Amy Hennig is a video game director and
script writerScreenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
currently employed by video game company
Naughty DogNaughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
. She began her work in the industry on the
Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, with her design debut on the
Super Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
game
Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. She soon went to work for
Crystal DynamicsCrystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
, working primarily on the
Legacy of KainLegacy of Kain is a series of action-adventure video games developed initially by Silicon Knights in association with Crystal Dynamics. After a legal battle, Crystal Dynamics continued the series without Silicon Knights and Eidos Interactive became the publisher...
series. With Naughty Dog, her work has been on two primary series: the
Jak and DaxterJak and Daxter is a critically acclaimed video game franchise created by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2.The series consists of four main games and two spin-offs,though they are also considered to be part of the main series...
series and the
UnchartedUncharted is an award-winning series of action-adventure/platform/third-person shooter video games developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3 video game console. The series follows modern-day treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake as he...
series.
With her writing style, Hennig believes that the creative direction of a script holds more importance than the graphics of the game. She has been called one of the most influential women in the video game industry by
Edge magazine, and has been cited as an example of how more women are becoming involved in a previously male dominated field.
Life
Three events in Hennig's life greatly influenced her later work; all happened in 1977. The release of the
Atari 2600The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in...
,
Star Wars Episode IV: A New HopeStar Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
, and
Dungeons & DragonsDungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...
changed how games and entertainment in general would be developed.
Hennig graduated from
University of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
with a
bachelor's degreeA bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in
English literatureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
. She went on to the film school at
San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco State University is a public university located in San Francisco, California. As part of the 23-campus California State University system, the university offers over 100 areas of study from nine academic colleges...
, when she was hired as an artist for an
AtariAtari is a corporate and brand name owned by several entities since its inception in 1972. It is currently owned by Atari Interactive, a wholly owned subsidiary of the French publisher Atari, SA . The original Atari, Inc. was founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. It was a pioneer in...
game called
ElectroCopElectrocop is a 1989 video game developed by Epyx and published by Atari.-Summary:This video gamewas one of the first games developed for the Atari Lynx, and was released with the platform's launch....
. Her work on the game made her realize that the video game industry interested her more than the
film industryThe film industry consists of the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking: i.e. film production companies, film studios, cinematography, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, post production, film festivals, distribution; and actors, film directors and other film crew...
; she dropped out of film school soon after. Hennig claims that her literature degree and film studies have helped her work: "Everything I learned as an undergraduate with English literature and in film school about editing and shots and the language of film has come into play, but in a way I couldn't possibly have planned."
Career
Hennig has worked in the video game industry for more than 17 years. Most of her early jobs involved games on the
Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
, where she was primarily employed as an artist and animator. Her first job was as a freelance artist for
ElectroCopElectrocop is a 1989 video game developed by Epyx and published by Atari.-Summary:This video gamewas one of the first games developed for the Atari Lynx, and was released with the platform's launch....
, an unreleased
Atari 7800The Atari 7800 ProSystem, or simply the Atari 7800, is a video game console re-released by Atari Corporation in January 1986. The original release had occurred two years earlier under Atari Inc. The 7800 had originally been designed to replace Atari Inc.'s Atari 5200 in 1984, but was temporarily...
game, based on the Atari Lynx launch title. Afterwards she had joined
Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
as an animator and artist, doing work on an unreleased title, Bard's Tale 4, and Desert Strike. She later moved to designing and directing video games.
Two years after being hired at
Electronic ArtsElectronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
, Hennig worked as an artist on
Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. However, when the lead designer quit, Hennig landed the job. In the late 1990s, she moved to
Crystal DynamicsCrystal Dynamics is an American video game developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area and founded in 1992 by Judy Lang, Madaline Canepa and Dave Morris...
, where she assisted
Silicon KnightsSilicon Knights is a Canadian video game developer. Founded in 1992 by Denis Dyack, the company is headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario, Dyack's hometown....
in the development of
Blood Omen: Legacy of KainBlood Omen: Legacy of Kain is a cult top-down action-adventure game developed by Silicon Knights and published by Crystal Dynamics...
. Later, she acted as the
directorA creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
, producer, and writer for
Legacy of Kain: Soul ReaverLegacy of Kain: Soul Reaver is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos Interactive. It was released for the PlayStation and Microsoft Windows in 1999 and for the Dreamcast in 2000. As the second game in the Legacy of Kain series, Soul Reaver is the sequel to...
. She also directed and wrote
Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 2 is an action-adventure game that was released on the PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. It is the sequel to Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver and the third game in the Legacy of Kain series. It was released in 2001 developed by Crystal Dynamics & published by Eidos...
and
Legacy of Kain: DefianceLegacy of Kain: Defiance is an action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Eidos. It is the fifth and thus far final game in the Legacy of Kain series. It was released in North America in November and December 2003, and in Europe in February 2004...
.
Hennig currently acts as the
creative directorA creative director is a position often found within the graphic design, film, music, fashion, advertising, media or entertainment industries, but may be useful in other creative organizations such as web development and software development firms as well....
for
Naughty DogNaughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
. With Naughty Dog, she worked on the
Jak and DaxterJak and Daxter is a critically acclaimed video game franchise created by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2.The series consists of four main games and two spin-offs,though they are also considered to be part of the main series...
series. Her most recent work had her as the game director for
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, and head writer and creative director for the
UnchartedUncharted is an award-winning series of action-adventure/platform/third-person shooter video games developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3 video game console. The series follows modern-day treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake as he...
series. With
Uncharted 2: Among ThievesUncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure platform third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was first shown and announced on December 1, 2008...
, Hennig led the 150 person team who created the game, as well as acting as writer.
Writing style
Hennig believes the term platformer is outdated and misused with many modern games, preferring a different term like "traversal" for some. She also feels that focusing too much on graphics can inhibit a game, saying that once game writers focus on creative expression, video games will greatly improve.
She often uses supporting characters to highlight personality aspects of other characters through interactions within the script. For example,
Chloe FrazerChloe Frazer is a fictional character in the Uncharted series, and serves as a female protagonist of the 2009 video game Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. Frazer was designed to provide a darker counterpart to main series protagonist Nathan Drake, and to highlight these facets of his personality. She is...
acts as a foil for
Nathan DrakeNathan "Nate" Drake is the fictional protagonist of the Uncharted video game series, developed by Naughty Dog. He is a playable character in Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, Uncharted: Golden Abyss, and appears in the motion comic prequel...
, highlighting the darker aspects of his personality and past. With her work in the
UnchartedUncharted is an award-winning series of action-adventure/platform/third-person shooter video games developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment exclusively for the PlayStation 3 video game console. The series follows modern-day treasure hunter Nathan "Nate" Drake as he...
series, Hennig described the writing and plot as on the "bleeding edge" of the genre of cinematic video games. She has won a Writers Guild of America Video Game Writing Award in addition to several other awards for her work on
Uncharted 2: Among ThievesUncharted 2: Among Thieves is an action-adventure platform third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to the 2007 game Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. It was first shown and announced on December 1, 2008...
.
Influence
Hennig has been cited as an example of a successful woman in a historically male dominated industry, and of how women are taking more important roles within it. Hennig herself claims that she has not encountered sexism in the industry, but that differing perspective from men in the industry has helped on some occasions. The
UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
video magazine
EdgeEdge is a multi-format computer and video game magazine published by Future Publishing in the United Kingdom. It is known for its industry contacts, editorial stance, distinctive anonymous third-person writing style, yearly awards and longevity....
named her one of the 100 most influential women in the game industry.