Joanna Dark of Perfect Dark was based on Winona Ryder

© Nintendo Life

It has been said in the past that Perfect black The protagonist Joanna Dark was inspired by the historical figure of Joan of Arc, but we talked to the boys behind the game and they put us on this point, and they revealed exactly who inspired the design of the famous agent secret.

"I think that's what sounds good," admits David Doak, who worked on the game before leaving Rare to settle down. TimeSplitters Free radical creation studio: asked about everything related to Jeanne d & # 39; Arc. "I don't remember if Joanna Dark or Perfect Dark came first. I think Joanna came first, but if I remember correctly, the Joan of Arc thing was some kind of renovation. Joanna Dark sounded like a good name, then "Ooh a bit like Jeanne d & # 39; Arc. It's pretty good, "instead of adapting it upside down".

Brett Jones, who has done so much to shape the character's design, says he drew inspiration from the media he consumed at the time. "We all appreciated Ghost in the shell and Sylvester Stallone Judge Dredd movie, a lot of influence from them, "he says. "We were strongly influenced by the first things in anime. Even Joanna's costume is almost directly snatched from Ghost In The Shell. In addition, the leather suit was inspired by Ms. Peel's The Avengers

and the dragon robe really used the dragon's design of Murderous Instinct"

Joanna's movements were provided by motion capture artist Laurie Sage, but her face was inspired by someone different. "It was entirely based on Winona Ryder," admits Jones. "I collected images of faces, I had a huge collection of reference images and we chose it." She had this great pixie haircut and achieved the look of what we wanted Joanna to be. "

Ryder is perhaps most famous for her brilliant film career in the late 1980s and early 1990s, where she starred in blockbuster movies like Beetle juice, Heather, Dracula, Reality hurts and Eduardo hand scissors, but more recently has experienced a revival thanks in part to its recurring role in the famous series of Netflix Strange things.

Perfect Dark is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. Be sure to read our exclusive creation feature if you haven't done so already.