There are a fair few trends that the industry is obsessed with right now, but one of them is open worlds. Aside from maybe Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, pretty much all of the big games in 2014 traded on expansive sandboxes, with the likes of Destiny and The Crew even going as far as to populate those spaces with other online players. Asked if this was the inspiration behind Uncharted 4: A Thief's End's larger combat bowls, game director Bruce Straley shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't care what the industry's doing," he chuckled. "I want to make a game that I want to play, and that may sound selfish... I mean, I'm thinking about the team. Ultimately, though, we're not comparing what we're doing here to what other people are doing. We're comparing it to what's the evolution of Uncharted, and what can we do with this franchise? Who is Nathan Drake, and what can he do?"
He continued: "He's an adventurer, and when we're coming up with these story moments, we have these mechanics in mind, and we're saying, 'Well, in this area he's lost – he needs to find his way. What does that mean for the mechanics? What does that mean for the layout?' You as the player are lost as well, so we're trying to parallel those concepts together, and exploit those mechanics appropriately – that's the game that I want to play."
Creative director Neil Druckmann added that when the duo first came onto the project, there were some much bigger environments in the game, but it ultimately decided to tone those down. "There were some areas that were so big and so large that you lost any sense of pacing, and you weren't sure of where you were going. That's not something that we wanted to play, so there were some adjustments made."
He concluded that the developer's designing the release based on what feels right in the moment, and not trends that are occurring elsewhere in the industry. "There will be parts of the game that will be more linear than others," he hinted, "and parts that will open up much wider than what you've seen in [the PlayStation Experience] demo." If those big areas are all as intricately designed as the jungle that we saw last year, then this is going to be a very, very special title indeed.
[source gameinformer.com]
Comments 14
It's ok if they keep Uncharted like Uncharted, I don't want Uncharted to be like Last of Us...
No no no ND listen to people on the internet & make what they all want because they are always right...
Anyway when i was watching the Uncharted 4 game play video i picked up my DS4 pad & pretended to be playing it So just keep doing what you do ND please
That's right ND!! Make the game how you want it!! Let everybody else make cookie cutter games!! That's what makes playstation titles special!! That's what makes games special !! Making what your imagination dictates, the moment you get into formulaic stuff that's when we get cod and AC annual releases that offer nothing truly new just different skins!!
It's often the best way to go. Imitation is fine as long as it's done well, but at the end of the day, if a studio isn't passionate about their own creation, the flaws are visible in the finished product. You can tell when a game's been a labour of love, because it's usually brilliant.
Great stuff! I wish more devs were this honest. I mean, he even outright said that he made some environments SMALLER - can you imagine the reaction by deranged Naughty Dog haters right now?
"It's more proof dat ND can only do movie gaems!11!1"
Seriously, I'm really looking forward to U4.
A part in the desert area in uncharted 3 had exactly that problem. I didnt know what direction to go and it was just very frustrating and no fun.
@goonow It doesnt matter in uncharted3 were you go in the desert bit it was just on a timer i think so doesnt matter which direction u walk.in .
Oops I never played 3!
This is always great to hear, don't want another "cookie cutter" game like others have said.
@charlesnarles I'd let you borrow my copy of Uncharted 3 if you were anywhere near Sacramento, California.
This is great that they are sticking to what they want to do, rather than buckling under industry pressure. I'm getting bored of open world and its getting to the point where "Linear" is becoming a dirty word! But linear is good when done right. If you think about it, films are linear, but they tell you a story. Games do that too so they don't all have to be open world or free roam
This is great to hear. I am so sick of open world games.
@ToddlerNaruto aw, almost! I'm in SoCal, but I gather it's worth buying a used copy. 😊thanks tho! Kinda surprised we never got 2 or 3 free from Plus, when we got 1 and Golden Abyss..
@charlesnarles Ah dang, so you live nearby Los Angeles or San Diego etc?
Anyways yes, you should definitely play both Uncharted 2 and 3, they were amazing games! I prefer UC2 honestly, but UC3 had it's merits as well.
As for Golden Abyss, never played it since Vita exclusive and I won't own a Vita until Christmas 2015.
My favorite uncharted was 2. As far as not following what's going on in the industry.... The gameplay demo I saw looked a lot like tombraider. With the climbing axe etc.
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