In March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the spread of SARS-CoV-2, colloquially called COVID-19 based on its discovery the year prior, a worldwide pandemic. Lockdown procedures were enacted as a result, disrupting peoples' lives and business operations globally and leading to 44 percent of game developers delaying projects in 2020, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the Game Developers Conference. For many, this also means screen time has increased, both for work and leisure activities like gaming from home. However, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild voice actor Patricia Summersett has been more unplugged from technology than ever.
Summersett said she was becoming increasingly burnt out by "nearly everything," including news and social media, and decided to step away from modern stressors prior to the world slowing down because of the pandemic. "Digital minimalism" has been her status quo for the past year in an attempt to bolster her mental health and sanity, and limiting those influences has led to her feeling "much better." Becoming Princess Zelda's first official English voice was one thing that got her thinking about the subject, and Game Rant spoke to Summersett about digital minimalism and how her industry has adapted to the ongoing pandemic.
While Breath of the Wild was a hallmark game in The Legend of Zelda franchise, critically acclaimed for its open-world design and novel take on a long-running formula, to Summersett there's a certain irony to its messaging. She said Breath of the Wild is a game that celebrates nature, right down to its title, but does so in an entirely virtual medium that requires players to sink a lot of hours in to fully complete. Thinking about her role in the game led her to consider this dichotomy in her personal life.
"I asked myself where is the sweet spot, where does the balance exist for me and my life, with my love for nature and pursuit of virtual immersion or screen time. It was just a subject that I've pondered often, for what it's worth."
She said her burnout and strained mental health was having an effect on her work too. One "scary" realization that cued her in to this need to slow down was that she could no longer create any original work, and part of this strain came from the pressures of online fandom and never feeling unplugged. Though she's glad people have told her about a "shift in attitude" regarding the voice acting in Breath of the Wild, and hopes people are inspired by the work, she said she has spent too much time caring about detractors and prefers to focus on the gratification of giving it her all.
"Giving it my all right now means relearning personal boundaries. Inside there is a seed of inspiration for why I chose this path in the first place; if I lose that seed, then what kind of storyteller am I exactly? What am I inspiring in others if my own journey to the mentorship platform is increasingly unsustainable? I see these questions reflected in the game and in the world of gaming in general right now. I want to join the innovators in this field of questioning, but from a balanced place. Otherwise, what's the point?"
At the same time, being offline means she has not concerned herself with the wait for news about its sequel. She points to Eiji Aonuma teasing Breath of the Wild 2 news during the February 2021 Nintendo Direct as affirmation that there will be announcements "soon-ish," though she is as much in the dark as fans. Overall, she tries to "be chill" about it and pay attention to different things in the meantime, otherwise the wait for Link and Zelda's story to continue might make her nervous and stressed out.
The voice actor currently lives and works out of Montreal, having built a sound studio into her apartment as everything shut down. "I can't imagine not having it as a roommate now," she said, and that has helped her learn about another facet of game design as the industry around her adapts. Video game development is not the only industry to change because of COVID-19; she said she shot an episode of a television show around March 2021 and found standards to be completely different. She had to wear a mask and goggles at all times on set, only able to take everything off briefly to record scenes. Overall, "you're only allowed to be unmasked next to people for 15 minutes a day total."
Before the pandemic, she often travelled between Montreal and Los Angeles for work, but restrictions at the border have prevented her from coming back to the United States in over a year. Because of different time tables set in Canada, she was still a long way away from getting vaccinated when this interview was conducted.
Summersett said she really wants to get across the border and visit her family, but only when the time is right. "I'm just trying to be a responsible citizen and not do anything prematurely," she said, and is waiting to receive her vaccine as travel security loosens. At some point after that, likely in 2022 or beyond, she would also enjoy going back to events like Comic-Con. The pre-pandemic chapter of her life feels "like a dream world," and has given her a different kind of appreciation for what an "extraordinary gift" it has been to play Zelda.
"I don't get to travel anymore and meet the fans that I used to meet. I've met so many wonderful, cool people around the world and that all stopped. I'm so happy it happened."
In the meantime, focusing on herself by unplugging and spending less time in front of screens has ultimately been a boon for both her mental health and productivity. On top of her acting work in TV, video games, and beyond, Summersett finds true passion with her indie folk band - also called Summersett. She and her creative partner Nick Carpenter are working on their second album, as well as a new music video, and the contents have been drastically overhauled as Patricia worked past her burnout. A policy of digital minimalism helped her get there, and embracing her experience as the Princess of Hyrule seemed to offer the insight she needed at just the right time.
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is available now on Nintendo Switch.