'More progress needed': South of Midnight's Adriyan Rae on being Golden Joystick's only Black female nominee

"Pack a bag, then pack it light. And pack your bags, and pack 'em light!" That's just one of the countless iconic Hazel moments in South of Midnight, dubbed 'Hazelcore' by some online.

South of Midnight is a stop motion third-person action adventure game that released in April where players take on the role of 19-year-old Hazel from Prospero, a fictional town based in the American South.

She explores the mythos and creatures of Southern folklore in a fantastical world and becomes a Weaver when disaster strikes her hometown and her family home and mother disappear. Along the way, Hazel mends broken bonds and spirits while trying to track down her family and its past.

A deep, thought provoking story focusing on dark, complex themes complete with interludes of aforementioned light relief has made South of Midnight a truly unforgettable game for anyone who's played it, sticking with them long after the credits roll. And it's been nominated twice at The Golden Joystick Awards.

For her portrayal of Hazel, Adriyan Rae has been nominated for Best Lead Performer and she's the only Black woman to be nominated in any category at this year's awards. The other nomination is for Best Soundtrack.

There has been a significant increase in the number of female lead characters in video games of late but not necessarily Black characters and Black female leads.

And Rae says it's an "interesting thing" to be the only Black female nominee at the awards.

Adriyan Rae with a cardboard cutout of Hazel from South of Midnight in the background / Supplied image

Speaking to indy100, she said: "It's such a diverse world and there are so many different people that play games, so to be the only one [Black female nominee] means there's probably a lack of representation overall.

"I will say that, for me, I'm greatly honoured to be able to be some part of that representation. I think the fact there is at least one shows there is some progress being made.

"There are lots of steps that need to be taken, lots more progress that needs to be made but at least we're moving in the right direction.

"I'm grateful to be a part of the footwork to help open these doors, for everyone to have representation, inclusion and diversity and I'm truly honoured to be a part of something that's way bigger than me.

"The nomination is phenomenal but the bigger picture is everyone feeling seen, heard, understood and telling their stories and I'm grateful to be a part of that movement."

Rae hopes to inspire others that see what she's doing in the world of gaming, not just being a Black female lead, but a Black woman in gaming at all.

"I think there's a specificity with gaming that I understand because specificity is very important," she said. "It honestly is what makes games pop and makes them so relatable.

"But I think that when you start including African American females or Black females and, just overall, including more in the writers' rooms, in the producer roles and including those stories, telling those stories, that's what makes them authentic and what happened with South of Midnight."

Adriyan Rae working on South of Midnight / Supplied image

Rae's also been flooded with messages of support from parents who have played the game with their kids.

"I get messages from fathers with their daughters, how they're bonding with their daughter over it," she said.

"She always wants to be Hazel or she can play as a character that has hair like hers, or a character that looks like her - and I'm just like 'I get to do that for you? What an honour.'

"It melts my heart and these things make me keep my head down and ground, to keep putting in the work.

"That feeling of knowing it's going to resonate with somebody and whoever it's meant to find, it will. And that's why you do it. Not for fame, fortune, all that, that's great, recognition is wonderful.

"But the real reason that I do it is for it to resonate with others and to know that it's doing that means I'm doing something right."

Adriyan Rae recording voiceover for South of Midnight / Supplied image

The role of Hazel was brought to life by Rae using her own personal experiences.

She said: "I remember calling my mother because my great aunt's name is Hazel, and she had just passed two weeks before I got the audition.

"I said 'mom, look at this character's name, this new character for this audition I'm doing' and she said 'oh my gosh, Hazel! Look at Hazel giving you blessings!' I said, 'I know, right?'

"It was already dear to me, I did the audition and then I got a call back, was given the scene with the mother singing 'pack your bags and pack 'em light' and it resonated me because of the relationship I had with my mother.

"I really wanted to do it and after speaking with the writers at Compulsion, I knew it was something special.

"I think what's interesting is in Hazel's journey, she has to confront her dynamic with her mother. She has to confront her with her father, just like I was doing in my therapy at that time.

"She has to see how certain things she might not have been aware of maybe traumatised her a bit and caused her to have these type of reactions and what that does to not only her but those around her and how her actions affect others.

"I think on my journey as an actor, I had to move away from my family, who live on the east coast of the United States, so I'm about 3,000 miles away from them and I've kind of been doing things on my own.

"When I do interact with them, I had to learn how my actions affect them, too, because it was oblivious to me. It just helped bring a sense of awareness by looking at her grow her sense of awareness and the parallels.

"It was wonderful to see her go through things so I could learn from her. I'm bringing this character to life and it's like, how can you learn from a character that you're bringing to life?

"But it's so true, you truly can when you are open to it, when you're open to understanding.

"I'm forever grateful for everything I've learned from Hazel and I think it actually helped me be a better mother."

Adriyan Rae in mo cap for South of Midnight / Supplied image

Rae is currently working on a new project but is not able to share any more details than that at the moment. Watch this space on that one...

South of Midnight is out on Xbox Series X/S and PC. Voting for The Golden Joystick Awards is open until 31 October at 12midnight GMT and you can vote by clicking here.

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