irrational Interviews, listen in while Ken Levine — Irrational Games’ own Creative Director and writer – has a reflective conversation with Amy about the unique challenges they both face in their individual, yet strikingly similar roles.

The focus of the conversation is the writer’s process. “It’s not the way films are made,” says Amy.  “I’ve described this to friends of mine who are screenwriters, and they just think we’re insane.”

The two also dig into their personal process — the act of faith involved in embarking on the journey of writing for a game. As Ken says, “Part of that act of faith is the faith that you have to put in yourself.”

The broad-ranging conversation also turns to the challenge of managing complicated production realities while maintaining the flexibility to take creative risks. As Amy explains, “We just sort of loosely plan what we’re doing, because that’s the best you can do with something that’s as iterative and experimental as what we do. We adapt, and we trust each other’s experience – to know that we’re going to make the wisest, most pragmatic decisions we can, while still trying to keep the quality of the product and stay inspired.”

To listen to the Irrational Interviews podcast, click here.

Email the author , or follow on , and .

Comments
  • Hennig's switch to PlayStation only feels like a loss. Hope Fumito Ueda is going a different way.
  • Mod

    I am so excited to listen to this! I would give indiejones84's left arm to get just ONE of these guys on The Indie and Mojo Show!  My two favorite developer/writers hands down!

  • Amy's amazing, and Ken's cool, too.  Awesome.

  • eh creepy ladys creepy.
  • Nothing quite like listening to two of the greats talking shop!!!
  • This sounds extremely interesting. Checking this out as soon as I'm done with this Super Star Wars replay.

  • This is EPIC!

  • I'm sure if I'll listen to these two people talking, my mind will just explode.
  • I've been a follower of Amy Hennig since the "legacy of Kain" series and the "Soul Reaver" series. She is Amazing at what she does!

  • I was craving every word spoken in this podcast. Two of my greatest influences in gaming, talking to eachother about one of the most important things in my life: writing. Amazing.

  • Man it seems insane to think over a month ago I was in L.A talking with Amy, Nolan and Emily from Uncharted, such a great opportunity and it was amazing being able to pick her brain, ah why did it have to end!
  • That was one of the best podcasts!  I have learned so much and have gained such a new respect and admiration for game developers.  Ken and Amy are truly great talents.  I love the way they are honest and real about themselves and their experiences.  If either taught a class I would sign up and attend in a second.  That knowledge and experience would surely benefit future game developers.

  • It's an amazing interview!

  • nice!

  • I adore the Irrational Podcasts, their 'Irrational Behaviour' set is a fun and interesting look into the workings of their studio, while also at times providing a unique opinion of certain games and industry trends, while the 'Irrational Interviews' are so full of different kinds of creative insight depending on who's the guest. The episodes with Guillermo del Toro, Cliff Bleszinski and Troy Baker & Courtney Draper were definite highlights, anyone who has even a passing interest in the workings of creative people like these should definitely get over to Itunes and give them a listen!
  • Two badasses in a single audio clip? Sounds too good to be true. xP
  • Amy is awesome!! I am excited to check this out...