Author Dan Jolley recently blogged in candor about his experience working with Techland for Dying Light.
Jolley worked with the Polish developer to write strong female characters for their upcoming zombie survival horror. He was originally hired to help them flesh out some side stories, but slowly became more involved with helping them flesh out the main story.
As Jolley explained, Techland had the best of intentions, but didn't have experience in this kind of characterization. This was exacerbated by the fact that they were a European developer that simply did not understand many facets and nuances of American culture. Techland was clear about catering to an American audience, as they comprised most of Techland's fans.
Jolley worked hard with Techland's own writers, Rafal Orkan and Michal Malecki, and art director Pawel Selinger, to make their female characters intelligent, tough, and interesting. Jolley also made sure to tap some of Techland's own female developers; Magda Kiaca, Gosia Mitrega, and Anna Jablonska, for help in shaping these characters as well. To a certain degree, Jolley's work was comparable to game localization, like what Marvelous and Atlus do to Japanese games when they are brought over to the US.
Jolley shared some details on two such female characters. Jade Aldemir, who at one point was conceived of as a beauty pageant queen, is now a champion kickboxer, nicknamed 'The Scorpion'. Jade is tough-as-nails, and cliché as it is, Jolley and company saw it fit to give her a tragic backstory to explain that toughness.
Another female character, Troy, is a survivor and a natural leader. Jolley claims inspiration from Malala Yousafzai for Troy, who leads a small band of survivors in an isolated part of the city, and may be resentful that it took a zombie uprising for those survivors to take her seriously.
Lastly, there is Lena, a combat nurse with a small, but pivotal role, in a key scene in the game's story. For fans who were upset and puzzled by the developer's actions with Riptide, Dying Light seems to be Techland's way of apologizing and trying to make things right.
Dying Light will be released on January 27, 2015, on Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
