Jennifer Hepler Interview

Killer Betties has posted an interview with BioWare’s Jennifer Hepler about her position as managing editor at the company and the video game experience that landed her the job.

Q: If you could pick one game as the best game ever, what would it be?

A: Deus Ex was absolutely the game that made my husband and me realize that game stories had advanced to the point where they could do as much or more than any other kind of fiction. Every time we thought the story was wrapping up, we hit a new wrinkle, and both the gameplay and the dialogue were tight and fun and always kept moving. For me, the gameplay itself was a little difficult, though, and I really needed my husband to take the controls when the shooting started.

I think Bioware’s Jade Empire (which was done well before I started working here, so I’m not tooting my own horn) was one of the most satisfying game experiences I’ve had on my own. The story was good, the choices were cool, the setting was my favorite — Asian fantasy — and the gameplay was very easy to learn. I could play the game myself, appreciate it for the story, and get through the fighting with just a few buttons and very little technique. I only had to reload maybe twice during the entire game, which is key to my enjoyment, because if I have to reload and replay an area I’ve already done, I will almost always just turn the game off and never start it again.

If I were to recommend a game to a girl just starting out and looking for something beautiful, immersive and easy to learn (especially if she’s a Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fan), I would definitely put Jade at the top of the list.