Director of Uncharted 2, The Last of Us or Uncharted 4, we know the vision of one of the great leaders of the golden age of Naughty Dog.
Artist, designer and director, the eighteen years of Bruce Straley in Naughty Dog leaves few titles without his name printed on the credit titles. From the tires of Crash Team Racing to the hook of Drake in Uncharted 4, the route of the Californian developer now looks for new professional goals; elements that allow him to find new ideas with which to continue creating video games, but far from Naughty Dog. We have chatted with him in Bilbao, on the occasion of Fun and Serious 2019, where he has received the Vanguard Award.
Looking in the trunk of memories: the leap that Uncharted 2 meant
“What we did at Naughty Dog was tremendous. From Uncharted 2 to The Last of Us, to be able to integrate into scenes of the gameplay what were once only cinematic … I think that all that was fantastic, ”he begins by telling FreeGameTips. That is his best memory of this long stage, but there is a name that resonates above the others; not so much because we say so, but because it is so for himself.
Bruce Straley, at Fun and Serious 2019, Bilbao | Meristation
FreeGameTips: Of all the games you've worked on in Naughty Dog, which one is the most special and why.
Bruce Straley: My favorite Naughty Dog game is Uncharted 2; It is the one that I had the best time working on. Because assuming direction was something totally new to me; I was really clear what I wanted to do with both the franchise and Nathan Drake himself. I was excited to have those new responsibilities, I was eager to realize the vision I had in my head with that Uncharted 2. It was exciting to be able to work with a whole team so talented, that it was one level above the rest of the AAA industry. They were wanting to do something amazing and prove to themselves that they were capable of doing it.
During development, the games are mere photographs of what the industry expects.
Uncharted 2 (2009) | Naughty dog
The critic had no doubts with Uncharted 2 that October 2009. With more than 100 reviews collected in aggregating portals such as Metacritic, the average is one of the highest in the last five years with a 96 out of 100. The jump, however Regarding the first part, he finally defined what is currently an icon of the PlayStation brand and what sealed Nathan Drake's name on the book of extraordinary types, in the literal sense of the word.
Uncharted 4 has sold more than 16 million units and was considered GOTY in many media with numerous awards. Do you think Uncharted 4 is a masterpiece, the culmination?
I think that all the games I've worked on have their failures and things that invite me to want to work on something new right after, to get over it. Because, in reality, we only have a limited amount of information during development; We only have our own perspective. We only know the game when production begins, do you realize?
During development, the games are mere photographs of what the industry expects and what study in charge wants. A masterpiece? Sounds like we're talking about something perfect … I would never say that none of the games I've worked on are perfect. For me, a defect is, in essence, what keeps me motivated to continue creating video games and to explore new ideas that can become a new photograph of what my life is as a developer at a specific time.
Uncharted 4 (2016) | Naughty dog
… that the player is able to think like Nathan Drake would.
So, what would you like Straley to see in a hypothetical Uncharted 5, in that desired by many new iteration of the saga?
You know what? I have recently played titles like Outer Wilds; also a small indie game called A Short Hike and … there is a certain sense of constant exploration and discovery in those titles that, honestly, I think we have never been able to transmit in the Uncharted series in the way we could. Being an action and adventure game, the adventure section is more written about the character and less in game mechanics.
A Short Hike (2019) | adamgryu
I would be interested in Naughty Dog being able to integrate a mystery with clues that you should look for in the world and that, through that, the feeling of adventure, of exploration, of discovery would be encouraged. That you, as a player, want to discover the mysteries that hide in that world and feel trapped, hooked, until you discover how to overcome all obstacles. And then, gather all the clues you've been collecting to solve those mysteries that Nathan Drake tries to figure out.
Undoubtedly, one of the things he would do is to align the player with Nathan Drake, so that the player is able to think like Nathan Drake would do in each specific situation.
How would you define Nathan Drake in just a couple of words?
Can it be three? Adorable, imperfect, adventurous.
