Mirror's Edge co-story designer Rhianna Pratchett not working on reboot [update]
EA hasn't approached Mirror's Edge co-story designer and writer Rhianna Pratchett about returning to DICE's upcoming reboot, the author revealed this week. Pratchett, who served as lead writer on the recent Tomb Raider and as co-story designer and writer on Heavenly Sword, went on to say the Mirror's Edge story "didn't review that great," and that she considered herself a "casualty of the development process."
Pratchett has spoken about her disappointment with the first game's story before. Talking to ActionTrip in 2012, she said, " DICE was a great company to work with, but Mirror's Edge was a challenging project and an important learning experience for me. Unfortunately, because of the timing when I was brought in and a large amount of the script being cut (due to the late decision to remove level dialogue) the narrative wasn't what I would've liked it to be. Thankfully, I got the chance to remedy this a little bit in the Mirror's Edge comic series with DC. The story in those was much more along the lines of what I would've liked to have developed for the game."
Pratchett added, "I've been quite candid about what happened with Mirror's Edge, because I know some players were disappointed with the narrative in the game. The upshot of that is that I've probably blotted my copy-book with DICE. I'd love the chance to do it again under the right circumstances, and I have plenty of ideas, but I doubt that's going to happen."
After years of speculation, EA finally unveiled the Mirror's Edge reboot at last year's E3 conference, and the game is currently in development for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. It'll feature a new origins story for lead character Faith, although the publisher is keeping that under wraps for now.
As for Pratchett, she's being kept busy with upcoming TV and film adaptations of her father Terry's work, including a movie of The Wee Free Men and a BBC series of The Watch. And how about the Tomb Raider sequel, hmmmmm? "Can't say, sorry." is the answer to that.
Update: Following today's news, we got in touch with Rhianna Pratchett to ask whether or not she'd be prepared to work on the new Mirror's Edge game if asked, and what she'd want to do differently second time around.
"A lot of it would depend on the time frame involved, the attitude of the team and what they were looking to do with the characters and world this time around," she told us, while noting she'd outlined some of what she'd do with a prequel with the comic series she wrote for the first game.
Check out what Pratchett had to say in full after the break:
"A lot of it would depend on the time frame involved, the attitude of the team and what they were looking to do with the characters and world this time around. The previous game was hampered by narrative coming in too late, which meant it needed to be retrofitted around existing levels, mechanics and other assets. It's not uncommon for games writers to be brought in late, but it severely limits the kind of story that they can create. I think Mirror's Edge was a big learning experience for everyone involved in terms of the importance of thinking about narrative early on.
"I've pretty much outlined some of what I'd do with a prequel in... well, the prequel, which I wrote as a 6-part mini series for DC Comics. The comics allowed me a bit more freedom to explore the world and characters in a way that the confines of the game wouldn't allow for.
"The story in the comics revolved around what happened in the city, how the Connors family were involved, Faith's meeting with Merc and how she came to join the Runners. It also delved into what the Runners carry, why and for whom, with a personal story for Faith woven in there. It also included Faith getting her famous tattoos. The arm one, in particular, is quite significant to her.
"One of other things I did was broaden out the scope of the world to include the areas outside the super shiny city of the game; the parts that are more rundown, but a little livelier. I saw the main city like one of those creatures that lays its eggs inside the body of another and the resulting offspring gradually take over the host, leaving nothing but a husk."
