Meet the Creator: Emma Vieceli

A bit of, very appropriate, time travel in this week’s ‘Meet The Creator’, as we head back into the mists of 2018 for an interview with Life is Strange writer Emma Vieceli.

Were you a fan of Life is Strange before this series?

Emma Vieceli: Oh my goodness, yes! Played the game, wore the shirts, cried my heart out… To the point where, funnily enough, some of my fanart lead to me working with SquareEnix on Life is Strange official art pieces. One of the best things about this project is that all of us are nuts for the game. A meeting early on devolved quickly into a fansplosion!

How does it feel to add a new chapter to a story you love?

Emma Vieceli: Unreal, honestly. Even writing dialogue and tyring to get into my mind that “OMG, Max is going to say this” is just amazing. I’ve been allowed to play with a concept that I was very excited about and even to add new characters, so I’m just waiting to wake up, basically!

What do you most enjoy about Life is Strange?

Emma Vieceli: Anyone who’s read my work knows I’m a sucker for teen stories. Coming of age, building relationships and views that will form a foundation to our adult lives. As I often say about mine and Malin Ryden’s YA series, BREAKS, at that age real life is dramatic enough. Life is Strange adds a sci-fi twist. Enough to gamify a life, but not to detract from how big a deal a teen pregnancy, or parental loss, or a homework assignment might be. DONTNOT found a perfect balance between the fantastical and the very, very raw and real. It’s magical.

How does this story start? The game had two very different endings to choose from…

That it did! The comic is set in a possibility where Arcadia Bay was indeed ravaged by the storm. Chloe is alive and well, but many others aren’t; I was actually pretty shocked by just how far Square wanted to take the results of the storm. Funnily enough, it’s not the ending I personally chose. That’s the magic of Life is Strange… we play out possibilities.

Are you looking forward to future entries in Life is Strange?

Emma Vieceli: Of course I’m looking forward to future entries – I’ve played Before the Storm, and Captain Spirit is sitting in my play list for as soon as time allows! The more time I can spend with characters and setups created by these amazing developers, the better. They’re making in games everything I’ve been wanting to see more of in comics. Win win!

As a professional comics artist yourself, what’s it like working with artist Claudia Leonardi?

Emma Vieceli:It feels incredibly weird for me to be writing and not drawing, but weird in a really fun way. I’m on the other side of the fence! I know how I would draw these pages, and I write them with my own visuals in mind, but the magic is seeing Claudia’s take on them. That’s something I can’t predict entirely, and it excites me a lot! I am beyond excited to see how these comics turn out.

I hope that years spent drawing from scripts myself, knowing what I like and hate to see in a script, will mean mine are fun for her to draw! Collaboration is a hugely fun part of comics, and when it comes to a series I care so much about, being asked if I’d like to write rather than draw it was the hugest compliment in the world. Getting to play in a property I love so much is perfection for me!

Are you introducing new elements into the world of Life is Strange?

Emma Vieceli: There is an overall new element, but the team know what they want the world setup to be, so several ideas were left on the drawing board. Things have to line up with future games – it’s a web! I’m really happy with where we’ve ended up. My very first concept is still the one we’re using, so I’m really chuffed.

This title caused a stir even before it was officially announced…

Emma Vieceli: Oh my goodness that response pre-announcement blew me away. We weren’t allowed to confirm or deny at that point (I felt awful not being able to reply to people!), but it proved how much this game means to so many people. Anyone who’s played Life is Strange knows that all choices are valid to the chooser. What we’ll be doing in the comic is presenting one possibility. Without giving too much away, we may even be making that farily explicit… So, I’d hope that anyone who fell hard for Max, Chloe, and their story will be able to enjoy the ride, safe in the knowledge that this comic is playing out one possibility of many.

Life is Strange volumes 1-3 are available in this must-have boxed set. The boxed set includes Volume 1: Dust; Volume 2: Waves; and Volume 3: Strings, plus three exclusive art cards! Buy your copy today from Forbidden Planet and Amazon.