@PissedOffRyno: Does Felicia Day matter at all? I mean does she actually contribute anything useful to this industry, besides retaining a geek persona?

He followed it up 14 minutes later with another question:

PissedOffRyno: @feliciaday, I keep seeing everywhere. Question: Do you matter at all? Do you even provide anything useful to gaming, besides “personality?

Since, obviously, he hadn’t made his point enough, he took another stab at it seven minutes later:

PissedOffRyno: could you be considered nothing more than a glorified booth babe? You don’t seem to add anything creative to the medium.

Because, of course, if you’re going to insult someone, it’s best to do it three times in a row. That’s called being thorough!

No, wait. It’s not. As a journalist for newspapers, magazines and websites for more than 20 years, I’ve watched the Internet open up amazing new venues for people to share ideas. The problem is, it’s opened up amazing new ways for people to share the many ways in which they can be thoughtless, rash, impulsive and purposely controversial for the sake of being purposely controversial.

This is why journalists — who, by the way, should be reporting on the news and sharing insights and analysis, not taking cheap shots in a bid to become news — need to take a moment to remember that they’re not just representing themselves on Twitter. They’re representing their employers as well, especially when their Twitter bio includes something like “and now I write for Destructoid.” Destructoid.com tweeted later in the day in response to the response to Perez’s tweets:

@destructoid: We would like to apologize re: comments made by one of our contributors toward @feliciaday and state publicly @Dtoid does not share them.

It’s not really cool when your employer has to take to a public venue to clarify that it doesn’t agree with you. And the problem with poking people on Twitter is that, of course, your conversation is far from private. Wil Wheaton, a frequent collaborator of Day’s, shared his thoughts on the matter with a string of tweets to his 2 million-plus followers, including:

@wilw: So @destructoid wants “fans” to be “understanding”. I want @dtoid to hire writers who arent ignorant, mysoginist assholes.

All of which opened Destructoid and Perez to more opinions on the matter. Finally, nearly a day after the initial comments, Perez followed up with … an … uh, apology?

@PissedOffRyno: I should have been smarter and just made a comment against God or the Catholic Church…

I’m sure there will be blog posts about how the tweets represent the continuing/previous marginalization of women in gaming culture/online/fandoms; I’ve seen a few already, and they’re not wrong. But I think this also represents the further marginalization of good judgment, and the importance of proper Twitter training by media professionals. While everyone’s entitled to their opinion, when you’re a writer you’re also obligated to understand that your words, thoughts and actions also reflect on you and your employer.

Or at the very least, be funny about it if you’re going to deliberately bait someone with 2 million Twitter followers, and a bestie with similar numbers. I only bring out the popcorn for the fun fanspolosions.

Learn more about Jane’s career, writing for television and what those writing sprints are all about. (If you missed it, catch up on part 1. Part 3 will be posted Thursday!)

In terms of the style of the writing, or where you feel most comfortable, it seems to vacillate between sort of sci-fi and comedy. Is that a fair assessment? … We all hate to be slotted, but in terms of where you feel your strength is, is that where you feel it is?

I worked with a comedy writer early in my career, who’s a veteran writer. He’d been writing for 18 seasons of TV, and had never once worked on a show that he would watch. And that probably happens more than you’d like to think. You can be a working comedy writer who writes shows for kids, and it’s not a show you’d ever watch. Maybe you respect it for what it is, but it’s not something you’d enjoy watching. That can easily happen. I’ve been really lucky, that the stuff I’ve been hired on is the stuff I like to watch. I actually think that’s a good recipe for a happy and prosperous career, because you can only know if you’re writing it well if it’s something where you can taste the dish as you’re cooking it, and go, “Yeah, that’s delicious. I’d watch that.” But a lot of people don’t get to do that, so I guess sci-fi and comedy are both good fits for me, and I’ve been lucky to be able to do both. But I’ve done other stuff.

Raphael: You’ve done short stories, too, right? I mean, you’ve done that, right? And you’ve edited other books as well, I guess?

Jane: Yeah. I’ve edited books of essays about shows I’ve worked on, pretty much, and I’ve written short stories – usually tied to a show I’ve worked on. And that’s all been good. Written a lot of comic books. But TV writing is really my real love. I always enjoy writing a TV script better than doing those things. Although I know someday I want to write a how-to-write-for-TV book, and I think that will be a blast.

But yeah, generally, if you’re an aspiring writer, I recommend: Write what you want to watch. If you’re trying to think of an idea for a pilot, ask yourself, “What show am I missing in my viewing lineup? What do I wish I could turn on the TV and see right now?” And write that. And the interesting thing is, I started in comedy. Spent a lot of years in comedy, and I went to hour drama. And Buffy‘s as comedic as any comedy. There’s as many jokes per page in Buffy as a comedy.

But then I worked on a show called The Inside, that was very procedural, and I worked on Battlestar, that’s quite dark. And eventually people stop thinking of you as a joke writer. I had a meeting at a very light hour, a very comedic hour, and they asked me, “So, why do you want to try comedy?” And it’s like, “I’m not just trying comedy, dudes. I’ve been doing comedy.”

But very quickly, your reputation moves to the last thing you did. So that’s a thing that veteran writers I think sometimes have to look out for, is keep your reputation fresh. I’m really happy that Husbands is a comedy, because it sort of reminds people that, like, oh, I’m not just a drama writer. I’m a trained joke writer, too.

Raphael: Right. Right. I want to get to Husbands, definitely. I had a couple more things which I wanted to hit on before we get there, which is just, for anyone who follows you on Twitter: You’re a prolific Tweeter, and …what is a “writing sprint”?

Jane: This is a little thing …

Raphael: Because I see you, like, “I’m going into a writing sprint!” And I always think, “What is that?” I guess I want a visual.

Jane: Yeah. It’s so silly. It’s the silliest thing in the world. It’s just a way for me to say, “Hey, I really need to write now. But I’m finding it hard to get started. I’m having too much fun here on Twitter. So what I’m going to do, is I’m going to announce on Twitter that I’m going to go write for an hour. And I won’t be tweeting. And you all know that I promised, right? So you’ll keep me honest.”

Raphael: That’s great! It’s like reverse-engineering the way Twitter actually, oftentimes kind of sucks your day away. In this case, you’re actually using it almost like a timer, right?

Jane: Yeah, exactly.

Raphael: That’s great.

Jane: So I need to do an hour’s worth of work. I think it really helps to do assignments by the time, not by the task. You get more done if you say, “I’m going to work with tremendous focus for an hour,” than you do if you say, “I’ll work until the scene is done.” Because then the scene will take an hour, where if you just say, “I’ll work for an hour,” you may get three scenes done.

But the innovative part of the sprint is that I say, “You guys at home, do the same thing. If you’ve got an hour right now, sit down with me. You’ll get that feeling of community, that feeling that you get when you’re sitting in the reference room at the library, working, and everyone around you is working, too. It’s like, “I’m not alone. There’s someone else out there working, too.” And so people work along at the same time I do, and people have started hosting their own sprints, so it’s them and their followers sprinting.

And I get people every day, saying, “I finished my dissertation.” “I wrote my screenplay.” “I finished my novel because of your sprints.” And it’s made me realize how rare it is these days for anyone to work for an hour without checking their email, sending a tweet, getting a text, getting a call. That an hour of focus has become something people haven’t had in years, and they’re getting huge amounts done. If there’s any spike in productivity this year, and the American economy, I think it will be because of the amazing people who have adopted my little Twitter trick to make myself work, because people are out there working. And I’m so thrilled to see people getting stuff done.

Raphael: That’s so great! That’s just thrilling.

Jane: Hey, Raphael.

Raphael: Hey there. So, thank you for agreeing to do this. How fun, to get a chance to talk to you about kind of what you’re doing. In the full disclosure of how this is, essentially, you and I are working together, obviously, on Once Upon a Time, but I know that you are working in other venues. I’m particularly interested in talking about what you think about what you’re doing with your Web series.

But I thought, to kind of just use … I wrote up some questions, almost like a blind interview in a certain sense – knowing some of the answers? But for other people who might not know some of the answers, sort of them getting a chance to discover you. If you’re game, then I can sort of jump in from that.

Jane: I think that sounds marvelous. I’m more than game; that sounds wonderful.

Raphael: OK, great. So then, let’s get started: For anyone who’s not aware of, from whence you come. I mean, I love this story – how you started writing, or how you came to it?

Jane: Yeah. I grew up in the Midwest, a professor’s daughter in the middle of Iowa – Ames, Iowa. And I knew I wanted to write for TV, but it didn’t seem doable.

I grew up watching a lot of TV; it was in some ways, a golden age. There was a lot of, sort of … The Odd Couple, and M*A*S*H and Mary Tyler Moore, and like, Barney Miller – these amazing shows. There was also a lot of Welcome Back, Kotter and The Love Boat, and other shows that I loved equally well, and other shows that I loved equally well, and without distinction. And I just, I knew I wanted to write for TV. And I read an interview with one of the writers from M*A*S*H – a woman writer – talking about people sending in spec scripts. And I realized that’s what I wanted to do.

I didn’t really get a chance to try it — because it wasn’t clear how you did that important step of actually sending something in – until I was well into grad school. I discovered that you could submit scripts to Star Trek: The Next Generation totally without an agent: You just had to send it into Paramount, and they would read it.

Raphael: That’s amazing. Is there anyone who still does that?

Jane: No – and nobody did it then! It was weird, then. Star Trek is, as far as I know, the only show that ever did it. The Star Trek shows always had that policy, and nobody else ever did. And right now, there doesn’t happen to be a Star Trek show on the air. So that door’s not there; but in fact, in a way, that step was kind of skippable.

Because what that program got me … I mean, I eventually got a sale. I sold the premise to them, which was $1,000, which at the time was like, some massive amount for me. But what it really got me was someone told me about the Disney writers’ fellowship. And so I technically could have done everything else the same in my career, without Star Trek, as long as there had been someone along the way to tell me about the Disney writers’ fellowship, because that’s what really allowed me to move to town and start doing this as a career.

Raphael: And what’s that, I guess? How does that work?

Jane: That still exists. It’s the ABC/Disney writers’ fellowship. If you just search ABC Disney writers or talent development, words like that, you’ll find it. It’s gotten a little harder to get in, because now they require some industry experience. But if you have that, if you have some industry experience, it’s become a much smaller pool, so it’s easier to get in. So that’s good.

But it’s a program that Disney runs here in Burbank, where they bring in young, aspiring writers, and you get a year’s training with them. They pay you, which is amazing. And you work with executives; you meet showrunners; you write scripts; and they place you – they do their very best, and they do a very good job at it, of placing you on one of their shows. … It’s to the benefit of the show-runner, because they get a writer whom they’re not paying – the fellowship pays for them – and it’s to your benefit, because you’re sitting there, in a professional writers’ room, just like the paid writers, and if the show goes and they like you, you will undoubtedly be hired, for realsies.

Raphael: That’s incredible – that’s incredible.

Jane: Yeah, it’s fantastic! It’s absolutely fantastic. And it’s made applying – or, it’s made getting into TV writing a little more like an ordinary job. It used to be that essentially you would get into a program – Disney has one, NBC has one – there’s a few, like Disney. You’d get into that program, and it was like you won the lottery. And it was about as easy – and, you know, it made about as much sense. It was just, the odds were so high, that of the thousands of scripts submitted, yours would be picked and you’d get to do this.

Now, it’s a little more like applying for a job; there’s steps to it. Generally, you move to L.A. You’d get some kind of job on the fringes of the business: You’re an agent’s assistant, you’re a set P.A. You’re something like that. You meet a couple people, you get a letter of recommendation, you can say you’ve got industry experience. You apply to the program; you’re applying against a smaller group of people. It’s a little more like trade school, now, where there’s actual steps that you do to get this job. So, in a way, it’s made it a little more logical.

Raphael: That’s great. And I’m sure you get asked all the time, “How do you become a writer?” I mean, I know I get that as an actor, like: “How do you/What do you do,” and it’s always a bit overwhelming because there’s no obvious road. It’s so zig-zaggy, in a way.

Jane: Absolutely. It’s much like what I’m sure you’re asked about: “OK, I know I’m good! How do I become a professional, Hollywood paid working actor?”

Raphael: Right! And of course, I wanna say, “Don’t! Just run for the hills!”

Jane: You know, a lot of writers give that advice. They talk about, “This job will make you cry. Only do this job if you can not sleep at night without writing. If you can do anything else, do it.” But I would tend to disagree and say that writing is the best job in the world. I have loved almost every minute of it. You’re paid very well, you’re working with exciting people. What’s the downside? You’d be crying at any job, you know? All jobs make you cry at some point.

Raphael: That’s really true! That’s really true. What was your first big break, I guess, in terms of moving up that ladder?

Jane: The first big break was that they liked my script enough at Star Trek to bring me in to pitch. Then that they bought something, then that I got into the Disney fellowship – that was a huge one.

But after that, I guess it probably was that a very nice showrunner at a show called Dinosaurs allowed this young Disney fellow to come clutter up his writers’ room at a point where they were essentially wrapping things up. They were pretty much putting the covers on the furniture. They knew the show was ending; they had to do the last eight episodes, or whatever, and they let a new person, this kid who didn’t know anything about the business – I mean, I just sort of came in, making every mistake in the book. And they let me come in, and sit in their room for that last month and get some room experience. And it was amazing, and I got a produced script, and there’s just nothing like that to help your resume start to look shiny. That was a big break.

Raphael: I’m sure fans want to know how to follow you online? If you want to give us your … Twitter name and/or if you have any sort of fan site, or anything that they could sort of follow you?

Jennifer: Yeah – the best way to find me right now, is I’m on Twitter: @jhaletweets. … And my website’s JenniferHale.com, but, you know, that’s just my website. It’s mostly for work, but you’re quite welcome to go there. The Twitter way is probably the best way to find me.

Raphael: That sounds great. That sounds great. And then, do you play the game?

Jennifer: I’ve played it once. I actually don’t have time to play games, because I don’t have a ton of free time. And I’m…

Raphael: So busy making them, right, yeah.

Jennifer: Yeah, and when I have free time, I go outside, or I go climbing. Or I go, you know, jump on the horse, or whatever I can do outside. But I did play once! A guy named Tom Bissell did an article on me for The New Yorker last year, and he made me sit down and play the game for an hour. I don’t know how that happened, because my plan? Was to throw him on a rope somewhere and make him rock climb, or throw him on a horse and do the interview that way, but somehow I found myself sitting in a house with Mass Effect 2 in hand, and played through for, like, an hour.

It was really interesting; I was glad I did it. I mean, I was not very proficient at it – although, apparently, I’m a good shot, which makes me very happy.

Raphael: Oh, very good!

Jennifer: You know, it’s frustrating though; I don’t know about you. Do you have this experience: I heard it, and I went, “Ah! I wish I would have known this detail of the visual, because I would have done that differently!” You know? That makes me nuts about the whole thing.

Raphael: Yeah. Watching some of this stuff – the clips online – it is funny. It’s a weird feeling, actually. Kind of, sort of, “That sounds like me, that doesn’t look like me.” And then, were you actually as an actor playing the scene — which is where my instinct is, where your instinct is — it would have been different in real time, obviously.

And then, just last question, I guess, which is just to say: Where do you imagine/where do you see all of this going? Where do you see the future of games going? What’s on the horizon for developers and what they’re going to do? What are we going to see, do you think?

Jennifer: Mocap. Mocap. [Editor's note: Motion capture. Which you probably knew.] I think that, I see this very long term, but I do see it. And it’s not 100% of a merge, but I see a bit of a melding of feature films and games through mocap. Because I’ve done a good bit of mocap now, and it’s extraordinary – the difference in the experience of it. It’s regular acting, and then your visual , your face, your image just gets changed. I think that’s where the future is, and I think that’s going to place more and more value on the acting, and on the story.

I think people are starting to really enjoy these mythologies. Dave Hayter – do you know Dave? – he’s a really brilliant writer, and a great voice actor. He wrote X-Men and Watchmen, and a million other things, and he’s also in the new Star Wars: Old Republic game. He said once … these videogames (sorry, Dave, if I’m poorly paraphrasing you) are our new mythology. They’re our new mythology for this generation. And I think the importance of that is huge right now, because things are changing so fast in the world, and moving so quickly that if we can grab onto our stories, that have sort of consistent archetypes and consistent beginning, middle and end concepts? That’s helpful. And because the world’s moving so fast and is so fluid, I think videogames are a great bridge for that. Because they’re fluid, and fast, and yet they sometimes have kind of a beginning, middle and end feel to them, similar to films. I think to where all those things are starting to merge together. They’re our stories. We need our stories. And we get to be in them. Players get to be in them, and I think that’s really fantastic for people.

Raphael: That’s really cool. That’s really cool. Well, Jennifer, thank you so much for doing this. I so appreciate it. I know everyone else does.

Jennifer: It’s awesome, yeah. Hi, everybody, and huge thanks to everybody out there that we even have jobs.

Raphael: Hear, hear! Yes, indeed. What a joy, what a joy.

Jennifer: Thank you for doing this. This is great.

Raphael: My sincere pleasure. All right, well take care then, and we’ll be speaking soon. All right, cheers. Bye.

Raphael: What has been, in your experience in working in games, kind of, the games that you most dislike doing? Without giving titles or I mean, without, you know, calling out the guilty. But what are the things that, what are the games that are …

Jennifer: Yeah – games where I’m asked to play a role, and not a person – do you know what I mean? Like, I’m just a nurse, or I’m just a girl in distress, you know. Or an ass-kicker, you know? Well, who’s the person? And games where the writing isn’t there, like the time hasn’t been taken to really get it in the writing. Where the writers have been rushed, or dismissed, so they couldn’t give their best-quality work. Those are the hardest ones. Or where people are vague, in a hurry and not concerned with specifics. Which, quite fortunately, happens less and less and less. There’s just such good work going on right now, it’s really great.

Raphael: I guess … and it’s such a competitive market, I guess. Everyone’s sort of pushing each other to the very best.

Jennifer: Yeah, and they’re realizing that the quality of acting that goes into it is gonna affect people’s experiences. People get attached to these games; it’s awesome. It’s like an epic movie they get to be in.

Raphael: It’s really true. It’s really true. Have you – I mean, obviously, seeing as that you get to go work in a dark room, essentially, with the microphone most days, you don’t necessarily — considering how much you work — you wouldn’t necessarily be recognized, sort of on the street, per se. But do you get voice recognized, when you call – say, the phone company or something?

Jennifer: You know what I do get? Is people look at me and go, “Do I know you – from somewhere? Where’d you go to school?” Like, it doesn’t register that my voice is familiar, because I also do a lot of commercials and cartoons, and I’m doing promos for an ABC Daytime show right now called The Revolution. So the voice, you know, the voice, this voice that I have is out there. But nobody really ties it in that specifically. They’re just like, “You … you look familiar.”

Raphael: Not realizing that you actually sound familiar.

Jennifer: People don’t – that’s not in our paradigm, though. “What?” But, if you’re walking down the street, and you hear somebody behind you that sounds like, let’s say an ex with a very powerful resonance – a good one or a bad one – your whole being will physiologically … you’ll feel it in your stomach, you’ll feel it and kind of get a little quivery in your limbs and stuff, and woah! Who’s that? And you’ll whip around to see if they’re there.

Raphael: Right, it has almost like a physiological response in your body. I know exactly what you mean.

Jennifer: It’s so powerful.

Raphael: Yeah, that’s really cool. What do you make of, essentially also the relationship – I mean, I’ve been so knocked out since we’ve been doing these audioblogs with how powerful these characters have really reached into people’s imaginations. What a deep place it is in them.

Jennifer: I credit BioWare’s commitment there. I can remember recording stuff with Caroline on Mass Effect 3 – Caroline, our director. And just one or two moments out of what – some 7,000 lines – we would stop and go, “Hold on. That writing’s not working. Let’s fix that.” You know, their commitment is so strong, and she would say things like, “OK, I played through this section, and I wanna have a look at this, and you know this is what I saw.” And I’m like, my gosh. You spend how many hundreds of hours working your butt off on this in your regular time, and then you play it in your free time, just to make sure it’s perfect and right? That’s what I credit it to – just the way they bust their butts to get it just right.

Raphael: It’s true – it’s almost like they’re game makers with a mission.

Jennifer: They are – that’s exactly what they are. That’s so funny.

Raphael: And I follow them on Twitter, and it’s incredible. Now, they’re saying, “I’m stepping into game play. My first time at ME3,” and you know, they’re stepping in. It’s like going into hallowed library, hallowed ground.

Jennifer: Yeah. I’ve been lucky enough to go to a couple of events because of the launch of the femShep specifically this year. And they have a whole display there at like, PAX, you know, the convention in Seattle last year, and things like that. Where they’ve got this huge sort of room set up, you can go in and play it – I know that’s fairly common. But they’ve just done such a tremendous job, with the trailers and the whole setup and the anticipation and the artwork. It’s just gorgeous. … It’s such an incredible experience, just being in there. It totally transports you.

Raphael: That’s spectacular. That’s just spectacular.

Raphael: So I’m sure everybody wants to know, I mean people who haven’t necessarily gone and researched you, but how did you find your way, as an actress, to doing games? Was that something that you were aiming toward?

Jennifer: You know, I came out here like all the rest of us, you know, pursuing the on-camera stuff. And it was going fine, but then I went, ‘You know what? I need to actually make a full living at this — and right away.’ And I’d done a bunch of voiceover back East, before I moved here, and so I …

Raphael: Was that in New York, or was that …?

Jennifer: No, actually it was in Birmingham, Alabama, and Atlanta, Georgia.

Raphael: Wow.

Jennifer: Yeah. And I went in and made a tape, and got you know, SBV, my agents now – your agents … our agents – took me on, and within a month I booked my first cartoon series. Which was just crazy to me, ’cause I never even really watched cartoons as a kid. And then I had another one, and another one, and another one, and that ball just started rolling really fast.

And out of that first cartoon series, several years later came my first videogame, which belonged to that series, which was Where on Earth Is Carmen Sandiego? And then more and more games came along, and I don’t know. The art form just suited me. It was intense, you know. It was high drama, it was battles and butt-kicking, adventure and action, which I love.

Raphael: That’s great.

Jennifer: My hobbies are like, rock climbing and riding horses and you know, being outside and going and traveling and doing stuff, so, yeah. Yeah.

Raphael: Wow. That makes you think of personal ads, of what people like.

Jennifer: Oh, right, isn’t that funny?

Raphael: Rock climbing … long walks on the beach…

Jennifer: “Enjoys saving the universe, rock climbing, riding horses, quiet nights at home.”

Raphael: Right. “Kicking Geth butt.” Right, yeah.

Jennifer: That’s right. “Shooting multiple legions of bad guys at once.”

Raphael: Yeah. And then, do you still sort of foray into – do you have time – to foray into essentially doing on-camera stuff as well?

Jennifer: I do, actually. Actually, I’m just starting to get back there now. Last several years, all I’ve done basically has just been, like, projects for friends – small little independent stuff here and there, because it’s all I’ve had time for. But I’ve kind of had a jones … to get out there again lately. And so I started doing that – I actually just worked on The Office last week. Ironically, it ended up being a voiceover, which is hilarious. But the beauty of that is, I auditioned for one thing, and then they gave me another on set, and I ended up doing both of the parts for them. Because it was voiceover – I could. And I’ve got, you know, I’m going in to read for something today. It’s fun. It’s really fun to get back into. I did a great reading of a screenplay last week. And, yeah.

Raphael: That’s really neat. So it’s sort of … the voice acting has sort of given you a base, and now you can keep just sort of exploring sort of everywhere else, I guess?

Jennifer: Yeah, exactly. Just getting out and having a good time. Yeah.

Raphael: That’s really cool. When you get — I mean, this is more, sort of process-oriented, and I guess I’m just sort of interested in this because I think about this as well, I mean everyone has their own way in, but: When you get a character, say, you get a call and, “Hey, can you lay this down for us? Wanna hear what you sound like.” And you get, essentially, the specs, that is kind of the outline of the character, and you read it, and then you look at maybe, sometimes they have a drawing, sometimes they don’t. How do you find your way in? What’s your way into finding the voice for that character?

Jennifer: You know, it’s all in the script. It’s all in the script. I’ll read; I’ll see how that person makes their way in the world. How they get what they want; what they’re not willing to do, what they are willing to do, what their boundaries are. How they present themselves. You know, it’s really just all in the script; I … you know and … let me think about this for a sec. Like, I don’t go in voice first. I look at the description. I will look at the description, just to see, because somewhere in that description, is someone’s dream of what that person would end up sounding like.

And quite often, there’s a reference there, and out of that reference, I sort of go, “OK. That’s the archetype they’re thinking of.” You know, it’s the action hero, it’s the doctor, it’s the scientist behind – the mind that solves all the problems, you know. Or it’s the person who’s constantly screwing up, you know. What is the archetype? And then, what’s the universal humanity inside that soul? Inside that person? Also, what are their restrictions? What are they not allow… how are they not allowed to sound? Like, there’s certain, I don’t know, we all had parents who were like, “Don’t do this, and don’t do that, and don’t sound like this, and don’t sound like that.” Well, what were theirs, you know? And what matters to them? And how hard are they willing to fight to get it, and when they do fight, what does that look like? For some people, fighting means crying: “I want that” – that’s how they fight for what they want.

Raphael: Right!

Jennifer: But for some people, fighting means, “Just shoot it,” you know? I mean, I just did a game called Bulletstorm last year, that uses some of the craziest language that has ever come out of my mouth, because that’s how she was written. She gets what she wants by saying whatever the hell comes into her mind, and just barreling her way through stuff, you know. Shepard is, on the other hand, is more strategic, more … thinks about things. Like, for Shepard, one of the great structures that helped me define her was her military background. That’s a very specific, rigid, extremely defined boundary around a person. There’s things you do and don’t do. You do not get emotional, if you come from that background. That is not how you get what you want, you know?

Raphael: Right.

Jennifer: Just sort of things like that. And then, it’s just a lot of instinct. It’s just a lot of instinct, because a lot of what we do is cold reading, I mean, you know? We don’t get to see these scripts ahead of time. You know, we have to walk in, and boom, it’s there, and you just jump in and follow your instincts and go. I ask a lot of questions, too.

Raphael: Of the writers, or the director who is there?

Jennifer: Whoever’s on the phone. Like, if I go to do something, the more obvious example is, you know, you get hit. Oh, Ok. Where? In the head? Sounds very different from the stomach, sounds very different from the arm or in the shoulder. And then, is it an electric bolt, jolt, is it a bullet, is it a blade of some kind, or an arrow? You know, what is it? Is it a machine that hits me, is it, like a Reaper throwing a mechanical arm at me? You know, what’s the visual thing, so I can best match that. And how far am I from my teammates I’m calling to for help? It’s all those specifics – I ask a million questions when I’m in there.

Raphael: God, that’s great. They must love you for that, because obviously, then you just provide that sort of higher level of specificity for what they’re drawing.

Jennifer: Yeah, well, otherwise, I mean people hear these sounds a million times in the game, and otherwise it just all sounds the same. And I can’t imagine how tedious that must be, you know? So I try to get as specific as I can, yeah.

Hi. This is Raphael Sbarge, and I’m so excited today, because based on the success and the response of all the audioblogs that have sort of gone before this, and people have written such wonderful notes of appreciation. I wanna sort of bring to you, for the first time in actual present time, my friend Jennifer Hale and I actually speaking live together.

We’ve spent hours and hours and hours speaking together in Mass Effect, and have never actually done so in real time – of course, because we recorded on separate days. So I wanted to, with no further ado, bring and introduce you to Jennifer Hale. Hold on one second.

Raphael: Jennifer, are you there?

Jennifer: Yeah.

Raphael: Hey, we’re on.

Jennifer: Awesome!

Raphael: How are you?

Jennifer: I’m well, how are you?

Raphael: I’m good. I just was saying that this is sort of for the first time in actual, sort of present time, that we’re actually sort of speaking live together, as opposed to being on separate days.

Jennifer: We’re actually really talking to each other.

Raphael: We’re really talking. I just went online and watched a scene, sort of the, I guess the final, romantic farewell between Kaidan and femShep [Editor's note: It was a video on YouTube. NOT a spoiler.]

Jennifer: Oh … how was it?

Raphael: It’s pretty uh … it’s pretty uh … It’s a hot scene!

Jennifer: Awesome! Awesome! I remember that, I remember recording that scene. OK, now it’s weird talking to you.

Raphael: I know! It’s sort of: Hello!

Jennifer: Yeah, that was fun. That was fun. You know, there’s such a certain safety in what we do, because you know, there’s that iron curtain of actually no one else is in the room.

Raphael: Right [laugh]. It’s sort of you alone, in a room with a microphone; you can kind of go anywhere.

Jennifer: Right?

Raphael: So, amazingly, and I didn’t know this until just recently, I guess you now have the distinction of being in the Guiness Book of World Records as the person who has recorded more videogames than anyone else. Is that right?

Jennifer: I guess so! That’s what someone told me. I had no idea. It’s a trip.

Raphael: Incredible; so if you’re not in a videogame, either it’s not been released, or they haven’t even thought about it yet.

Jennifer: Hey, I like that. I like that. There’s room for all of us. We all need a break.

Raphael: That’s great. That’s great. Well, you started, obviously back with Mass Effect 1. When you came onto it, did you just audition for it, like the rest of the world? How did they find you?

Jennifer: Yep. Just auditioned along with everybody else. Yeah.

Raphael: And what did you make of this whole idea that essentially, that you would be the female version – someone would effectively be sharing the part with you?

Jennifer: You know what’s funny, is I only realized like, probably a few days ago that I never even thought about that. You know, to me, I get so focused on whatever it is that I’m doing, I don’t – the big picture is important to me in terms of context, and what the writer wants. And then I just don’t think about the rest.

Raphael: Yeah, yeah.

Jennifer: I kind of threw into the femShep 1,000% because that’s what’s required, and I don’t even think about manShep unless it comes into the moment of recording and I need to. Or broShep, I suppose we’re calling him. Yeah.

Raphael: Is he referenced in the game?

Jennifer: Um.

R: As an alter-ego? Or is it just…

Jennifer: Nope. Never. You either are female, or you are male. One or the other.

Raphael: Right. Right. Right. Has femShep, in a certain sense – from a character development point of view – has she changed from 1, 2 to 3?

Jennifer: Yep. She has totally evolved.

Raphael: How?

Jennifer: She’s become … you see her humanity more in 3. You know, I can’t, I don’t want to give anything away, but you definitely see her humanity a little bit more in 3. And things have just gotten harder in 3. There’s so much more going on, and it’s so much more intense. And it just keeps coming. And she’s tired. And she’s maybe not always 1,000% confident. She has to proceed as if she is, but for the first time doubt is really rearing its ugly head.

Raphael: Hmmm. You know it is the thing that I’ve found so – and you really are the expert in this because you’ve been in so many games, but I’m curious, from your point of view … I mean, from the games that I’ve done, which is far less: There are characters that they’ve written, that they’ve sort of crafted, in Mass Effect anyway … they seem more like real people, as opposed to just superheroes, in a way.

Jennifer: Yes. You know, I think that’s part of the evolution of the whole business. I think that graphics are coming along, and the animation’s coming along so much that you’re seeing more and more nuance, visually. Which allows us as actors to back off, and just be. We don’t have to dress it up that extra little bit to carry over maybe what the animation’s missing, because technology’s just not there yet. Technology’s there. The nuance is getting more and more refined. And we’re allowed to do less and less, and therefore be more and more human, and more real. Which I think is elevating the whole thing.

Raphael: That’s really cool. That’s really cool. I’ve never heard anyone say that, but that makes a lot of sense.

Raphael: Are there any sort of noticeable differences in the characters that you voice for videogames, versus the characters, you know, screen roles, or other stuff you do on camera?

Kimberly: Well, I feel like you can have a lot … well, obviously because, there’s so many, you know, characters can go in so many different directions, and you have to record alternate endings, and different paths that the way the character can go. So it gives you an opportunity to stretch your acting, because you have so many different choices. But I have noticed that the technology in recording has gotten a lot better. I don’t know if you … I just feel like when I’m recording alone, which we do most of the time in games – all the time in games…

Raphael: Yeah.

Kimberly: It’s just a little bit more challenging. And you don’t exactly know what the other character’s reaction is going to be, and the proximity of the person next to you and the way you talk … But now with the technology being that, if you, or let’s say Jennifer Hale, for instance (female Shapard) has already recorded a scene, that scene will be played for me in my recording session, so I’m actually acting against her.

Raphael: Right.

Kimberly: And I love that – I really, really appreciate that technology.

Raphael: So what I understand – because we record at Technicolor – is that this is, I think, maybe even a proprietary software, I guess.

Kimberly: Yeah.

Raphael: That BioWare has created, called Veda, I guess. You know, for anyone who doesn’t know, essentially, when we walk into these rooms, we’re there, you know, essentially locked in a room with double-paned, bullet-proof glass…

Kimberly: For four hours, by yourself.

Raphael: For four hours, all alone, you and your bottle of water and your imagination.

Kimberly: With your bottle of water, or in Jennifer Hale’s case, her hot water.

Raphael: Right, right, right. Running to the bathroom, because you keep trying to keep your voice, you know …

Kimberly: Lubricated.

Raphael: So it doesn’t get too dry, because you’re talking, talking, talking, constantly. And there’s, with this new technology, the, David, who’s at the board for us, essentially, he’s the mission control, man at the controls, who does the recording and ships it to Edmonton. He’s able to play in cues, set up and record it, and so, that’s what you’re talking about. It makes it a lot easier, doesn’t it?

Kimberly: Oh my goodness. It just, it really does. I think game three is going to be … the performances are going to be even better than the first two games, because of that technology. I really think so.

Raphael: It’s great. It’s great.

Kimberly: Yeah, it’s incredible.

Raphael: Well, I know it’s coming March 6. And we’re all really, we’re excited to see it. I’ve gotta start playing one and two, so I can get up to speed, so I can enjoy three.

Kimberly: I know, yes, please. You can play the version with me, you know. You could just…

Raphael: Oh, that would be so fun!

Kimberly: And I’ll play the version with you.

Raphael: Sweet. I love that. Well, what can you tell us, for the fans who want to find you, what your Twitter name is, and what your Facebook address is, in case they…

Kimberly: OK, well, I’m just – you know how I am, with the, the whole social media thing. I’m just kinda catching up with that. But I guess if you wanna email me, you can do it at …

Raphael: No, not your email, but your, what’s your Twitter name?

Kimberly: Oh, the Twitter name. So that would be twitter.com/kimberlydbrooks.

Raphael: OK, great. Great. And then on Facebook, do you have a fanpage on Facebook?

Kimberly: Yeah, I do. [Editor's note: http://facebook.com/officialkimberlydbrooks.]

Raphael: OK, great, well people will find you then that way, for sure.

Kimberly: Excellent. Cool! I wanna be found.

Raphael: [laugh] That’s awesome. Kimberly, thank you so much.

Kimberly: Thank you, Raphael.

Raphael: You’re great, and we loved your letter, everyone did. And more to come. We’ll find more chances to chat some more. But thank you, for taking the time.

Kimberly: Thanks, so much. Your letter was the inspiration for me, so, thank you.

Raphael: All right, thanks everyone, and we’ll all talk soon. OK.

Raphael: Someone wanted to know how – you know, we both were hired, or brought on. Did you read for Ashley, what did you know about the character? How did you find your way there, I guess.

Kimberly: Right, well, I – like I do every day – I’m a hustler for the job, and I auditioned, just like everybody else. Actually, it’s pretty interesting, I think: I was brought in a little bit later, and the game had already been cast. I believe I was actually replacing an actress – I don’t really know what happened.

Raphael: Oh, no kidding.

Kimberly: Yeah, I don’t know what happened with that whole situation, but I was brought in a little bit later; the game was already kind of going, so I didn’t … You know, we had the drawings, there were some drawings of her, and I thought, “Oh my gosh, she’s so hot. I gotta play her well.”

Raphael: [laugh] You’re hot.

Kimberly: [laugh] Thanks. It’s just been really fun. I love it, because she’s tough; she’s a military chick; she’s, you know, all the weapons; she’s an officer; and she just grows, and you see her whole life story. But, then there’s the other side of her: She’s vulnerable, and she’s a woman. It’s just, it’s really cool to get to play that kind of duplicity in a character.

Raphael: That’s neat. That’s really neat. That’s wonderful.

Kimberly: Yeah, it’s great.

Raphael: I auditioned for it, just like you, and just like you said, you know, we walk into these rooms. It’s funny, you know, I have a son, who, I dropped him off at his preschool – he’s now in second grade – but I remember dropping him off one day, and his teacher apparently said to my son: “You know, your dad looks familiar. What does he do?” And my son thought for a second, and he went: “Um. He auditions.”

Kimberly: [laugh] Oh my gosh, he told the truth! That’s what we do! Oh, that’s brilliant.

Raphael: So, for all intents and purposes, that’s what we do, right?

Kimberly: That’s so true. So do you remember your audition, your actual, specific audition for Mass Effect?

Raphael: I sort of … I don’t remember the specific audition. I remember when I got the call: “Oh, you’ve got this game, called Mass Effect.” And I remember thinking, “Oh, this seems kind of interesting.” And then I remember when we first went into the first sessions, and the very specific notes were: “We don’t want to create a game like any other game. There’s not a lot of screaming; we want it to be more like an episode of 24.”

Kimberly: Exactly. Oh, I remember that, definitely.

Raphael: Right, “And we want to keep it really conversational, and real. We want actors; not voices. We want your personality to come through, but we want to really create a style for the military. There was a lot of … Ginny, the director at the time, was really, really on me anyway, about trying to sort of create, kind of a style, sort of the vibe of the game, and I thought was wildly successful in kind of holding the line for me, which I appreciated.

Kimberly: Oh, definitely. I mean, gosh, games have evolved so much. You think back to some of the first videogames I worked on, where it wasn’t really actor-driven, as they are now. Now, it’s just all about the characters, and the characters’ relationships, and making it very real, like you said: Like an episode of 24. And that’s really exciting, I love that, I love that part, being involved in that.

Come back tomorrow for part 3!