Gaming News According to Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us could have started very differently
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All gamers who got their hands on the first work of The Last of Us were forever marked by the shocking introduction of the game, which has just been adapted in the first installment of the HBO series. But originally this intro could have been very different. And it’s Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the license, who tells us about it.
summary
- An iconic prologue
- A completely different start
An iconic prologue
It’s hard to forget the introduction of The Last of Us, as the beginnings of this work leave a mark on the players. From the first minutes, the title Naughty Dog installs a particularly sweet atmosphere by introducing Joel and his daughter Sarah. And while we expect to take control of the father, we play the daughter before the worlds of these two characters are thrown into turmoil with the outbreak of the Cordyceps pandemic.
Without revealing the details of this introduction for those who have never done it (yes, it’s possible), it must be said that the tragic conclusion of these first minutes is more than enough to shake up the player. An opening so effective that it was transcribed almost entirely in the first episode of the series. At the time, this feat was largely due to the developers’ decision to give players control of Sarah rather than her father, who was then expected to be the main character of this work. Except that this option might not have existed when the game was released, while Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, the two creators of the license, had other plans.
A completely different start
Neil Druckmann, via the official website of cheeky dogreturned to the prologue of the first The Last of Us for the airing of the first episode of the TV adaptation of the game. According to the license’s co-creator, we learn that this launch is “one of the last items” completed by the developers who thought they were offering something different in the beginning. Therefore, the players first had to directly impersonate Joel and not Sarah. A choice that was “too similar” to the productions of the time, while Neil Druckmann wanted The Last of Us to stand out from its competitors from its opening moments.
For a long time it was planned to play Joel and not Sarah. When Joel heard noises at your neighbor’s house, you went there before finding out they were infected. And then you went home to pick up your daughter… and then everything else was as we had imagined. – Neil Druckmann
In fact, the character change allowed the developers to increase the emotional involvement of the player from the first moments of the game, but also to increase the terrifying atmosphere that unfolds throughout the progression.
It corresponded to a truly unique vision (this story). Seeing it all through an innocent child made it even more creepy and frightening (…) This defined view influenced the team’s entire approach to how this introduction would be manifested.
With these statements, we are saying very clearly that Naughty Dog’s short-term change of perspective was wise, because this prologue embodies the essence of the license today.
