Lorelei Shannon

By Andy Bellatti

In late May of 1998, I got to interview Lorelei Shannon for the ... well, for yet another time. Rather than talking about Phantasmagoria 2 the whole time, we discussed some controversial issues and even found out Lorelei''s opinion on the latest horror movies. Enjoy it!

It has been a year and a half since the release of Phantasmagoria 2. Do you still enjoy talking about the project, or is it a vague memory in your head?

Oh, sure I enjoy it! I was just at the World Horror convention in Phoenix, and I met a number of PH2 fans. That was a big kick.

Do you think the computer game industry is ready to do full-motion-video games? Are $4 million budgets enough in order to get a quality product with good actors, directors, writers, etc.?

I don't think they're quite there yet, but soon. It's got to happen. People are starting to expect it. If companies get an "engine" in place for producing these games, they'll be able to do them for less money. Right now the problem is each game is being approached like reinventing the wheel.

If any big-name stars were available to you, which ones would you have chosen for the main roles in Phantasmagoria 2?

Hmm. Well, I was really happy with the cast we had, but just for fun ... Trent Reznor for Curtis, Fairuza Balk for Therese, and Sarah Michelle Gellar for Jocilyn.

With every movie (even in Hollywood), there are attitude problems and/or conflicts. Without naming actors or the characters they played, were there such problems on the set of Phantasmagoria 2?

Actually, no. Everybody was really professional and nice. We were very lucky.

The soundtrack of the game as well as the camera angles and movements added a lot to the horror theme of the game. Did you have any influence on either of these things? If so, what kind of atmosphere were you trying to transmit to the player?

I spoke with the composer, Gary Spinrad, quite extensively about the game, but he took the ball and ran with it from there. I think he did a fabulous job of bringing the horror and intensity of the game across. We were very much in sync.

Being an avid horror fan, what is your opinion of horror in the 1990s? Why do you think there is such a small amount of interest in it? Also, how do you feel about the Scream movies?

I don't think there's a small amount of interest in it. Movies like Scream and mainstream horror TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer have made that obvious. I think the problem, at least with printed horror, is that the publishing houses think people don't want it anymore, probably due to the glut of really bad stuff that came out in the late 80s. I don't think that's true, though. I think people dig it.

I loved Scream. I found it funny, scary, intelligent and wry. I'd like to see more like it. I do not, however, want to see more plotless crap like I Know What You Did Last Summer. That was an awful thing to do to a good book.

A recent controversy deals with female characters in computer games. You had a number of female characters, none of which were ditzy blonde bimbos. What do you think of games which portray women as sex objects?

Why should games be any different than the rest of society? Women are portrayed as sex objects on TV, in movies, in advertising, everywhere. I don't particularly care for it, but there's nothing I can do about it, so I don't waste a lot of time thinking about it.

Is there sexism in the computer game business? Do you think that perhaps if Phantasmagoria 2 had been designed by a man, the violence and sexual aspects of the game would have been more accepted?

The computer industry is less sexist than a lot of other types of businesses, at least in general. And no, I don't think it would have made any difference. I think that some people had problems with the content, and they wouldn't have cared who wrote it.

Many companies now claim they are benefitting mature players with games made for them. Certainly, the Phantasmagoria and Gabriel Knight series are proof of this. Do you yourself play computer games often? If so, has the industry matured, or is it still focusing too much on the teenage male (13 to 18 years of age) group?

Well, since the grand debut of my latest project, my 19-month-old son, Fenris, I haven't had much time to play computer games. But just looking at what's out there, I would say it's still aimed at little boys. People talk about Lara Croft being a strong female character. Yeah, right, a strong female character with a perfect butt and gravity-defying, planet-sized boobs!

Could you tell us a bit about your current status? You have finished a horror novel and are in the process of a finishing a mystery novel, correct?

That's right. I've actually finished the mystery now, too. I'm just putting the last polish on it before sending it off to my agent. My next book is going to be a dark fantasy.

Do you think we will ever see another computer game designed and/or written by Lorelei Shannon? Perhaps a movie?

Maybe! I try to keep my options open.

Thank you for your help and cooperation. Would you like to say something to your Just Adventure fans out there?

Thank you for your cooperation? Sounds like the last time I was strip-searched by the police ... just kidding! Yeah, I want to say to everybody, keep your standards high! Game companies are listening. If you demand quality, you'll get it. Never, ever settle for the mediocre!