Making a Hazelight hit - Split Fiction Interview with Kaja Chan (Mio)

Audio transcription

"Hello everyone and welcome back to Gamereactor. Today we have a really exciting interview for you because I'm here with Kaja Chan, the, well, you know her best for voicing Mio in Split Fiction and that's pretty much what we're going to be talking about today because Split Fiction is up for a whole host of awards at the BAFTA Games Show which is taking place in, well, a couple of days from when we're recording this interview."

"On Friday! Yes, exactly. So Kaja, thank you so much for joining me today. It's a pleasure to be with you.
How are you by the way? Are you doing good?
I'm good. The sun is out, spring is here, British summertime is kicking and alive. Honestly, I'm doing great."

"I think Greenwich Mean Time is a scam.
Yes, I would agree with that very much. So let's talk a bit about Split Fiction then.
So obviously when it came out it did incredibly well among, well, pretty much everyone, fans, critics.
What do you think it is that makes Split Fiction so special? What do you think is the it factor for the game?
I mean, I want to say the it factor is Hazelight and everything that they do over there."

"But ultimately it's within the story, it's the epic scale of the genre.
The fact that they cross sci-fi and fantasy means that there's something for everyone to enjoy.
And you would think that the two worlds wouldn't really collide together very well.
But to be honest, because they match each other in scale, I think it actually blended really well."

"And I mean, with that concept, there's room for any idea to land.
I mean, that concept means that you can have the pig level, that you can have the dentist level.
You can have a Kira style motorbike chase, which will suit one person in a co-op pair.
And then you'll have the dragon fantasy lore, which will suit the other."

"And so I think that broad appeal means that it's a game that really can bring people together.
When you were making the game, when you were recording your performance with Mio, did you have that inkling of just how special Split Fiction would become?
Did you see that? Did you get that taste when you were recording it?
The end product was going to be so good."

"I think we knew it would be special, but it was...
I think we knew it would be special, not so much just because we knew that we were enjoying the material and that the characters were really cool, but just from the atmosphere of Hazelight.
Everyone there is so happy to be there."

"There's like a warm energy, presence, light when you're in that space.
Everyone is excited to be there. Everyone's proud to be there.
Everyone's telling you stories about what it was like to make It Takes Two, or they're telling stories about what the future for Hazelight is."

"And it's that excitement that made us feel like, okay, we're part of something pretty special and something pretty big.
Because, I mean, coming from a film and TV background, normally people on set are like, first day on the job, eh?
You'll learn."

"You'll learn, young one.
They're cynical and hardened by the weather.
And I mean, I enjoy that energy too, but this was something else.
And I think that's when we knew, okay, there's going to be some magic fairy dust in this."

"And it turned out we were right.
You've talked a lot about Hazelight, how it is to work with them.
In the video game space, one of the most iconic names is Joseph Farris.
He's an incredibly popular individual."

"What was it like working with Joseph? What was that experience like?
He is such a character.
He's such an incredible person.
So he is the F the Oscars guy, but he's actually really grounded."

"He's so down to earth and so welcoming and so loving and incredibly passionate.
He knows how to lift up the spirits of an entire room.
And the moment he walks in, it's like the temperature rises in a really good way.
It means that when we're in the volume doing motion capture, we lock in."

"But also as soon as things get serious, he's like, all right, you know, who can I show some love?
And then he'll go into the ground or he'll be like, oh, do you want chocolate?
Do you want chocolate? Do you want chocolate?
And, you know, he's making sure everyone's fed."

"It's like it is. It is like you have to.
You have to. You have to, like, strap on to the roller coaster ride that is working with Joseph.
But he is adorable and lovely.
And I think that the success of Hazelight and Split Fiction and It Takes Two and every one of their other amazing titles has been because of the strength of his ambition and the clarity of his vision and how optimistic and encouraging he is of his team."

"Everyone is everyone is blindly following him into battle, basically.
And that's because of the power of his of his vision and his, you know, he's very persuasive, put it that way.
Split Fiction, again, it says in the name, it's the split down the middle between those two styles of fiction.
But it's also more than that. It's the split between the two protagonists as well."

"They play very differently. They are very different individuals.
When you were recording Mio and you were capturing that performance, were there any sort of specific directions or messages that Hazelight and Joseph Farris, they gave to you and said, we'd really like you to do this and really like to make sure that you get this into the into the version of Mio that you bring into life?
I haven't been asked that. I haven't thought about that."

"I mean, it's such a good question because it's made me realize just how open to interpretation Joseph was to our interpretation of the characters.
They were hardly prescriptive.
The things that they really wanted us to nail was that Mio at the beginning has a really tough exterior that Zoe's unending friendship and care melts down to.
And by the end of it, Mio is able to get closer to Zoe."

"And then Zoe's character had to be friendly and chirpy and have this like bright exterior.
And then the more we get to know Zoe, we realize that that is all compensating for incredible grief at the center of that character.
And so those journeys were really the only thing that Joseph was prescriptive about.
Otherwise, it was kind of up to us how we how we the natural rhythms that we found in the characters."

"One thing that Joseph was really keen on, though, is that he didn't want Mio to be unlikable.
And there were moments when he was like, don't be that mean.
Do that, but nicer.
Maybe don't be such a bitch."

"A little bit of that.
But I'm glad because I think the final version of Mio did definitely ruffle some feathers.
A friend of mine who played the game had to stop playing because she was like, I can recognize your voice and I know that you are a chipper, happy person.
But hearing your voice in Mio's character is so aggravating."

"I need to stop.
So he was wise to hold me back that little bit, just to make sure that she was still accessible to the players.
And one of the great strengths of split fiction, of course, is how it plays with all those creative ideas and settings.
Were there any parts of the story, you know, or perhaps even one of the side stories that really stands out to you as one that maybe is a bit is almost your favorite part of the of the wider game?
My mind instantly jumps to the dentist side story right at the end."

"I mean, for those who haven't played this through, because you could skip the side stories if you like, that would be foolish.
The two teeth Zoe and Mio canines are jumping about, or maybe they're molars, who knows?
They're jumping about in this dessert fairy land with loads of sweet treats and chocolates and candy and sugar.
And then in that final bit of the side story, you have to light these birthday candles because it's a side story inspired by Mio's fifth birthday or something like that."

"And once they've lit all of the candles, all of a sudden the five candles become a satanic pentagram.
And it comes out of nowhere and the music becomes really ominous and it becomes very dark.
And the boss battle of that level is this crazy animatronic mechanical dentist that is terrifying.
And he's drilling you and you're screaming and Elsie and I, Elsie, the incredible actor who plays Zoe, were in the voiceover booth going like teeth being like decimated by this dentist."

"And when I was playing it through with my brother, we were just cackling because we were still recovering from how quickly they transitioned us from this sweet fairy land candy world to on death's door with a dentist drilling into our enamel.
I think that has to be my favourite moment playing the game.
There are some harrowing side stories, I will say."

"The endings of some of them is surprising, shall we say, but wonderful all the same.
When you play the game as well, you said that you like to play it or you did went through it with your brother.
When you play split fiction, do you tend to find yourself playing as Mio or do you like to switch things up and play Zoe?
Well, that's the thing, right?
I wanted my brother is 13."

"He's hilarious.
He's an incredible young man.
And but I wanted him to play Mio.
I'm like, surely you love your sister as me."

"Right.
So we start playing the game.
We're maybe about an hour into playing the game.
And he goes, um, Kaya, you know, I feel like maybe you should play Mio."

"Oh, why is that?
Because, you know, you've worked so hard on it.
And surely you would find it really meaningful to play through as her.
Come on."

"Take this role for three years.
I'm bored of her.
I want to play Elsie.
I'll play Zoe.
I want to do some things with her."

"And he's like, oh, okay, well, I would prefer to play Zoe.
Why?
Because the gameplay is better.
Because I like what Zoe gets to do."

"So I ended up playing Mio.
I was relegated to playing Mio for the whole game.
Not of my own choice.
I think Dominic, my brother, was more interested in Zoe's character."

"But I enjoyed it, you know?
I've been in this game for three years.
What's another 13 hours?
And you mentioned a moment, well, earlier, that obviously you have a background in film and television."

"Looking at that and then looking at working in the game sector as well, is there anything that perhaps games does well that other forms of entertainment could learn from?
Or perhaps even vice versa, something that games could learn from film and TV?
Oh, that's such a good question."

"I mean, maybe, I don't know if this is something that film and TV producers could ever replicate.
But because games are so interactive, their ability to reach their audience is much stronger."

"The fact that you have discords and Reddit pages and community pages and AMAs and all of these different communities online to allow gamers to connect with each other and to connect even with us as artists, I have had way more direct contact with players of split fiction than with audience of any other medium I've done, maybe except for theater."

"Because when you finish a play, you're at stage door and the people who watch the play who really appreciated it, they come up to you at stage door and they speak to you and they share their opinions of the play and how it moved them in different ways."

"My Instagram inbox is mostly split fiction.
How much they gained from playing as Mio.
Either they learned something about themselves or they learned something about their partners, the person they were playing the game through with because of Mio's storyline."

"So I wonder if there's a way that film and TV could create more of this dialogue because film and TV is almost like broadcasting to an audience and the audience perceives it.
What I love about games is that it's like a constant dialogue between the two."

"And I think that would be really exciting.
I wonder how we can integrate that in other art forms.
Especially so for games like split fiction with that cooperative focus where it drives that community reach."

"Obviously the show is happening in a couple of days.
That's when we're recording this, the BAFTA Games Awards are coming right up.
So with that being the case, what would it mean for you for split fiction to win?
I think it's up for four or five awards, an award."

"I've been a few awards.
I mean, the thing is, obviously, I think that the Hazelight team deserve every bit of recognition that is given to them."

"If split fiction were to win awards, I think it would be deserved, but I feel the same for any of the games that are up for contention.
You've got some incredible titles this year."

"I mean, Clear Obscure is doing so well in the award circuit and we don't even need to go into why.
What a story, what a vision, what a beautiful, beautiful game."

"The performances are incredible.
So many games.
But I think what I would say for, maybe I cannot speak on behalf of the Hazelight team, but they've had their reward already."

"You know, it came out in that first week, what we had sold 2 million copies in the first few days, maybe 4 million by the end of the week."

"I think Hazelight have just sold 50 million copies of all their games across their different years of working.
They've had their reward.
They're living their dream."

"They're in their, you know, fancy Scandi interior design office, enjoying all of their company parts.
But more than anything, they are hearing the dialogue around split fiction and all of their other games online."

"And they are, they have a constant stream of like Twitch streamers and YouTube, YouTube streamers on a big screen in their office.
They are, they are listening to what the gamers, how the gamers are responding to their work."

"And that is such a reward in itself.
So I, I would love for split fiction to win some awards, but ultimately the competition is so high."

"And I think, I think that Hazelight are already very much aware of, of, of how, how well this game has done."

"And I mean, you know, the nominations, even the awards they've already won, the sales all goes to show that there is this desire for cooperative gameplay."

"What, what do you think is that, that drives this, this desire for people to return to and keep playing cooperative games like this, especially local co-op ones?
Well, something I've learned, Ben, about gamers and the gaming community and the industry, but also outside of the industry of making it, is that everybody, everyone has this disease, which is called gaming and they want to, everyone else to contract it as quickly as possible."

"You know, I think whereas other industries or art forms have maybe slightly higher barrier of entry or are slightly gatekeepy.
The moment I entered this industry, everyone's like, you want to do this too?
Great."

"Let me introduce you to this person, this person, that person, and gamers are the same.
Co-op games are the perfect way to get people to contract the bug."

"I mean, if the number of gamers who are like, I managed to get my girlfriend, my boyfriend, my brother, my partner, my sister, my dad, my mom, my grandma, my dog into gaming by making them play."

"It takes two with the, my, by making them play split fiction with me with, with a co-op like this, you really need to work together."

"It brings people together, which again is also like in antithesis to how our society is currently operating, where we're invited to be very individual or, or just have a relationship with ourselves and our, our laptop and our apps and our social media."

"So I think it's scratching so many different itches, this form of co-op and it is recruiting a new generation of, of gamers.
No, Hayes like, or at least so far, haven't really gone down the route of doing sequels."

"They like to move on from one IP to another, but if the opportunity arose, would you ever return to the role of Mew?
Absolutely.
I love that."

"I mean, now there's all of this hubbub about a potential split fiction production in Hollywood.
Right.
And obviously I would love to, I would love my pitch to you, John M Chu, John M Chu is that there should be a level within the split fiction film, which is the video game."

"Oh, that's a great idea.
I think Elsie and I should reprise our role as Mew and Zoe in this alternative side story where like, you know, whoever they have Sydney Sweeney or, and whoever they have to play, what the other one, they enter the side story and suddenly they're not them."

"They're us.
That's a fantastic idea.
I think so.
Actually, you know what, let me get my agent onto that."

"But, but, but yeah, I would love to reprise the role.
I've become incredibly attached to Mew and, and every time I watch any material of, of this character, whether it comes up on a social media feed or, or, or I I'm watching some of the clips back recently to, to put some material together and I get really fond and sentimental."

"And I, I honestly feel like I'm, I'm watching this, this person that I fell in love with in a way and have become very protective over."

"And, and yeah, I would absolutely love to, I would love to reenter her skin.
And I hope that it's not the last time that I, that I play that thing."

"Fingers crossed, fingers crossed.
Talking about the movie, actually, just a very brief thing."

"Obviously, I think a lot of it's still up in the air at the moment in regards to what they're doing with it.
But if whoever ends up ultimately becoming Mew, assuming they go down a one-to-one sort of direct adaptation route, what would, what advice would you give that person who, who are going to have to take on the role of Mew?
Let's assume hypothetically, it isn't you for this situation."

"What I would say, I would say that to, I would really encourage this actor and I'm sure whoever they cast will do an incredible job of it is to lean away from the caricature or the stereotype of like, Oh, tough, scary woman."

"I've got a deep voice and I, my dad's a mechanic and he's sick.
And Mew at her core is incredibly vulnerable and soft.
And like her core is, is made of melting butter and marshmallows and, and sweetness."

"And that, that inner child in her is, is who this actor should really vouch for and prioritize.
That tough exterior is only a defense mechanism and a protective outer shell that so many of us have."

"And so many of us could relate to.
But I think if you, if you don't connect with that part of her, that just is just desiring to reach for connection, then you don't have Mew as a character."

"And I think you can see it when you're, when you play through the game or you watch any of the cut scenes towards the end, like you can see the moments when Mew's exterior starts to crack."

"Because of Zoe's relentless efforts to do so.
And she catches herself by surprise.
And Mew is slowly learning to trust that that version of her that just wants to be seen and held and loved is allowed to take the reins."

"And it might mean that she's open to being hurt and vulnerable in different ways, but that vulnerability is worth it if it means that you can connect with someone."

"And I think that is a really core part of Mew that, that must not be left behind.
Well, there's a final question then for you, Kaya.
Obviously we know where you're going to be later this week, because it's the BAFTA Games Awards, but beyond that, beyond that, what's next for Kaya Chen?
What is next for me?
You're asking me some dangerous questions."

"What I would say is that I have wrapped in a couple of, a couple of very interesting feature films and hopefully those should be coming out this year or perhaps potentially next year.
I do have some cheeky little cameo parts and, and guest star roles in some exciting TV shows such as Apple TV's Silo, which also should be coming out this summer. But otherwise, I think what, what I'm really excited about is that I am doubling down on interacting with the games world and the games community. I mean, having just come back from San Francisco where I met so many developers at the GDC, the Gamers Developers, Gaming Developers Conference and Festival of Gaming."

"I've made so many interesting connections there and it's made me really excited about the future of the industry and, and being able to continue working with talented people and talented studios like Hazelight and elsewhere."

"So that I'm excited for, and I'm excited to meet more fans and attend more conventions and say hi.
Fantastic. Well, stay tuned for more from Kaya. And obviously as well, let's all fit, let's all come together and try and manifest this, this fantastic split fiction idea of bringing back Kaya and Elsie."

"I know, I know. I need to write that down before I forget.
So let's all do that as a community. And otherwise, yeah, for more from Kaya, for more from split fiction, you know where to find it all on your local Game Renter region. And yeah, as always, we'll see you all on the next one."