This mini-interview may be short, but in answering these questions Evan Wells of Naughty Dog puts pay to a few little niggles we had regarding Uncharted and its potential future. Discussions are underway within the Naughty Dog offices regarding where the series can go next. We can't wait to see what they come up with. Beware going beyond the jump; there be spoilers (and pirates).Why was the option for an "Install" feature not added to the game?
We wanted gamers to be able to start playing the game as rapidly as possible. It's always frustrating as a player to be so excited to start playing a game that you've been looking forward to for so long and you just can't wait any longer and then when you pop in the disc it makes you sit through an agonizingly long install screen. With Uncharted we designed the game so that you can play through the entire experience without a load screen AND without installing a bunch of extra data to fill up your hard drive.
Why were the slow motion cinematic camera angle jumps (or, at least, the one we kept seeing in trailers) removed from the game? It was in the build we played at Leipzig and it looked great!
It was just an aesthetic choice that was made to keep you more immersed in the experience and to not remind you that you were playing a videogame.
Does having used supernatural story elements in the first chapter of the franchise create some annoying expectations from players for future games?
We will do what we believe is the right thing for the franchise and try not to let expectations get in the way of our decision making process.
Do you fear that gamers will now be disappointed if there's no magical curse in future chapters - just, perhaps, pirates?
Who's to say that pirates will even be in any future chapters of the franchise? The wonderful thing about the pulp action/adventure genre is how many options we have. The genre is rich with history and plots can range from the truly fantastic, to stories that are completely rooted in reality. Even we don't know where the next Uncharted will be headed.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-15-2008 @ 2:12PM
Shinogu said...
Pirates! But seriously, I suppose I get the whole bit about not needing an install. It certainly did kick off very quickly Christmas evening when everyone was settled after the movie and I kicked right into Uncharted and everyone was blown away by the visuals. :]
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1-15-2008 @ 4:30PM
Dehshizknight said...
Besides, it had very few loading times. Besides the beginning part with the menu loading, the chapters seamlessly went into one another, so I didn't feel that there was a need for game data.
1-15-2008 @ 2:26PM
xPAULIEx said...
IMO, this is by far the best PS3 game to date. I just wish the game was longer than 10 hours because it only took me 4 days to beat. With the amount of space you can put on a blu-ray disk I'm sure they could make the game and easy 30 hrs long...I mean kingdom of hearts was 30 hrs long and it was on a dvd. Anyway great game, from visuals to gameplay.
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1-15-2008 @ 3:02PM
ninxf said...
The length of the game has nothing to do with the amount of space a disc can hold. Kingdom Hearts took a long time because there was a lot of time sinks in the game. If you ripped out the story of Kingdom of Hearts and compared it to Uncharted, they are probably very similar in length. Longer doesn't equal better.
1-15-2008 @ 2:27PM
Me said...
Hmm,
I don't mind installing games as long as it helps make the game experience better. It ususally only takes a few minutes anyways.
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1-15-2008 @ 2:40PM
baby sea tuna said...
Boy, this game. This is what the next Tomb Raider/Indiana Jones/Resident Evil needs to shoot for or else they'll be severely disappointing. My only complaint was the length. I bought it Sunday and beat it yesterday (meaning all those who praised this and dogged the length of the campaigns of Gears and Halo 3 need to STFU.) Luckily, it's a great enough experience, that I'll have no problem picking it back up.
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1-15-2008 @ 2:49PM
Tim Parsons said...
"It's always frustrating as a player to be so excited to start playing a game that you've been looking forward to for so long and you just can't wait any longer and then when you pop in the disc it makes you sit through an agonizingly long install screen."
does any Gamer really get that uptight ,. please,.Long install? thats a joke right,. what 2 minutes(one-time) is long?? that's the longest i've seen any install yet if that,..
I still havemt got to this game yet,. I heard it was a `0hr game so I keep putting it off till a copy is rentable at Blockbuster,. gonna try to remember to get it Friday for a week rent,. would help if the closest place to get PS3 games(rent wise) wasn't 25mins drive away
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1-15-2008 @ 3:48PM
Dru said...
Tim,
Just buy it if you can afford it. There is plenty of replayability and it really is worth owning. If you're the kind of person that devours a game you might burn through it quick, but if you take some time and attempt to unlock some of the cooler "achievements" it's definitely worth purchasing. It has a bunch of extras and the stuff you can unlock really does extend the experience. Like flipping the screen so everything plays on the opposite side, playing with different visual effects, different weapons, skins, etc.
1-15-2008 @ 4:07PM
Tim Parsons said...
@ 7 Dru ;
Sounds like Rachet & Clank the way you talk about the unlockables,. but i'm all about the Story,.if I beat it in like say 10hrs,. unless the extras have story driven points to them (extra cutscenes related to them or something like that) I'd lose any interest in the game minute the credit start to roll,. it's like that with any game with me,. Besides I'd have it from the 18th of jan- 8th of feb for 12 bucks so you still saying it's worth a buy compared to that price for that amount of time LOL
1-17-2008 @ 8:23AM
Dru said...
Crap Parsons, if you could have it for two weeks for 12 bucks than fack buying it. Some games are worth owning to me and this one was definitely one of those. There aren't any missing story elements in the achievements, but a ton of "extras". I'm a sucker for the behind the scenes/making of type stuff and they've got a few of those videos as well. Rent it and if you still want it down the road pick it up at a better price. Best of both worlds.
1-15-2008 @ 4:15PM
The Fifth said...
@ Tim
I'm like you-all about the story. I guess it just depends whether you follow the stick and carrot idea and say to yourself 'this game is amazing, i should reward the developers by buying it' or you're more money conscious and say 'I can save $45 by renting the game not buying'.
If you feel like devs should be rewarded when they make really good games then you should probably buy the game. Otherwise just rent it.
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1-15-2008 @ 5:09PM
Organic_Shadow said...
These are consoles- not PC's. We shouldn't have to install data or run a quick system benchmark test or any of that. I realize that installing the data helps the game load faster and all that, but this temporary crutch is going to sneak itself in and eventually be a standard deal.
I just hope 500gb 2.5" sata drives at cheap prices are a reality sometime in the near future.
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1-15-2008 @ 5:20PM
Tim Parsons said...
These install should be a Standard now to reduce load times and so on,.
500GB drive are out there,. Expensive as hell but they exist
1-15-2008 @ 10:18PM
PSPDog said...
@Tim
While I don't have a problem installing games, Uncharted does not have load times. I'd rather use my ps3 HD for other things like music, videos, downloaded games than just caching game data. Some games will certainly benefit from installing game data to disk, but if there's a way around it, then I'm all for it.
1-15-2008 @ 6:23PM
meepmoopmeep said...
i have faith in Naughty Dog for the next Uncharted. I hope they whip up as much or more magic as they did for this intro. thanks ND for such an amazing gaming experience. i have yet to get bored of it. you guys rock!
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1-15-2008 @ 7:35PM
Daniel said...
I just bought this game the other day and beat it on Normal. Am now working through on Hard. It's one of the BEST games I've ever played and I think it the game was any longer it would have only hurt it. Maybe 15 hours tops, but not 30. Being an working adult, I have little time to play games so to be able to be immersed in an awesome game for one weekend and then go back and play now and then to unlock cool stuff like movies and concept art and new ways to play the game is awesome and exactly what I need.
This is definitely one of THE BEST games EVER and I hope Naughty Dog comes through on a lot of sequals that are just as awesome! Nathan Drake is my new favorite game character!
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1-15-2008 @ 8:03PM
Dahk said...
Haha yeah Uncharted was definitely a great experience. Lol I'm a person who loves collecting all the little extras and whatnot, so Uncharted definitely provides replayability there. Plus, super speed later on lets you run through the game at an awwwesome pace lol. And the cinematics of this game never get boring. Its always like friggin' awe-inspiring lol.
Unfortunately Assasin's Creed also had the same sorta things, but the game was hell boring and annoying, so... I'm not gonna be attempting to get those ones =P Anyone know if I actually get anything for finishing those flag things?
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1-15-2008 @ 10:44PM
Ether02 said...
I had the game since launch and still haven't beaten it yet. The games kinda long for me lol. I guess b/c I also been playing about 10 other games in the same time frame.
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1-16-2008 @ 11:35AM
NetLethal said...
I got it on Christmas and have played about 50% of it but I've been so stuck on COD4 lately I haven't played Uncharted in a couple weeks.
That said, it's definitely a fantastic game and the visuals are amazing. Anytime someone comes to the house and hasn't seen the PS3 in action, I show them Uncharted and they've all been blown away.
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1-16-2008 @ 1:23PM
atarikid said...
"We wanted gamers to be able to start playing the game as rapidly as possible."
What extreme lame excuse not to use the HD. lol
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