Cara Ellison started her profession within the video games trade as a QA tester on GTA 4, and went on to turn out to be a video games journalist writing for publications similar to Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and The Guardian. She later moved into narrative design, securing a job as senior narrative designer at Sony Santa Monica, earlier than becoming a member of Gravity Effectively in 2023, a studio fashioned by Respawn and Infinity Ward veterans Drew McCoy and Jon Shiring. Ellison was chosen as a BAFTA Breakthrough for her work on the VR puzzle journey Ghost City by Fireproof Video games.
How does it really feel to be nominated for BAFTA Breakthrough?
It feels wonderful. It was such a shock and a shock.
What benefits do you assume it may give?
I feel it might probably assist you determine what’s subsequent. It feels virtually like a milestone for me. I have been within the trade for over 16 years now, and it jogs my memory that you may nonetheless study new issues, and develop, and turn out to be one thing else. All of these issues are actually helpful to consider, as a result of considered one of my biggest fears is that I’ve turn out to be creatively stagnant, and I cease considering that I can study one thing new.
Additionally I have been speaking with BAFTA about leveling up my management abilities, and actually serious about how I can maintain a whole lot of our inventive expertise within the UK and in a sustainable place. It has been devastating to have a look at what number of layoffs there have been, and I am actually afraid that we’ll lose a whole lot of our actually skilled recreation designers. Lots of people have to maneuver out of the UK to seek out jobs.
One of many issues that I might take into consideration doing sooner or later is reinvesting my expertise and data into the UK video games trade, and seeing younger people who find themselves graduating from locations like Abertay College. So I’ve actually been serious about the long run and about returning a whole lot of the expertise that I’ve managed to get world wide.
So that you’re serious about extra of a educating function?
Yeah, for sure. So there’s a whole lot of that, serious about how I can reinvest and attempt to develop the trade right here.
You talked about layoffs, and narrative design specifically has been very arduous hit lately, particularly with the rise of AI. What’s been your expertise?
I feel narrative is mostly one of many first departments to get hit, together with QA and generally manufacturing. I feel it is as a result of folks assume that these guidelines are very fungible: like, if we want a author, we are able to at all times simply swap in one other one. However that is probably not true.
The institutional data that folks acquire from being inside corporations – the data of instruments, data of the engine, data of how issues work, the best way to get issues executed – all of that’s misplaced while you lay somebody off. However what’s fascinating about narrative design is that it is at all times seen as expendable, as a result of it isn’t top-level recreation design: it isn’t engineering, that type of factor. Which is such a disgrace, as a result of personally I feel that your recreation’s story or narrative, even when it isn’t a conventional narrative, is the factor that really retains folks selecting the controller again up and persevering with to play for an extended period of time. In lots of situations, it propels you in direction of the top of the sport.
What have you ever been engaged on just lately? I feel you suggested on The Séance of Blake Manor, did not you?
That is proper, yeah, which was wonderful. What a chance, and what an unbelievable recreation. Even from these early builds, I knew instantly it was going to be 10 out of 10.
I’ve additionally been engaged on a smaller recreation known as Sleight of Hand from RiffRaff Video games, which is absolutely nice. And my full-time job is I work with an organization known as Gravity Effectively, and so they’re a much bigger studio, however they have not introduced any of their tasks but.
You labored on Void Bastards, too – what did your dad and mom say while you advised them you had been engaged on a recreation known as Void Bastards?
They weren’t stunned! I’ve at all times been fairly a sweary little one. A variety of the characters that I developed for Void Bastards are additionally extraordinarily sweary as properly. A few of them are wee Neds that come and attempt to assault you. However it was actually enjoyable to work on.
Clearly you are a really senior author lately, however are you personally discovering it more durable to get gigs, or are fewer folks coming to you with writing assignments?
No, however I feel that is uncommon. I do not truly know why that’s. I assume a part of it’s that I do know lots of people by means of working as a journalist for The Guardian and PC Gamer and Rock Paper Shotgun. But in addition, I’ve executed a really broad quantity of labor throughout the globe. So I labored on God of Battle: Ragnarok, and I did plenty of work in Seattle and Australia. As a result of I had an curiosity in travelling, that is helped me to broaden the varieties of jobs that I’ve taken. However clearly that may be a privilege, as a result of many individuals have youngsters and a mortgage – I used to be at all times renting, so inside 5 seconds I might simply drop every thing and transfer.
In order that’s been a boon to me, however I additionally acknowledge that that is a privilege, and I do not assume that must be the norm to get jobs within the trade. You must be capable to be in a cottage in the course of the Highlands and nonetheless work on video games.
This can be a level of controversy, is not it? As a result of some corporations are insisting that workers come into the workplace now.
I imply, there are some issues which can be simpler in particular person, however I do not assume these issues need to occur on daily basis. Firms usually have the power to fly their workers in for a few weeks to try this vital teamwork, then return to distant working. As a result of I feel truly you get extra executed remotely, and I feel it is extra productive. You could have much less commute time, and you’ve got much less stress, and you do not have to pay for childcare generally, so that’s actually vital to retain. And I really feel like blissful workers make higher video games.
One final query: what does it imply to be a member of BAFTA? How does it assist you to?
I feel it helps me really feel like I am related to my friends. As a result of dwelling in Dundee – despite the fact that we’ve got a small video games trade right here and we do discuss to one another – I really feel like I want a broader sense of what my friends are doing and one thing to aspire to. BAFTA provides me this concept that I am a part of a cohort of people who find themselves actually making an attempt to push ahead our medium, and are attempting to do one thing particular despite the entire horrible issues which can be taking place world wide.
Artwork will get me up within the morning. It is the rationale that folks do their jobs and do their chores and attempt to maintain going, as a result of they need to know what occurs subsequent of their favorite comedian, or what occurs within the subsequent online game that comes out, or what occurs within the subsequent episode of Pluribus. Artwork is one thing compelling that makes folks really feel human. And what I get from BAFTA is this sense of plurality, and this concept of individuals from a great deal of totally different backgrounds all telling tales.
This interview has been edited for size and readability.
Uncover extra in regards to the different members of the 2025 BAFTA Breakthrough video games cohort: Kyle Banks, Stanley Baxton, Sally Beaumont, and Mark Choi.