Ben-DutkaDICE is currently working on the long-awaited Mirror's Edge sequel, but unfortunately, they've opted not to bring back the original's scriptwriter.
It's accomplished video game writer Rhianna Pratchett, who was asked if she was penning Mirror's Edge 2 . But she's not; as she responded on her Twitter page :
"It's really lovely that people care enough to ask whether I'm involved with Mirror's Edge 2, but I'm not & wasn't asked."
Pratchett added that perhaps she wasn't asked because the story in the original title didn't really go over well with critics. She says she considers herself "a casualty of that development process" and reminds us that there's a new design team in place. If you're unfamiliar, Pratchett has worked on games like Heavenly Sword , Bioshock Infinite and the acclaimed Tomb Raider reboot. But she's right when she says the Mirror's Edge storyline didn't exactly wow us.
It didn't. But the plot still has potential in a sequel, and there's plenty of room for protagonist Faith to grow.
Man I'd like to get in on that job.
Would be pretty sweet. Apart from the fact that writers seem really undervalued and underappreciated in the industry
That's true everywhere. I would do it though for the satisfaction of bringing worlds to life for people instead of getting paid well.
The industry needs people who realize that every time a script has a line or plot point that is common to a Hollywood movie that line or event needs to be rethought.
"Long ago there was a prophecy that a chosen one would come…" NO! For God's sake let's be original here.
I didn't mean in terms of money… In other Tweets yesterday Pratchett went on to write that her script for Mirror's Edge was butchered at the end of development by the removal of all of Faith's level dialogue and that's not the only time that I've heard of a writer's efforts on a game being tossed aside or ripped apart due to "politics". Beyond that, writing in games is more often filling in the gaps than being a driving force in its creation, so it certainly has its drawbacks.
But yeah… We definitely need writers who are going to break away from the tired tropes that permeate the medium.
The story will be more like a prequel though right?
It felt to me as though there was more to the story of Mirror's Edge that got cut as development went on which left it lacking… But who know, it's could have been Pratchett's fault. Doubt it.
inb4 wimmen hav no place in gaemz
I'm not going to lie, I appreciate writing within the gaming industry at points but Mirrors Edge was hardly a shining example. It was sufficient but it really isn't memorable.
yeah I don't even remember the story.
Well I agree critics were not wowed by ME's plot, but it certainly drew me in. More so than most game stories. Maybe because of the style and theme of the game. I remember some complaining there were not enough guns in it or the use of a male character. Ah, we have come far in gaming.
Definitely the game that stands out to me for the last gen as unique and an attempt to move away from the same old same. Too bad that sometimes something different in experience is not embraced.
Same with Heavenly Sword although the complaining about that was comparisons gamers and critics used citing GoW.
Its too bad she is not onboard, but means more opportunities elsewhere for her.
Keep playing!
I think one of the issues Pratchett (and other writers) have with many dev processes is that the devs make the structure of a game then tell a writer to graft a plot onto it, and then continue to iterate that structure as time goes on. I could imagine it makes it pretty tricky to tell a good plot, and given the nature DICE's output so far, I don't consider them a studio with a great ability to plan ahead and give writers the opportunity to put together a good plot. We'll see how they go with ME the second time around ;).
For the record, I quite enjoyed the plot of ME – it was a bit subtle and understated, but that was part of its charm, and we have plenty of bombastic and overstated plots in gaming, so I deffo didn't mind the change of pace.