Interviews
THE
BEST DAMN JANE JENSEN INTERVIEW EVER
Conducted by Randy Sluganski
Introduction:
For those of you who
are new to adventure gaming, a brief introduction for Jane Jensen
is probably in order. Ms. Jensen is often referred to as the grand
dame of adventure gaming. Her three Gabriel Knight games (Sins of
the Fathers, The Beast Within, Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned
) are arguably the most critically acclaimed in the gaming industry.
She has also authored four novels; two based on the Gabriel Knight
character (Sins of the Fathers, The Beast Within); Millennium Rising
and the soon-to-be-released Dante’s Equation.
While most of our contemporaries
were content to simply ask Ms. Jensen basic questions about her upcoming
project, we wanted to probe deeper and discover what makes this fascinating
lady tick.
The svelte Ms. Jensen
is a joy to be around as I discovered during the course of this interview
and subsequent dinner party. She is well-read and thoughtful and loves
to mildly joust in droll sarcasm. Sort of like a female Gabriel Knight
without the exaggerated Tim Curry accent.
Among the many interesting
things I learned that were not included in this interview is that
Ms. Jensen is such an avid researcher and skillful writer that although
her descriptions of the back alleys and storefronts of New Orleans
in Gabriel Knight 1 are so vivid and vibrant as to make one believe
she was a previous resident – she has actually never personally
been to the city!
This interview was
conducted on May 15th, 2003 at the E3 in Los Angeles. Portions of
it have been edited for content, i.e. to remove the numerous instances
when Ms. Jensen either smacked me alongside my head for my impudence
or laughed apprehensively at my inane questions.
I would like to thank
Ms. Jensen for enduring my silliness and for refraining from hurting
me except for that brief moment at the conclusion of the interview
when she hugged me a bit too tightly and almost cracked one of my
left ribs. The doctor’s bill will be forthcoming.
