Compulsion Games and Xbox Game Studios' South of Midnight tells a story set in a fantastical version of the American Deep South. To that end, protagonist Hazel provides fitting representation as a young Black woman growing up in the South, something that narrative lead and writer Zaire Lanier tells me matters a lot to her in working on this game.
"I think that kind of representation matters; the kind of character Hazel is matters; she’s kind, she’s empathetic, she’s brave. I think that’s really cool,” Lanier says, adding, "It does mean a lot to me that someone who's twelve might play this game; they can cosplay Hazel."
When I asked, Lanier affirmed that Hazel's friendliness was a conscious choice to tie into her powers. Hazel is a Weaver, with her magic manifesting in threads and strings, and a huge part of the story is how she focuses on trying to help people...even if they aren't exactly human anymore.
"I did think it was really important for Hazel to not become jaded because that’s often really easy. I really wanted her to be just a nice person," Lanier says. "She’s fun at her core."
