Ashly Burch

I've never shown up to a session in my pajamas - but I definitely do auditions in my pajamas all the time, if I do them from home.

For narrative games, and also for the sake of the medium, we have to treat performance that way, as actors. You have to have a sense of ownership over it and believe that you're bringing something meaningful to it - because that's what all of the developers are doing, and that's what the story demands.

There's what we call the 'critical path,' which is the main story line and all the missions that you have to do to complete the narrative arc of the game. Then there are side quests. They're not essential to completing the game.

There are very few games, especially on the scale of 'Horizon,' that have a sole protagonist that is female.

I think we assume a lot about both genders. But in particular I think we assume that only boys play games and that boys are only interested in playing games that reflect their narratives and their interests.

There's the idea that gaming is a closed door and that men are holding access to who gets in or out, and you have to prove - if you're female - that you're a real gamer. I think the younger generation, they don't care.

I had no idea what 'Life is Strange' was going to be when I auditioned. I had no idea what 'Horizon' was going to be when I auditioned.

When we create female characters, I think often there is a tendency to kind of make female characters emotionally bulletproof.

Definitely later on in the 'Life is Strange' season one recording, we were all pretty tuned into who these characters were. There wasn't a whole lot of finagling that needed to be done, I don't think.

You need to make sure you're doing vocal warmups and drinking tea - and if you have a really emotional scene, you have to make sure to take care of yourself afterwards.

I've had the tremendous fortune to work on games like 'Life is Strange' and 'Horizon Zero Dawn', where there was a lot of collaboration between me and the developers.

Super Mario RPG was one of my very favorite games when I was a kid.