Tag Archives: Naughty Dog

Train2Game news: Uncharted 3 director on story vs. gameplay

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Train2Game blog readers may see Uncharted 3 as one of the most impressive, story driven games on the PlayStation 3, but some out there criticise it for its linearity when compared with RPGs and other open titles.

Developer Naughty Dog has responded to those criticisms by stating the Uncharted series storyline is more important to them than gameplay.

“That’s not really our genre,” Uncharted 3 creative director Amy Hennig told Gametrailers. “We like those kind of games, as players and fans of other games, but for the action-adventure – especially the pulp-adventure genre – that doesn’t really make sense.”

“It’s about having a very clear, linear story arc that doesn’t allow for a lot of the dilution that is created by player choice in some cases. We always call it ‘wide linear’ – within the path that we give you you have a lot of choice within it, it’s not just hit this button, and this button, and this button.” she added.

Despite the tight nature of Uncharted 3’s story, the Train2Game blog has previously reported that Naughty Dog say they make up a lot of the game as they go along.

Train2Game students interested in how Uncharted 3’s script is written  and performed should check out this behind the scenes look on the Train2Game blog.

For more on games writing, check out the huge Train2Game blog interview with Deus Ex: Human Revolution writer James Swallow.

Away from game design, Naughty Dog believes the PlayStation 4 is needed for the next big leap in graphical improvements.

So Train2Game, what do you make of Naughty Dog’s comments on storyline being more important than gameplay for Uncharted 3?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Industry Gamers]

Train2Game news: Uncharted needs PS4 for next big improvements

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Train2Game students are living in time when video games look better than ever, with the Uncharted series being some of the best looking titles of the lot.

And while the upcoming Uncharted 3 is graphically improved over its predecessor, developers Naughty Dog say the jump isn’t as big as it was between Uncharted 2 and the original. They believe a next generation console is needed in order to recreate this level of improvement.

Speaking to Spong, Game Director Justin Richmond revealed that changes to the Uncharted’s engine have been tweaks rather than massive upgrades.

“Uncharted 3 isn’t just an incremental update – we did change lots and lots of things – but graphically speaking, it’s not going to have the same gap, it was never going to happen.” he said.

And the Uncharted 3 Game Director believes we won’t see another huge jump on the PlayStation 3, hinting that we’ll only see a similar boost when Sony release a next-generation console.

“The way we made it, how much of the PS3’s power we were using… that huge gap that you saw between Uncharted 1 and 2 is the kind of thing that really only happens once per generation. We pushed it really hard.” said Richmond.

Train2Game students may be interested to find out that Naughty Dog only managed to make improvements to Uncharted 3 by re-writing the engine, and it’s something they’d prefer to do only once per console cycle.

“Uncharted 2 to 3 is still a jump, but it’s a narrower jump. And going forward, it depends on what we do. There are always ways to improve stuff, always ways we can pull out more stops… like changing optimisations, changing streaming animations, getting more polygons on screen, progressive mesh,” Richmond said.

“But I don’t think you’ll ever see that same jump again, at least on a PlayStation 3. There was just so much power left over in the PS3 when we made Uncharted 1, that we figured out how to use and really took it to town when developing Uncharted 2.” the Uncharted 3 Game Director concluded.

As previously reported by the Train2Game blog, the Uncharted 3 have a something of a “make it up as we go along” thing when it comes to game design.

Meanwhile, Train2Game students interested in how Uncharted 3’s script is written and performed should check out this behind the scenes look on the Train2Game blog.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on Richmond’s comments? Do you believe a new console is needed in order to make another leap forward? Does that leap need to be made?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Spong]

Train2Game students can question Uncharted 3 devs this weekend

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Train2Game students have the chance to question Uncharted 3 developers Naughty Dog and get their hands on the game at an exclusive event in London this Saturday.

The Naughty Dog team behind the Uncharted series will be hosting a developer session featuring a live walkthrough of the Desert Village section of the game.

It’s likely to give any Train2Game students who attend a great insight into the development of Uncharted 3 and what goes on behind the scenes at Naughty Dog.

Attendees will also get the chance to sample Uncharted 3’s single player campaign for the first time ever in the UK.

The Uncharted 3 developer session, a FREE event hosted by PlayStation Access, takes place this Saturday 15th October from 15:00-18:00 at The Union, 50 Greek Street, London, W1D 4EQ.

The venue will  apparently be transformed into the Pelican Inn in the upcoming Uncharted 3. There’s no need to register in advanced.

For more details about the Uncharted 3 developer session, Train2Game students should see the Facebook event page.

Earlier this month, the Train2Game reported that Uncharted 3’s lead designer said they made a lot of the game up as they went along!

Train2Game students can also check out this post that looks behind the scenes at Naughty Dog. Perhaps it’ll inspire someone to ask the Naughty Dog team a great question!

Uncharted 3 is released for PlayStation 3 next month.

So Train2Game, will you attend the Uncharted 3 developer session? What would you ask? And are you looking forward to the game?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

Train2Game news: Uncharted 3 – ‘we do make up a lot of it as we go along’ reveals lead designer

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Train2Game students will no doubt be familiar with the highly successful Uncharted series for PlayStation 3.

Now, with game number three on the horizon, Naughty Dog look to be pushing towards the release of yet another technically impressive and critically acclaimed game.

And while Train2Game students may expect the Uncharted 3 to have been meticulously planned before development starts, it appears it isn’t the case.

“We start with a short description, but then we do make up a lot of it as we go along. I think that’s very important.” Uncharted 3 Lead Game Designer Richard Lemarchand told GamesIndustry.biz during an in-depth interview.

He revealed that Uncharted 3 uses a storyboarding technique similar to Toy Story and Cars creators Pixar, which doesn’t begin with a script, but animation.

“I attended a story seminar by one of the story artists at Pixar last year, and he told us that Pixar make their films in the same way: they don’t have a script when they start; they do lots of brainstorming, and they work up ideas, and they do lots of drawing, and they start to make animatics, which are like little rough-cut movies.” said Lemarchand.

The Naughty Dog game designer explained that the story evolves from this system, which is flexible enough for things to change if needed.

“So they discover the key moments of their movies that way, and over time the detailed structure of what they’re making emerges.”

“It kind of appears by them working at it and working at it. That’s good, because it means you don’t over commit to something that might be wrong, or not entertaining or interesting enough.” he said.

Train2Game students interested in how Uncharted 3’s script is written  and performed should check out this behind the scenes look on the Train2Game blog.

Uncharted 3 for PlayStation 3 is set for release on 2nd November, with the Train2Game blog previously reporting that Sony believe it’ll ‘show a new level in 3D gaming’

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the production behind Uncharted 3? Are you surprised it isn’t precisely planned? And how do you go about planning to build games?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: GamesIndustry.biz]

Writing Uncharted 3 a ‘collaborative effort’

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Uncharted 3: Drakes’ Deception – one of the Train2Game blogs most anticipated games of the year – features a ‘collaborative effort’ when it comes the storytelling element of the Game Design.

That’s what Naughty Dog’s creative director Amy Hennig told Edge Magazine when asked how the team go about achieving the levels of polish in Uncharted games.

“I think there are a few factors that allow us to do a good job. One is that Sony gives us the time and the money to do it, and takes it seriously. And Naughty Dog takes stories seriously, too, rather than leaving them as afterthought,” she said.

“So that means we spend a lot of time talking about story, narrative and how we integrate that with the gameplay. And then the other blessing that we can’t forget is that the time we spend with the actors: It’s huge. This is a collaborative process that involves revision and improvement.

Hennig also talks about the amount of work the actors put into getting into their characters.

“Going through those drafts, having rehearsal time and table reads with the actors, letting them improvise – and get to know their characters over a long period of time, it all contributes to raising the bar.”

Earlier this year, the Train2Game blog reported on how Naughty Dog are using the latest techniques to produce Uncharted 3, with motion capture a huge part of the Game Development process.

Uncharted 3 is set for release exclusively on the PlayStation 3 this November.

So Train2Game, what are your thoughts on the amount of effort that goes into writing Uncharted 3? Do you think the ‘collaborative effort’ with actors will become more prominent in the games industry? And are you looking forward to Uncharted 3?

Leave your comments here on the Train2Game blog, or on the Train2Game forum.

[Source: Edge]