Cara Ellison
{{Short description|Scottish video game critic and developer (born 1985)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Cara Ellison
| image = Cara Ellison.jpg
| caption = Ellison in 2014
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1985|09|28|df=y}}
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| nationality = Scottish
| known_for =
| occupation = Critic, developer
}}
Cara Ellison (born 28 September 1985) is a Scottish video game writer and critic.[http://gamerant.com/the-charnel-house-trilogy-reviews/ "‘The Charnel House Trilogy’ Review: Pixelated Horror Game Gets Mixed Results"]. Game Rant. by Melissa Loomis{{cite news|url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/conferences/gdc2014/11126-Cara-Ellison-Kickstarts-Games-Critic-Career-with-Patreon|title=Cara Ellison Kickstarts Games Critic Career with Patreon|author=Greg Tito|date=17 March 2014|work=The Escapist|accessdate=26 November 2014|archive-date=1 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201040654/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/conferences/gdc2014/11126-Cara-Ellison-Kickstarts-Games-Critic-Career-with-Patreon|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/mar/17/top-30-young-people-digital-media-nos-10-1|title=The top 30 young people in digital media: Nos 10-1|date=17 March 2014|work=The Guardian}}
Journalism
Ellison made regular contributions to publications PC Gamer, Unwinnable and Rock Paper Shotgun beginning in 2012.{{cite news|url=http://www.pcgamer.com/uk/2012/11/06/old-friends-an-ode-to-defence-of-the-ancients|first=Cara|last=Ellison|title=Old friends: an ode to Defence of the Ancients|date=6 November 2012|publisher=PC Gamer}}{{cite news|url=http://www.unwinnable.com/2012/04/24/dont-take-i-personally-babe/#.VClJU_ldWUI|title=Don't Take Love Personally, Babe: Being Single In Public|date=24 April 2012|first=Cara|last=Ellison|publisher=Unwinnable}}{{cite news|url=http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/06/20/choose-your-own-anna-anthropy-interview/|title=Choose Your Own Anna Anthropy Interview|date=20 June 2012|first=Cara|last=Ellison|website=Rock Paper Shotgun}}
She has also written gaming related articles for New Statesman, Paste,[http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2015/04/the-charnel-house-trilogy-review.html "The Charnel House Trilogy Review: Dangers on a Train"]. Paste. by Brian Taylor 23 April 2015 Edge magazine and Kotaku and is a regular contributor to The Guardian games blog.{{cite web |title=Cara Ellison |url=https://www.theguardian.com/profile/cara-ellison |website=The Guardian |accessdate=19 August 2015}} From 2014 to 2015, Ellison wrote a bi-weekly column called S.EXE for Rock Paper Shotgun about the depiction of sex and romance in video games.{{cite news|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/05/01/sex-games-pc/|title=The Complete S.EXE, Cara Ellison's Series About Games, Sex and Relationships|date=1 May 2015|website=Rock Paper Shotgun}} She also contributed video game related articles to VICE UK in 2014.{{cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en_uk/contributor/cara-ellison|title=Latest from Cara Ellison|publisher=VICE UK}}
In 2013, Ellison won the Games Media Award 'Rising Star' for her work writing about games, and The Guardian placed her number ten in the 'Top 30 Young People in Digital Media' list 2014.{{cite news|url=http://www.mcvuk.com/news/read/games-media-awards-toast-new-talent-and-top-writers/0122437|date=10 October 2013|title=Games Media Awards toast new talent and top writers|publisher=MCV}}
In 2014, Ellison successfully sought funding on Patreon for her "Embed with" series, in which she became an itinerant games journalist, travelling the world and writing about the lives and processes of games developers.[http://www.newstatesman.com/culture/2015/02/critical-distance-week-videogame-blogging-6 "Critical Distance: This Week in Videogame Blogging #6 ']. New Statesman.{{cite web|url=http://www.patreon.com/carachan#_=_|title=Support Cara Ellison creating transmetropolitan games criticism|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171117165645/http://www.patreon.com/carachan#_=_|archive-date=17 November 2017|url-status=dead}}
From February 2021 to June 2022, Ellison co-hosted The Inspirational Quarterly with Davey Wreden, a podcast dedicated to reading, reviewing, and discussing Keith R. A. DeCandido's 2006 novel StarCraft: Ghost: Nova.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-20 |title=The Inspirational Quarterly on Apple Podcasts |url=https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-inspirational-quarterly/id1552114532 |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=Apple Podcasts |language=en-US}}
Games development
{{Prose|section|date=April 2023}}
Ellison worked for Rockstar North as a QA tester on Grand Theft Auto IV until 2008.{{cite web|url=http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=49834&tab=credits|title=Grand Theft Auto IV credits|access-date=29 September 2014|archive-date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141114115306/http://www.allgame.com/game.php?id=49834&tab=credits|url-status=dead}} In 2013, Ellison wrote the text-based interactive fiction game Sacrilege, which The New York Times described as a "raw exploration of female sexuality that also includes some astute observations about male desire".{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/arts/video-games/text-games-in-a-new-era-of-stories.html|title=Text Games in a New Era of Stories|date=6 July 2014|first=Chris|last=Suellentrop|work=New York Times}} Ellison also has collaborated with artist Howard Hardiman on Badger's Day Out, funded by a combination of a successful Kickstarter, with backing from the Arts Council England.
She was contracted by Arkane Studios as an external narrative consultant for the 2016 title Dishonored 2.{{cite web|title=Dishonored 2 Credits|url=http://www.mobygames.com/game/windows/dishonored-2/credits|website=MobyGames|publisher=MobyGames}}{{cite web|title=Cara Ellison|url=http://www.giantbomb.com/cara-ellison/3040-106487/|website=Giant Bomb|publisher=Giant Bomb}}
In August 2015, she gave a keynote at Dare to Be Digital.{{cite web|title=Video game intimacy discussed at Dare ProtoPlay|url=http://www.develop-online.net/press-releases/video-game-intimacy-discussed-at-dare-protoplay/0209877|publisher=NewBay Media|accessdate=19 August 2015|archive-date=12 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312061323/http://www.develop-online.net/press-releases/video-game-intimacy-discussed-at-dare-protoplay/0209877|url-status=dead}}
Ellison provided voice acting for the character of 'Peanut' in the 2015 game Assault Android Cactus. {{Cite news |last=O'Connor |first=Alice |date=2015-09-24 |title=Twin-Stick Shootyfun: Assault Android Cactus Released |language=en |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/assault-android-cactus-released |access-date=2023-02-15}}{{Cite news |last=Fahey |first=Mike |date=2015-09-28 |title=So Many Robots Die In The First Five Minutes Of Assault Android Cactus |language=en |work=Kotaku |url=https://kotaku.com/so-many-robots-die-in-the-first-five-minutes-of-assault-1733403954 |access-date=2023-02-15}}
She worked as the writer of Void Bastards.
She was a senior narrative designer for the Hardsuit Labs project Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 until she left the project following the departure of Brian Mitsoda and Ka'ai Cluney.{{cite web|title='Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2' loses senior narrative designer|date=21 October 2020|url=https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-loses-senior-narrative-designer-2793369|publisher=Bandlab Technologies|accessdate=23 October 2020}}
In June 2021, it was announced that she, alongside Brian Mitsoda, had joined The Fermi Paradox development team at Anomaly Games.{{Cite news |last=Beckhelling |first=Imogen |date=2021-06-10 |title=Former Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 writers join a sci-fi strategy game |language=en |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/former-vampire-the-masquerade-bloodlines-2-writers-working-on-new-sci-fi-strategy-game |access-date=2022-05-30}}
Bibliography
- The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video Game Culture (October 2015, Seven Stories Press){{cite web|title=The State of Play: Creators and Critics on Video Game Culture|url=http://catalog.sevenstories.com/products/the-state-of-play-1|website=Seven Stories Press|publisher=Seven Stories Press|accessdate=20 October 2015}}
- Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers (November 2015, Polygon){{cite web|title=Embed with Games: A Year on the Couch with Game Developers|url=http://www.birlinn.co.uk/Embed-with-Games.html|website=Birlinn Ltd.|publisher=Polygon|accessdate=10 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171201133357/https://www.birlinn.co.uk/Embed-with-Games.html|archive-date=1 December 2017|url-status=dead}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|http://caraellison.co.uk}}
- {{Moby developer|id=314991|name=Cara Ellison's profile}}
- {{cite web|url=http://gamechurch.com/we-dont-necessarily-need-religion-an-interview-with-cara-ellison/|title="We Don't Necessarily Need Religion": An Interview with Cara Ellison|publisher=GameChurch}}
- {{cite news|url=http://www.themarysue.com/game-changer-cara-ellison/|title=Game Changer: Dishonored 2's Cara Ellison on Experimenting with Narrative Design, Owning Your Talent & the Importance of Self-Care|work=The Mary Sue|date=21 July 2015|author= Emma Fissenden }}
{{Authority control}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2020}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ellison, Cara}}
Category:Scottish women journalists
Category:Women video game designers