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Hannah Smith

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Hannah Smith
First appearanceHer Story (2015)
Designed bySam Barlow
Portrayed byViva Seifert
Information
FamilyEve Smith (assumed twin sister)
SpouseSimon Smith (deceased)
NationalityBritish

Search Hannah Smith (character) on Amazon.

Hannah Smith is a fictional character in the independent interactive film video game Her Story (2015). Created by Sam Barlow, she is a young British woman who appears in several police interviews involving the case of Simon, her missing husband who is revealed to have been murdered. The character was conceived following Barlow's departure from Climax Studios, around the same time that he'd begun to write the script for Her Story. She is the only on-screen character of the game, as the others are mentioned only by name, and it is her only appearance.

The character of Smith has earned acclaim from reviewers,[1][2][3] who praised the open-interpretation of her biography, her mysterious nature, and the performance of Seifert in the role.[4][5][6] The character and Seifert went on to earn several accolades, including winning a Game Award for Best Performance for Seifert and receiving a nomination from the South by Southwest Festival.[7] Polygon included the character on its list of the "70 Best Video Game Characters" of the 2010s.[8]

Creation

Sam Barlow came up with the character at the beginning of production for Her Story.

The creator of Her Story, Sam Barlow, wanted to develop a game that is "deep on story", which resulted in a script that was initially 300 pages long, though after much editing it was shortened to 80.[9] The script was placed onto a spreadsheet, where Barlow mapped out the backstories of Hannah and the other characters, which was so large it often crashed his laptop due to its size.[10] To write the character's mannerisms, Barlow drew inspiration from several cases,[11] including the murder of Travis Alexander, which made him consider how female murder suspects are treated in interrogations, as well as Casey Anthony and Amanda Knox.[12] He also studied psychology and body language.[13] His ultimate goal was to give Hannah a "slight dreamlike surreal edge" as well as a mysterious aura and open interpretation of her backstory.[14][15]

Barlow ultimately decided that he wanted to incorporate live action footage in the game after becoming frustrated with his previous projects, particularly with the technical challenges of converting an actor's performance into a game engine.[16] He enjoyed the process of physically working with actors while at Climax Studios, and decided to pursue the same process for Her Story.[17] Viva Seifert, a musician who had not acted at the time, was contacted for the role after Barlow worked with her on the cancelled game Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun,[16] where he was impressed by her natural acting;[18][19] with the cancellation of Legacy of Kain: Dead Sun, that made the character Seifert's official acting debut. Seifert found the role was difficult to portray, and felt pressured since she felt "the whole game is hinging" on her acting.[9][20] Barlow and Seifert both felt that the intensity helped her acting, which was aided by an Alfred Hitchcock inspired approach Barlow took towards directing.[21][22]

Appearance

The full biography of Smith is left unconfirmed, with evidence in the game supporting the stories that she either has an identical twin named Eve with whom she shared her identity with, or that she struggles with dissociative identity disorder.[23] Hannah and Eve were separated at birth by the midwife, Florence, who wanted to have kids but did not believe in remarrying following the loss of her husband in a war. To accomplish this, she faked the death of one of the twins in order to raise one of them in secret, keeping Eve indoors and not revealing the twins' existence to each other; despite Florence's efforts, the twins met after a chance sighting through their respective house windows. When Florence died, Eve moved in with Hannah. They decided to act as a single person—a concept similar to The Parent Trap—and created a set of rules in order to keep up appearances. Hannah's parents did not discover Eve's existence, assuming that she was Hannah's imaginary friend.[24]

Following a series of early singing gigs, Hannah landed her first job at a glazier where she met and began to date Simon. Despite their rules to share, Hannah slept with Simon and soon became pregnant; this led to her becoming possessive of Simon and barring Eve from interacting with him. Hannah married Simon following the news of their pregnancy, while Eve moved out to her own apartment and wore a blonde wig to hide her identity. Hannah lost her baby in her eighth month of pregnancy, leading her to believe she was infertile; in the same year, her parents died in their sleep of food-poisoning. Eve was discovered by Simon at a bar she was singing at, and the two began an affair. Eve became pregnant from this, but never told Simon, and hid the identity of the father from Hannah.

On the twin's birthday, Simon gave Hannah a handmade mirror as a gift, which led to an argument where Hannah revealed to him the existence of Eve and her pregnancy. From his reaction, Hannah realised that Simon was the father of Eve's child, and kicked him out of the house. Following an argument Hannah had with Eve, the latter drove to Glasgow. Hannah then donned her wig and pretended to be Eve once Simon returned. Simon gifted her a similar handmade mirror under the belief that he was giving it to Eve, and soon confessed that he was smitten with her instead of Hannah. Hannah became furious and revealed her identity, which led to a physical altercation ending in the mirror shattering and Hannah using a shard of it to fend Simon off, accidentally slitting his throat in the process.

When Eve returned, she found the body, and the twins agreed that Eve's baby was the priority; this baby is revealed to be a daughter named Sarah, whom the player controls.[25] They subsequently hid Simon's body and used Eve's trip to Glasgow as an alibi.[24] At the end of the final interview—presumed to be with Eve—she says that Hannah is "gone" and jokingly asks "can you arrest someone who doesn't exist?".[26][27] Although she is seen to request a lawyer, that same interview shows her dismissing the need for one early on.[28]

Reception

Musician Viva Seifert's portrayal of the character was praised by critics, and won her several accolades such as the Game Award for Best Performance.

Edge praised the uniqueness of how the story of Hannah Smith was told, deeming it "a superlatively told work of crime fiction."[29] Kimberley Wallace of Game Informer wrote that the "fragmented" delivery of the story "works to its benefit" and praised the ambiguity of the character and her status following the aftermath.[30] Chris Schilling of The Daily Telegraph was impressed by the character, and how rich the character was though it was not given directly in an order.[31] Eurogamer's likened the complexity of both the game and Hannah's biography to works on HBO.[32] Writing for Comic Book Resources, Drew Kopp stated that Hannah "is one of the most engaging and intriguing elements of Her Story. … At times, the charming and music-loving Hannah is a deeply sympathetic figure, and at others, her bizarre body language and ability to suddenly shift into a colder, more evasive attitude cast a thick aura of suspicion over her."[33] Rich Stanton of The Guardian wrote similarly, saying that Hannah was "a fictional character with something of the same allure: clearly very intelligent, clearly not telling the whole truth, and full of physical quirks".[34]

GameSpot believed that Seifert's acting "anchored" the game,[35] and Wired deemed the actress "so captivating that I couldn't imagine this game working any other way".[36] Rock, Paper, Shotgun's Smith wrote that "the whole thing might collapse" without Seifert's "convincing" performance,[37] Digital Spy wrote that Seifert's performance held the potential to inspire similar works,[38] and Andy Kelly of PC Gamer called her acting "understated, realistic, and complex".[39] Stanton—in his same review for The Guardian—particularly lauded Seifert's acting, stating that "what seals the deal is a wide-ranging performance from Viva Seifert that funnels her character’s inner life into hundreds of intense vignettes" and that her "delivery is usually matter-of-fact and emotionally convincing".[34] Katie Smith of Adventure Gamers wrote that she was convincing in the role, and praised her for paying attention to the small details, such as her body language.[40]

Accolades

The character of Hannah and Seifert's acting both earned numerous accolades. The D.I.C.E. Awards nominated Hannah for Outstanding Achievement in Character,[41] and at South by Southwest, Smith was nominated for Most Enduring Character;[7] both nominations were in 2016. Polygon named Hannah among the best video game characters of the 2010s.[42] Meanwhile, Seifert won the Game Award for Best Performance,[43][44][45] for which she was accidentally credited for starring in The Witcher 3.[46][47] She also was recognized by the New York Videogame Critics Circle who awarded her the Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game,[48] and was a runner-up for the Golden Joystick Award for Performance of the Year.[49]

Award Date Category Recipient(s) and nominee(s) Result Ref.
Golden Joystick Awards 30 October 2015 Performance of the Year Viva Seifert Nominated [50]
The Game Awards 3 December 2015 Best Performance Won [51]
New York Game Awards 9 February 2016 Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game Won [52]
D.I.C.E. Awards 18 February 2016 Outstanding Achievement in Character Hannah Smith Nominated [53]
SXSW Gaming Awards 19 March 2016 Most Enduring Character Nominated [54]

References

  1. ↑ Wallace, Kimberley. "Her Story Review - A Tale To Keep You Up At Night". Game Informer. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  2. ↑ Farokhmanesh, Megan (2015-06-22). "Her Story review: walls that talk". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  3. ↑ Schilling, Chris (2015-08-12). "Her Story, review". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  4. ↑ "Her Story review". Adventure Gamers. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  5. ↑ "Her Story Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  6. ↑ "Her Story Review". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Frank, Allegra (2016-01-25). "Bloodborne, Metal Gear Solid 5 among SXSW Gaming Award nominees". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  8. ↑ Staff, Polygon (2019-11-27). "The 70 best video game characters of the decade". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "PC Gamer". pcgamer. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  10. ↑ Edge Staff (2015-09-29). ""I'd always been reluctant to go indie" - The story behind Her Story". gamesradar. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  11. ↑ Mcke, Kirk; Writer, Contributing. "Howdunnit: The making of Her Story". pocketgamer.biz. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  12. ↑ "The Player: Head games in 'Her Story' will make you feel almost like a true detective". Los Angeles Times. 2015-07-04. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  13. ↑ "Investigating Her Story". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  14. ↑ Laverde, Jake (2015-07-06). "Her Story interview: Sam Barlow on storytelling and 'not a game' claims". International Business Times UK. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  15. ↑ "Her Story is a "desktop thriller" True Detective fans can get behind". Eurogamer.net. 2015-02-09. Retrieved 2022-07-06.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Clark, Tim (2015-07-09). "The story behind Her Story". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  17. ↑ "Crime pays: The making of Her Story". MCV. 2015-08-10. ISSN 1469-4832. Retrieved 2022-07-05.
  18. ↑ "WebCite query result". www.webcitation.org. Archived from the original on 2016-04-23. Retrieved 2020-09-22.
  19. ↑ "Interrogating "Her Story" Creator Sam Barlow and Actress Viva Seifert (Interview)". AppUnwrapper. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2022-05-05.
  20. ↑ "Interrogating "Her Story" Creator Sam Barlow and Actress Viva Seifert (Interview) | Page 2 of 2". AppUnwrapper. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  21. ↑ "Interrogating "Her Story" Creator Sam Barlow and Actress Viva Seifert (Interview)". AppUnwrapper. 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  22. ↑ Benson, Julian (2015-06-24). "Her Story is a Smart Murder Mystery that Will Keep You Up at Night". Kotaku. Retrieved 2022-07-01.
  23. ↑ RPS (2015-06-25). "In Conversation: RPS Discusses Her Story". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 Brown, Mark (25 June 2015). "Her Story explained – the complete story walkthrough (Spoilers!)". Pocket Gamer. Steel Media. Archived from the original on 14 January 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2016. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  25. ↑ Sam Barlow (24 June 2015). Her Story. Microsoft Windows. Search this book on
  26. ↑ Sam Barlow (24 June 2015). Her Story. Microsoft Windows. Scene: D769. My sister is gone. And she's never coming back. Search this book on
  27. ↑ Sam Barlow (6 March 2022). Her Story. Microsoft Windows. Scene: D770. Can you arrest someone who doesn't exist? Search this book on
  28. ↑ Sam Barlow (24 June 2015). Her Story. Microsoft Windows. Scene: D771. I'd like to speak to a lawyer now. Please. You have no murder weapon. You have nothing. And all these stories we've been telling each other? Just that ... stories. Search this book on
  29. ↑ "Her Story". Edge. No. 283. Future. September 2015. pp. 110–112. ISSN 1350-1593.
  30. ↑ Wallace, Kimberley. "Her Story Review - A Tale To Keep You Up At Night". Game Informer. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  31. ↑ Schilling, Chris (2015-08-12). "Her Story, review". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  32. ↑ "Her Story review". Eurogamer.net. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  33. ↑ Kopp, Drew (2022-05-21). "Her Story Is the Perfect Game for True Crime Enthusiasts". CBR. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "Her Story review – a new breed of narrative video game". the Guardian. 2015-06-25. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  35. ↑ "Her Story Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  36. ↑ Kohler, Chris. "Her Story Is a Game Made of Video Clips, and I'm Obsessed". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  37. ↑ Smith, Adam (2015-06-22). "Wot I Think: Her Story". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  38. ↑ Donnelly, Joe (2015-06-22). "Her Story review". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  39. ↑ Andy Kelly published (2015-06-22). "Her Story review". pcgamer. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  40. ↑ "Her Story review". Adventure Gamers. 2015-07-03. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  41. ↑ "The 2016 DICE Award Winners [UPDATED]". GameSpot. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  42. ↑ Staff, Polygon (2019-11-27). "The 70 best video game characters of the decade". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  43. ↑ "Nominees | The Game Awards 2015". The Game Awards. Ola Balola. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  44. ↑ "Viva Seifert from Her Story Takes Best Performance at The Game Awards". Twinfinite. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  45. ↑ Sarkar, Samit (2015-12-03). "Here are the winners of The Game Awards 2015". Polygon. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  46. ↑ "Best Performance Award Went to The Witcher 3 And/Or Her Story, No One Really Knows". Twinfinite. 2015-12-04. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  47. ↑ VGC, John (2020-11-19). "GOTY Flashback: The Witcher 3 Bewitched the Jury at the 2015 Game Awards". Video Game Canon. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
  48. ↑ "The Witcher 3 slaughters the competition at New York Video Game Awards | Games | Geek.com". 2016-02-12. Archived from the original on 2016-02-12. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  49. ↑ Reynolds, Matthew (2015-09-01). "Golden Joystick Awards 2015 voting now open to the public". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
  50. ↑ Reynolds, Matthew (1 September 2015). "Golden Joystick Awards 2015 voting now open to the public". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Archived from the original on 11 April 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2022. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  51. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (4 December 2015). "The Game Awards 2015 – Game of the Year goes to The Witcher 3". VG247. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 15 January 2016. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  52. ↑ Minor, Jordan (10 February 2016). "The Witcher 3 Wins Big at the New York Video Game Awards". PCMag. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on May 3, 2021. Retrieved 5 May 2022. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  53. ↑ Pereira, Chris (18 February 2016). "The 2016 DICE Award Winners [UPDATED]". GameSpot. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 22 February 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)
  54. ↑ Frank, Allegra (25 January 2016). "Bloodborne, Metal Gear Solid 5 among SXSW Gaming Award nominees". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)


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