Guess who just had a puff piece published about them in the Washington Post? We get to learn all about the plight of overpaid, under-worked voice actresses.
>But it was a role in the small game “Life Is Strange” that has meant the most to her.
>The game tells the story of two 18-year-old women — Max and Chloe — trying to discover why a friend has disappeared. The story is centered on the emotional lives of female teenagers — an unusual topic for video games — and addresses teen suicide, depression, bullying and drug abuse. The game unfolds over five episodes, each two to three hours long, like a TV series.
>Fans and critics loved it. And it won a clutch of awards, including the BAFTA for best game.
>Burch was the voice of Chloe, a vulnerable punk rock girl. At gaming conventions after the game debuted, Burch again and again saw fans who had dyed their hair blue, just like Chloe. Hundreds of pieces of fan fiction about Chloe were posted online.
>“I put a lot of myself in that character,” Burch said one afternoon. “My interpretation of her is ultimately about part of me.”
>So Burch was crushed when the game company approached her earlier this year to talk about a new edition of the game. They wanted Burch to return to a role she loved. But the ongoing strike made that impossible.
>“It was really hard for me,” she said.
>She kept quiet about it until this summer, when the new “Life Is Strange” — a nonunion production — was unveiled at a gaming convention. The game’s publisher tried to blunt the blowback by announcing that Burch had been hired as a story consultant.
>Fans weren’t happy. A typical response on social media: “aw man i got sad again over Ashly Burch not returning as Chloe Price ... :/”