It didn’t take long for ex-Naughty Dog Writer and Creative Director Amy Hennig to land at a new studio, with EA and Visceral Games announcing that Hennig has joined Visceral Games as Creative Director on a new Star Wars project.
Steve Papoutsis, Vice President and General Manager at Visceral Games, issued a statement about Hennig’s hiring, revealing how they weren’t the only ones interested in her talents and more:
Amy has long been recognized as one of our industry’s top visionaries, and is coming off an amazing run as the Writer and Creative Director of the Uncharted franchise. But her contributions go beyond the games she helped create at Naughty Dog and at Crystal Dynamics, where we worked together many years ago. As both a colleague and friend, I’ve always admired her approach to creative development – focusing on nailing down the soul of a game first, and then making sure the writing, the gameplay, the design and the art comes together to form a unified, interactive experience for the player. This fits in perfectly with what we’re trying to do here at Visceral and Amy’s going to help us continue in our pursuit to make the most thrilling, immersive games in the world.
Over the last few weeks, Amy and I have spent a lot of time talking about what her first project would be. There are a lot of different directions we could have gone, but I could sense that what really excited her about this opportunity (because let’s face it, we weren’t the only ones knocking at her door) was Star Wars. Amy’s a huge fan. We happen to be making a Star Wars game. Just thinking about the possibilities made both of us even more excited about having her join the team.
Hennig herself then took to Twitter to say, “Very excited to share that I’m joining Visceral Games as Creative Director on a new Star Wars project!” She then added:
“I began my career at EA almost a quarter century ago (I have the 1991 Rising Star award… to prove it – ha!) It might’ve taken me 23 years, but I’m back – and it’s good to be home at EA!”
“It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to contribute to the Star Wars universe, after it’s had such a formative influence on my life.”
“I vividly remember sitting in a theater with my buddy Matthew Rockloff in 1976, seeing the Star Wars trailer for the first time and feeling like the universe clicked into place for me in that moment.”
“Two amazing things entered my life in 1977 – Star Wars and the Atari 2600. This opportunity is the confluence of the 2 most influential experiences of my youth, and I couldn’t be more excited to go on this journey.”
According to job listings, Visceral Games is hiring for a “third-person action/adventure Star Wars title,” so that sheds a little light on the project Hennig is Creative Director of now.
Did you ever think Hennig would end up at Visceral Games? Let us know in the comments below.
[Via]
