One of the unique aspects of the Naughty Dog team, Richard explained, is the team's autonomous freedom. With every member of the team able to contribute to the game's design, it becomes a much more iterative process.
It's obvious that the game took very strong inspiration from the "spaghetti" genre of action stories. Here are some specific stories the team took note of during the production of the game.
The game didn't always have over-the-shoulder aiming. In fact, the game was much more like Tomb Raider in its early days, with lock-on aiming. That proved problematic, however, and the team needed to work on a new solution.
"Aiming was harder than we'd thought it would be," Richard admits. In fact, our first play test at E3 reaffirms the trouble Naughty Dog had fine-tuning the controls: "combat proved to be difficult, due to its rather cumbersome controls, and buggy performance."
Interestingly, the main character of Nathan Drake was based off of Johnny Knoxville. (Seriously, the Jackass guy?) Honestly, he looks more like Naughty Dog's Jason Rubin, if you ask us.
Here's the cast of the game. Remember, these aren't just voice actors. They actually physically performed the roles as well.
A scary, but funny image of the graphics engine glitching during the production process.
Finally, here's an early production video meant to visualize the game. This is from when the game was simply called "Project Big." It's incredible to see how much of pre-production and early visualization made it into the final product.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-25-2008 @ 4:38PM
mberkowitz said...
Still the most underrated game in the last 5 years
Reply
2-25-2008 @ 4:45PM
sean said...
lol i guess he does kinda remind me of knoxville a lil.lol.
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2-25-2008 @ 4:53PM
balaam said...
shame that underwater swimming section didn't make it into the game
but from ammount of underwater ideas they had there, it will deffo be in the sequel
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2-25-2008 @ 5:31PM
Daniel said...
I heard the second one will feature the lost city of Atlantis, so I'm sure there will be some swimming involved.
2-25-2008 @ 4:57PM
JAH75157 said...
pretty game, but kinda repetitive.
oh hey a new room *ducks for cover *shoots using a not so good combat system
Oh hey another room *climbs *jumps *climbs *jumps
repeat
yeah i know i'm gonna get flamed for this but whatever, if the combat system was improved i'd like to play the second one if there is one.
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2-25-2008 @ 5:39PM
Deadpool said...
If that's what you think about it then so be it, not everyone is going to like the game. To each his own.
But if you thought this game was repetitive, what games do you play that aren't? I would really like to know because I want to play them.
2-25-2008 @ 5:50PM
dartmerc said...
umm the combat system is as flawless as gears. I'm guessing you haven't played this game, and are only making your comment based off complaints you've read, and misinterperated this post (as ND saying they think the final combat system was flawed).
Can't wait until the sequel, or to see this tech built into their next games.
2-25-2008 @ 5:45PM
JAH75157 said...
honestly it wouldn't of been so bad if the combat system wasn't so clunky, i would of enjoyed it alot more. i thought assassians creed was repetative as well but it was a good game, even though it needs some refinements, as well. games don't suffer from variation
2-25-2008 @ 5:58PM
Hyams said...
I actually enjoyed the flexibility of the combat system.
You have three different means of fighting available to you (hand-to-hand, cover and fire, run and gun), the different guns are best suited to either cover and fire (pistol, sniper, grenade launcher) or run and gun (machine gun, shotgun).
Hand-to-hand is useful against already weakened enemies (one punch kill), enemies that haven't yet seen you (stealth kill), or any nearby enemy that isn't in line of sight of another enemy (a powerful combo will yield you double ammo - useful if you're low on it for your favourite gun).
Also, grenades are also useful for killing multiple enemies, and the ability to hang and fire is life saving in some situations.
I mean, c'mon, the combat is way more flexible than your average shooter.
2-25-2008 @ 6:16PM
Josh Taylor said...
i've definatly played the game, i rented it for awhile. like i said it was pretty but i felt it was flawed and honestly i haven't read anything but praise for this game so i wasn't aware that the combat system was an issue. like i said i'm looking forward to the second one because maybe by then they will have all the flaws ironed out. that's the same way i feel about assassians creed.
2-25-2008 @ 6:59PM
Dahk said...
I don't think Uncharted gameplay was repetitive at all. You're never in the same room, so different types of cover are all available to use. There's so many ways of approaching each room that it makes it fun that way.
If I'm feeling for a good brawl, I'll jump up through the pews in the church thing until I get close up and go for a couple good smashes. If I'm feeling conservative I'll hide behind the walls in each door and pick them off with a wellesley or the .45. And then there's always the mad shotgun rampages and nade throws.
PLUS, the AI is so well done, because everytime you repeat a certain battle scene, each guy does something different most times. Sometimes they'll ambush you other times, they'll try and pick you off from afar. Lotsa different scenarios.
I thoroughly enjoyed it =P I'm almost done my second time through grabbing all the treasures and everything.
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2-25-2008 @ 9:17PM
Iain said...
I love seeing behind the scenes like this. Many beginning techniques that in the end add up to a great game. I loved the concept art.
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2-26-2008 @ 5:46AM
iCubPro said...
Repetivity is something common among most games to a degree. You're doing the same thing over and over again just in different environments and with little iddy bitty changes. Name a game that doesn't!
Reply
2-26-2008 @ 5:47AM
iCubPro said...
Repetivity is something common among most games to a degree. You're doing the same thing over and over again just in different environments and with little iddy bitty changes. Name a game that doesn't!
;o)
Reply