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LA Times: How the new "Spider-Man" added ASL to its story (Very light spoilers for Miles Morales)

MadLaughter

MadLaughter

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
13,098
www.latimes.com

Meet the actress blazing a sign-language trail in new 'Spider-Man' video game

Natasha Ofili plays Hailey Cooper, a new Marvel character in the 'Spider-Man: Miles Morales' video game, who introduces ASL to the Spider-Verse.
www.latimes.com www.latimes.com

"Her deafness is an aspect of who she is, but it's not what her story is about," said Mary Kenney, the Insomniac Games writer behind Hailey's character. "Her story is about what she wants to do for her community, and how she expresses that."

Miles has grown into himself since the world saw him last. He has made friends in his new neighborhood, he's taking a language course at Brooklyn Visions Academy (ASL; he already knows Spanish) and he's just more… suave.

But still "he hesitates as he's signing," Kenney said. "He's looking for signs. He spells out Hailey's name because he doesn't know her name sign yet. And it's those touches that make it really feel real."
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"Hey!" he signs. "Are you H-A-I-L-E-Y?"

"I'm Hailey," she replies, using her name sign — an "X" handshape (the sign for spray paint) with a "Z" motion over the heart in a spray-painting motion. "Everyone's calling you 'our Spider-Man.'"

Ofili's agent emailed her when the clip started to circulate on social media. The actress was thrilled to see herself as Hailey for the first time.

"I'm still in shock," Ofiili recently told The Times over Zoom. (She speaks both ASL and English.) "I keep watching myself over and over, and I can't believe this is real. And it looks like me. I'm still very honored and full of abundance."
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After Kenney decided to write a character who uses ASL, she reached out to the animation department to see if something like that was even possible. Capturing the motions of individual fingers in a video game had never really been done before.

"Sony was so excited. They were like, 'We're gonna have to invent new technology, but we're ready," Kenney said. "'We're gonna do it.'"

Brian Horton, the creative director at Insomniac Games, was on board every step of the way. His son learned ASL in school — just like Miles did. Horton emphasized accessibility: Subtitles automatically appear whenever a character is signing, and Insomniac also recorded Natasha narrating her lines in a vocal booth for players with low visibility.
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Hiring deaf culture consultants, developing new animation tech, casting an actor specifically to capture Miles' hands, Insomniac put in the work. Hailey is one of the highlights of the game, and I hope she continues to feature in future games.
 
Vic Damone Jr.

Vic Damone Jr.

Member
Oct 27, 2017
16,591
Didn't even know she had an actor. It was a great character to add. Miles was such a fantastic game, we need more of it. To finally have representation like this feels great, and it was a win for a range of groups.
 
BRsomebody

BRsomebody

Member
Oct 28, 2017
784
Doylestown, PA
Hailey is such a cool character so seeing the story and the process behind her and Miles' interactions is awesome. The game in general felt so lovingly crafted and inclusive and really I have nothing but praise for the people involved.
 
ClickyCal'

ClickyCal'

Member
Oct 25, 2017
59,687
Their scene at the end of that side mission was maybe the best moment in the game. Felt the most real, and the holiday suit is great.
 
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