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[SITUATION] · [QUIET] · [TECHNOLOGY]

2 clusters · 13 sources · 9 days · First seen 29 days ago · Last updated 21 days ago

Naughty Dog game development retrospectives

Overview

Former Naughty Dog designer Benson Russell has provided retrospective insights into the development of the Uncharted series and broader studio practices.

Regarding Uncharted, Russell revealed that the original title, Drake’s Fortune, employed a dynamic difficulty system to extend playtime by increasing challenges for players who completed combat encounters faster than average. He further noted that the development of Uncharted 3 faced difficulties due to an overabundance of scripted set pieces. Russell explained that the team attempted to replicate the success of the second game by planning numerous large-scale sequences in advance, which ultimately forced the narrative to be ‘shoehorned’ into pre-existing action sequences.

On a broader scale, Russell discussed technical hurdles during the transition to PlayStation 3 hardware and suggested that long development cycles could be mitigated if studios established clearer creative directions earlier in the process. He also noted that Naughty Dog’s upcoming sci-fi project, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, only received a full team following the 2023 cancellation of a The Last of Us online project.

Entities

Benson Russell · Naughty Dog · PlayStation · Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune · Uncharted

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 3 SOURCES] The development process of Uncharted 3 was hindered by an excessive number of set pieces. pk.ign.com · www.saudigamer.com · in.ign.com
[● 3 SOURCES] Uncharted 2's set pieces developed organically, whereas Uncharted 3's set pieces were planned in advance. pk.ign.com · www.saudigamer.com · in.ign.com
[● 3 SOURCES] The development team initially planned to select only a few set pieces from an initial list of 10 or 12, but most were included in the final game. pk.ign.com · www.saudigamer.com · in.ign.com
[● 3 SOURCES] Writer and director Amy Hennig had to adapt the narrative to accommodate pre-designed set pieces. pk.ign.com · www.saudigamer.com · in.ign.com

Timeline

21 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 6 sources
Naughty Dog designer cites set piece issues in Uncharted 3
Ex-Naughty Dog designer Benson Russell claims Uncharted 3's development was flawed due to an overabundance of pre-planned set pieces that forced the narrative to adapt to the action.
29 days ago

[TECHNOLOGY] 8 sources
Naughty Dog designer reveals Uncharted 1 difficulty tactics
Former Naughty Dog designer Benson Russell revealed that Uncharted 1 used dynamic difficulty to slow down fast players and extend gameplay, while also discussing industry-wide development delays.

Sources

eurogamer.de · eurogamer.pt · ign.com.cn · in.ign.com · it.ign.com · lacremedugaming.fr · multiplayer.it · pk.ign.com · play3.de · playfront.de · pt.ign.com · saudigamer.com · vpesports.com