We interviewed Halley Gross, one of the key people on Neil Druckmann's Naughty Dog team, responsible for writing the game's story.
Halley Gross, narrative director of The Last of Us Part 2, believes that Ellie is the most complex character she has ever written and that she serves as a true reflection of each of us. The sequel wants to forget about heroes and villains, lights or shadows, but wants to show both sides of the coin even in the characters we love the most. We have been able to interview her to know in depth what awaits us at the narrative level of the long-awaited video game.
At the gates of the end of a generation of consoles, we finished a cycle where PlayStation has dominated the market with a production of exclusive works where Sony has felt very comfortable when it comes to telling great stories on PS4. After numerous vicissitudes, the Japanese company faces the days before the launch of The Last of Us Part 2 with an aggressive promotional campaign and the belief that this title will live up to the original. We won't know that until June 19, when it goes on sale; although on June 12 you can read our Reviews on FreeGameTips.
FreeGameTips: Why did you choose to tell a story based on the cycle of violence?
Halley Gross: Well, the truth is that Neil had that theme in mind when I joined the team. He showed me both the beginning and the end and what he wanted to do. I thought it was something brilliant. It is true that the game deals with the cycle of violence, but this title also tells us about empathy, about seeing the other and our abilities as human beings to redeem ourselves. And to be able to make changes for the better. Right now, I think it is something more important than ever because precisely now we are experiencing difficult times. We need to see resilient characters, who inspire us, who don't give up and who encourage themselves; who continue to look forward. Just for the fact of changing that drama and despite everything that is happening in the world…. And that means they can still have a positive influence or a life surrounded by love. I firmly believe that is what we need to see at a time like this.
Ellie, during an action scene in The Last of Us Part 2
How different is it for you to have had to face writing the narrative of a sequel instead of a totally new video game? Here was a story told before, with characters and a relationship created.
This is my first game. For me, it is very intimidating. I'm a big fan of the first The Last of Us; Neil and the entire team were able to build a beautiful cast of characters. I fell in love with Ellie while I was playing. My idea was to go further and explore it even more now when she is 19 years old, and she is becoming a woman. It was really exciting for me. Ellie has a chance to make people feel the scene. She is a very rudimentary girl who always gets up, who suffers from many beatings in her heart and who, nevertheless, continues to find reasons to survive.
How long did it take you to write the full story for The Last of Us Part 2?
All the time of the World! (laughs) I think it took me about a few months to sketch the entire game. I have to say that there are certain highlights that have completely changed now from what we initially started. But, from that moment on, the game was evolving. We were moving it to other departments. Even when we had a broader general idea, a more complete design and animation, we were involving more people until it became something alive, which was growing and changing since it was necessary for some mechanics to be accompanied by an environmental narrative. The script constantly needed a revision, an evolution with rewriting; as we learned more about each character or the game world itself.
Halley Gross, narrative director of The Last of Us Part 2
Let's talk about Ellie. Is this the most complex character you've written to date? Why?
What we always try to do here at Naughty Dog is create multi-faceted characters. There are no heroes, there are no villains. There are no good or bad: everyone has lights and shadows. And yes, that's why I think Ellie is absolutely the most complex character I've ever seen in a video game, alongside Joel. Now we are expanding our universe and I hope you can feel the same with other characters that we have included in this new installment.
And what are the main differences between the young 14-year-old Ellie that we met largely from the first The Last of Us and this other, five years later, more mature and adult?
Without going into any kind of spoiler, the Ellie we saw at 14 years old was a girl who had to grow up and live in a devastated world; We have seen her kill someone for the first time and she was having, say, a lot of great first experiences that defined her; that he continued to fight for that definition. Now, Ellie is 19 years old and has spent four years in a safe coexistence. Now she feels loved and supported by what she is like. He feels part of a community and cares about others; not just for saving his own life every day. We see her concerned about protecting others and doing things without Joel seeing her. And this sum of things has allowed her to choose for the first time in a long time to have the opportunity to choose whether to pursue justice or stay calm at home and see how this world continues to grow.
Through the adventure that the game proposes you will constantly see yourself with the choice of having to choose one thing or another, over and over again.
What has it been like to work side by side with Neil Druckmann to build this story? When making weighty decisions in the narrative, how did you resolve your possible differences?
(Laughs) Neil and I have worked very, very well together. We have agreed on 80% of all things, generally. He is obviously the director of the game, so many of those decisions he ended up making, but he is an incredibly receptive person and open to other ideas; whenever there were proposals on the theme, on the characters or on the story … It is definitely a complex story and we all understand it. When Neil and I often don't agree on something, we start to debate it from one side to the other (laughs). There are elements of the story where we have very big differences and we had very tense debates; to the point of not speaking to us for three days, but then everything returned to normal as if nothing had happened. I love to insult him in public and very loud in the office. I love to put you in committed moments! In short, I feel after working at Naughty Dog for four years that there is a constant feeling that we are in a family, that there is full confidence and you know perfectly well that each and every one of us has good intentions and that we put the story of the game in front. In the end everything ends up going forward. Although there are times when you need to curse someone, you know? (laughs) Once in a while.
Do you all have a good relationship? Are you friends among yourselves?
Absolutely. Look, writing together can be very difficult because you have to expose parts of yourself when writing something like that. You have to be willing to share your own experiences and convey your opinion on some specific things that are important. Neil has become one of my best friends; And that has helped us understand each other when following each other, encouraging and trusting each other.
What is your work methodology? When did you start writing the story for The Last of Us Part 2?
I was hired four years ago at Naughty Dog, in July (2016). When I entered the company Neil already had an idea of the beginning and also had an end, which is now different from the actual end of the game. Everything in between was missing. All that connected is what Neil and I have been working on: how do you authentically get these characters, these scenes and make them experience all those changes; subject them to the challenge of facing this universe, the people they love and how to keep them evolving. We even wonder who is Ellie? Who is joel We try to make an experience that feels authentic. And by adding all of those components together, we think about what elements are important to make your narrative progress. What can we create? How can we take each character to the limit? We want to offer your darkest and brightest part. This is how we have been able to approach a more complete spectrum of the figure of Ellie.
The Last of Us Part 2 will answer many of the questions we all ask ourselves.
So did you change the ending of the game during development? Why did you do it?
Yes, about two years ago we changed the end of the game. We had a specific ending that was going to lead Ellie to take a particular path. There was something interesting about him … Look, one of the things I love about working at Naughty Dog is that everyone has their own voice, has something to say. We initially had that ending, a version that we had shared in the studio and that we were going to continue developing. But as we progressed and saw the development of the game evolve in each of the departments, it became clear to us that an alternative to that end was actually going to be more interesting. That he might be able to convey a different message. That it was going to be more interesting, in short. Without spoilers!
Can you describe Ellie in just three words?
Yes, well … how complicated. There are so many that I don't know which ones to choose. I would say … Resilient, passionate and … maybe a little lost, I would say.
