hadenblackman.com » Interviews

TFUII GamePro On Stands

Haden — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:20:09 +0000

The June issue of GamePro featuring a cover story on The Force Unleashed II hits stands on May 4th (Star Wars Day!). The article includes new concept art and screenshots, a fair bit of detail about the story, and info on some of the game’s locations, powers, improvements, and enemies.

Batwoman & SW: Purge Updates!

Haden — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 06:32:29 +0000

Last week DC announced that I’ll be co-writing the Batwoman ongoing series with J.H. Williams III, who’ll also be doing the art for the first arc. Jim and I will continue writing the series with Amy Reeder Hadley (Madame Xanadu) taking over art for the second arc.

The announcement of an ongoing Batwoman series has been picked up by a diverse number of outlets ranging from IGN to Change.Org, Comi Girl, and even the New York Times. A few days after the initial announcement, Jim and I did an interview with First Comic News discussing some of our upcoming plans. Not much more we can reveal yet, but tonight I spent 60 minutes on the phone with Jim talking about our new villains, some visual themes we want to explore, Batwoman’s love life, how she’ll fit into Gotham City, her relationship to some of the other heroes in the DC Universe, and why she often grins when she’s about to get into a fight (among other things).

Meanwhile, a few more reviews for Star Wars: Purge — The Hidden Blade have hit, and the response to the story and art continues to be great. Comics Bulletin says:

“Purge is a fantastic one-shot that will no doubt appeal to Star Wars fans of all ages and, regardless of your investment to the universe that has captivated millions, will leave a smile on your face if even solely for the artwork.”

And check out the flattering 4.5 Star Review at Major Spoilers.

Finally, Hidden Blade artist Chris Scalf has posted a short teaser trailer on YouTube. While you’re there, check out his tutorials and other work.

If you haven’t picked up The Hidden Blade yet, you can order it here.

Interview with X360 Magazine

Haden — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 06:52:02 +0000

A few months ago, I did an interview with X360 Magazine about the experience writing Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and storytelling in games in general. The material is being used for two separate articles on scriptwriting and storytelling, but the full transcript of the interview has been posted in two parts on the X360 site. Follow the links for Part One and Part Two. Thanks to Sam Roberts for providing some great questions!

The "goodbye kiss" between Juno and the Apprentice was one of the most difficult to write and produce.

Storylink Q&A Up

Haden — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 04:20:46 +0000

I recently had the privilege of writing a short ”Ask the Expert” piece for Storylink. While you’re there, be sure to read the more insightful Q&A with Simon Kinberg, screenwriter for X-Men: Last Stand, Jumper, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and the upcoming Sherlock Holmes flick. His writing process is especially interesting, but my favorite quote covers the heart of story:

I really believe all good stories start from the same place: interesting characters in an emotionally charged situation. For me, the difference between drama and genre is this: in dramas, you have relatable characters in a relatable situation, whereas in genre films you have relatable characters in an unrelatable situation (fighting ghosts or robots or giant sharks, etc…). But you have to relate to the characters.

And then read the interview with non-stop Jimmy Palmiotti!

“It’s as simple as having a planet of fire … and you want to keep the characters from burning.”