Meg Jayanth | |
|---|---|
 Jayanth at the 2019 Independent Games Festival | |
| Born | 6 February 1987 |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Known for | 80 Days |
| Notable work | Sunless Sea Horizon Zero Dawn |
Meghna Jayanth (born 6 February 1987) is a video game writer and narrative designer. [1] She is known for her writing on 80 Days and Sunless Sea . Jayanth worked at the BBC before becoming a freelance writer, [2] and has also written for The Guardian on women and video games. [3] [4]
Meghna Jayanth was born on 6 February 1987. [5] While growing up, Jayanth lived in Bangalore, London, and Saudi Arabia, attending a total of 12 different schools. [6] Her first gaming experiences included Disney's Aladdin, SimTower , and Civilization II . [7] Jayanth studied English literature at the University of Oxford, where she directed The Oxford Revue, following which she worked at the BBC in the department responsible for commissioning video games. [7]
Jayanth first became interested in writing for video games via online text-based roleplaying games in which she built worlds and characters. [8] The first playable game she wrote was Samsara, a choice-based narrative game set in Bengal in 1757, which she has yet to finish. [6] [7] Jayanth is particularly interested in writing stories which explore "unexpected perspectives and unheard voices", including under-represented people and cultures. [8]
Jayanth was the writer of 80 Days, for which she wrote a total of more than 750,000 words, contributed to the writing for Horizon Zero Dawn , and was a writer for Sunless Sea . In addition to other accolades, 80 Days was nominated for a BAFTA Game Award for Story in 2014, and Meg won the UK Writers' Guild Award for Best Writing in a Video Game. [6]
In 2019 Jayanth hosted the Independent Games Festival awards, where she used her opening speech to encourage the video game industry to reject hatred and create a welcoming and safe environment. [9] In May of that year, she announced the formation of a "boutique narrative label" called Red Queens alongside Leigh Alexander. [10]
As of August 2019 [update] Jayanth was working on Boyfriend Dungeon and Sable. [11] [12]
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