Halley Gross was raised on video games. His mom bribed him to stop sucking his thumb with Game Gear when she was 7 years of age. A self-proclaimed “solo”, the Westworld screenwriter took advantage of the virtual community to grow. As luck would have it, Gross was playing Skyrim when it came to the e-mail about the creation of their first game: The Last of Us, Part II for the PlayStation.
Jump to June of 2020: Gross and Naughty Dog Studios cowriter Neil Druckmann are responsible for the most highly anticipated game of the year and the continuation of the story of a popular character Ellie. The now 19-year-old protagonist (voiced by Ashley Johnson) is in the driver’s seat for this female-focused second delivery, and its complex history serves as food for thought, for the players, especially the women.
“We want people to feel that they’re being seen, that we care, and we believe that their stories are important. Just as important as any other person.”
Ellie is a survivor. More appropriately, as Gross told POPSUGAR, she is a “brave, tough, badass, motherf*cker.” Ellie the version of the united states is ravaged by a deadly pandemic (strange, given current events) where the “infected” are zombie-like creatures and she is the only one immune, and the only possibility of a cure. We found her in a quest to avenge the death of his surrogate father at a great cost: he is willing to give up on the love, the security, or even their own humanity, to justice? And can justice exist in a violently divided world?
The violence is not strong enough as a word to the brutal acts of Ellie, and his antagonist, Abby, inflict on others — or what they themselves experience. Each one is driven close to a point of no return trying to take revenge, and are haunted by the psychological damage of a hostile world. There is an important scene where Ellie PTSD rears its head, seizing his generally unshakable. Gross wanted to feature this trauma on the screen for a specific reason: to recognize the real life pain of other women.
“I want women to see this and if they have experienced some type of trauma that perhaps they feel a little bit more, a little less alone,” Gross said POPSUGAR. “This is something that many human beings have had to negotiate. And looks at Ellie, that if well can kick your ass sometimes, eventually finds its way through it . . . or find a way to live with her, work with her.”
Despite the darkness, Ellie is also able to find moments of light in his relationship with his girlfriend Dina — voiced by actress Shannon Woodward, who was “very excited” to join the team. Dina is the only one who can make of Ellie, a brave woman, lost their nerve. The game of the most beautiful scenes are shared between the characters, and even before its launch, Gross realized that his love story was emboldening LGBTQ+ fans.
“We get messages in the studio all the time about how to see Ellie on the screen made people feel, particularly young women feel a little more brave about owning your identity or share their orientation with their families,” Gross said. One of the pulp of the output, nonexploitative romance between two women is hard to find in the video game industry. The same can be said of trans representation.
Gross said that the representation is “extremely important” for their team and want all people to feel embraced. That is why it is essential for the function of characters as Lion (voice of Ian Alexander), a trans young man who becomes an important part of Abby’s story. He makes countless sacrifices to stay true to himself within the game.
“We want people to feel that they’re being seen, that we care, and we believe that their stories are important. Just as important as any other person,” he said.
In the spirit of inclusiveness, Gross, and Woodward has a standing invitation to any women who might be trying to enter the world of the game: come play. In the middle of the real life of the pandemic, video games are one of the activities that friends can share from the comfort of their own homes.
“It has been a lifesaver,” Woodward said POPSUGAR. “I feel like I’m actually hanging out with my friends and we are all safe. We are all naturally socially distant and we’re not going to wear masks. We’re all just out to drink and kicks in the ass.”
“We’re a f*cking awesome group of girls,” Gross added. “You should join us. There is a real community and there is an incredible creativity and the discomfort and strangeness and triumphs and it is really worth checking out.”
Image Source: PlayStation
