evan-wells
Latest
The Last of Us film moving ahead with Naughty Dog writing
Naughty Dog's stellar PlayStation 3 exclusive, The Last of Us, may soon appear in theaters, thanks to an agreement between the developer, Sony and Resident Evil: Afterlife production company Screen Gems. According to Deadline, the film adaptation will be written by Neil Druckmann who served as creative director on The Last of Us. Druckmann will also join Naughty Dog co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra as well as game director Bruce Straley in designing the film's overall creative vision. Ghost House Productions, a company led by Evil Dead auteur Sam Raimi, will assist with general production duties. "Screen Gems' Brian Dukes and Eric Ling brought this game to my attention insisting we go after it, and when I saw the quality of the storytelling, I knew the audience for this project was far greater than just the gaming community and that Neil Druckmann must write the screenplay," stated Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper. Missing from Deadline's report is any info on who might star in or direct the movie. This means you readers get to fill the comments below with speculative casting choices - well, except for Ellie. That one's a no-brainer. [Image: Sony]
Naughty Dog considered new Jak & Daxter game, but decided on The Last of Us
Before deciding on the post-apocalyptic survival adventure The Last of Us, Naughty Dog considered putting its team to work on a game starring a more familiar duo: Jak & Daxter. According to a Game Informer interview (quoted by VG247), Naughty Dog looked into a new Jak & Daxter game on PS3. "I don't know if this is going to make [fans] happy or sad," but we did explore the idea fairly extensively," company co-president Evan Wells said. "Something that we talked about early on was, 'Lets go back and apply what we've learned with the Uncharted games to Jak & Daxter.'"Wells and the team realized, however, that an experimental Jak game wouldn't satisfy the fans, and working on a game like its predecessors wouldn't satisfy Naughty Dog. "We would end up limiting the direction that the company had this passion for while simultaneously not creating the game that fans wanted," he said. "We just realised we were going to just do everybody a disservice. So at that point, the conversations started to move in a new direction."Wells suggested the possibility that the Uncharted team could work on the series. "I guess there's a possibility the Uncharted team could move on to Jak & Daxter. "It's still up in the air, but I wouldn't think that's going to happen because I think we'd run into all of the same problems with that team that we did with this team."
Jak and Daxter Collection coming in February 2012
High-definition goatee news now, with Naughty Dog sharing further details on the disc-bound Jak and Daxter Collection, set to hit PlayStation 3 in February 2012. Most remastered trilogies can match the features boasted by this one, such as 720p resolution, Trophies and stereoscopic 3D support, but none can claim to have this kind of titular escalation. You get Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (subtitle), Jak II (Roman numerals) and Jak 3 (plain ol' numbered sequel). Remastering duties on the Jak and Daxter Collection fall to Mass Media, a company that survived a stint and closure under THQ, where it ported the Full Spectrum Warrior games to PlayStation 2. According to Naughty Dog co-president Evan Well, Mass Media is "working closely with our team at Naughty Dog. A brief reminder of the games being assembled here can be found in the trailer above. We're also reminded to institute a law preventing anyone from writing "duo" if it's preceded -- as always -- by "dynamic."
Uncharted 3 multiplayer beta details leap from Naughty Dog HQ to your eye sockets
You already read a mess of information about Uncharted 3's upcoming multiplayer beta back before E3, but now developer Naughty Dog wants to show it off in a slurry of walkthrough videos (which we've dropped after the break). The studio also revealed a variety of details about the beta, breaking down which gametypes and maps will be paired across the beta's three weeks -- it'll take up approximately 1.7GB of your precious HDD space. Additionally, ND says that the beta will allow for stereoscopic 3D, as well as split-screen co-op (though not both simultaneously, of course). As the beta goes live tomorrow for PlayStation Plus subscribers (that's still most of us!) and inFamous 2 owners, you may be wondering when you'll be murdering Drake with ... uh ... other Drakes -- unfortunately, the studio isn't sure just yet, but suggests keeping an eye on the official Naughty Dog Twitter account for up-to-the-minute info. Studio head Evan Wells also notes on his Twitter feed that the beta "should be on PSN around 2PM PDT tomorrow." He additionally points out that "Naughty Dog doesn't control this," making 2PM PDT somewhat tentative.
Naughty Dog: Elena and Chloe to play less prominent role in Drake's Deception
You like Nathan Drake, right? And how about Chloe and Elena? Too bad! It looks like neither of them stand a better chance of survival than anyone else in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, as Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells explains in a recent interview. "We're not dogmatic about anything," he tells CVG, when asked about the possibility of a "lead character" being killed off. "If that's what it takes then that's what it takes." Thankfully, he doesn't spoil whether any main characters die -- he does explain, however, that Chloe and Elena "aren't the emphasis of the story the way they were in Uncharted 2." Rather, the focus of the third game is on the relationship between Nathan and his mentor, Victor "Sully" Sullivan. We have to imagine that Helen Mirren lookalike also plays a critical role, but Wells deftly avoids that plot thread as well. Gotta save something for November!
Uncharted 3 scouts Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Of all the things that Jimmy Fallon is -- a man who can't help but laugh at his own jokes, half the starring cast of the hit film Taxi -- he's been largely represented on Joystiq in one way: as a gamer. Fallon held up his reputation once again last night by having Naughty Dogs Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra on to show off Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, playing through a bit of the demo we saw last week at E3. Most odd about the demo, however, is Fallon's repeated amazement at what the game does when he himself isn't actually controlling Drake's actions. If Naughty Dog was hoping for Fallon to dramatically point out the game's scripted action moments, he more than overdelivers. Head past the break and look on in amazement with us, won't you?
Uncharted 3(D) preview: Drake Drop Distance
When I say Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has the best stereoscopic 3D presentation I've seen so far, I don't mean to imply that I'll shut my laptop after I complete this sentence and dash out the door to buy a 3DTV (an inconsiderate and fatal idea, given that I'm writing this from inside an airplane). The work done by Naughty Dog, with 3D incorporated from an early stage of development, is not an effective sales pitch for the technology -- and that's why it's good. The effect is subtle, unobtrusive, useful, and very distant from the eye-blasting nonsense of what you would derisively label a "sales pitch." Kneeling on the floor in front of a large 3D television, Naughty Dog co-founder Evan Wells appears childlike and completely involved as he marches Nathan Drake through the burning chateau, a now-familiar venue for Uncharted 3 gameplay demos. As Drake and stubborn sidekick Sully attempt to escape, the heat of the flames racing them to the top of the building, they're forced across a wooden beam that's fallen between the crumbling remnants of a floor. "This an inner ear thing?! Let's go!" Drake yells from the other side, firing at thugs as Sully slowly -- like, slowly -- walks and wobbles to the end of the beam. This is an interesting, tense scene regardless of your television, and in 3D it's very easy to gauge Sully's distance at a glance. That's not exactly mind blowing, I know, but I'd rather take a sliver of contextual usefulness over an in-your-face cheese slap.
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception gameplay debuted on Jimmy Fallon
Late Night With Jimmy Fallon hosted a televised demonstration of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception gameplay, which you can view right after the break. Guided by Naughty Dog co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra, the brief snippet sees series star Nathan Drake and cohort Sully scurrying through a burning, rapidly disintegrating chateau. It's not much, but just enough to tolerate some of Jimmy's unassisted potshots.
Naughty Dog's Evan Wells reflects on the studio's evolution, and online-enabled future
Uncharted developer Naughty Dog has managed to become one of the premiere first-party development teams at PlayStation over the past fifteen years. Each consecutive release has garnered more attention for the studio, and Uncharted 2's multiple Game of the Year awards have made the studio the envy of the industry. Evan Wells recently talked with us about the benefits of working with Sony and the advantages that being a first-party studio offers. "It's a great place to be," Wells said. "We have a great relationship with Sony, and it's wonderful to have the backing of a major company and a platform holder -- it does give us a lot of opportunity to take risks, and build some pretty massive games. But we also have the independence and the confidence from Sony to be able to drive our own creative decisions, and pursue the direction that fits our company culture the best." The closure of development studios has become an all too common trend in the recent years -- with game budgets reaching eight-digit figures, the risks are significantly high. But Wells doesn't foresee an end of independent gaming. "I don't think it will ever swing completely one way or another. There's always going to be a mix. You see some really amazing games being developed by these first-party, publisher-owned studios. But you also see some amazing independent games, as well. I think it's always going to be a mix. I don't think it's going to become predominantly one way or another."
Interview: Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells
Evan Wells doesn't look like he's old enough to be co-president of Naughty Dog, does he? Even after shepherding Uncharted 2 through development, which has picked up just about every award on the planet, he still maintains his youthful vim and vigor. While we don't know what his eternal youth secret is, he did give us the inside scoop on the workings at Naughty Dog when we spoke with him at GDC. Besides letting us know about their new studio and the hectic days just before shipping Uncharted 2, he also talks PlayStation Move development, Jak and Daxter plans (he wants to see one on the PS3), and expanding Uncharted to the PSP. Pause your game and head on through the break for the full interview. %Gallery-43763%
Naughty Dogs getting new home
Making a critically acclaimed title (that also sold its fair share of units) is one of the best ways to upgrade your digs as a game development studio. Naughty Dog is enjoying just such a reward right now, as the company's blog recently announced a move to a "killer new studio," presumably expanding after the continuing success of last year's Uncharted 2. ND co-prez Evan Wells said the March 1 move "positions Naughty Dog perfectly to adapt to the demands of developing PlayStation games that continue to raise the bar for our industry for the next decade and beyond ," while main community man Arne Meyer notes, "significant upgrades to help us keep developing cutting-edge, award-winning games" are a big part of the equation. In addition to the neat image you see above, the Dogs have uploaded a photo set of the new space to Flickr, with a promise to keep fans updated via the ND blog. Good luck with the move, folks!
Marble Madness creator Mark Cerny to be inducted into AIAS Hall of Fame
It may have been a quarter century since Mark Cerny's groundbreaking arcade game Marble Madness was first developed, but this year the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences will give the influential developer an induction into its Hall of Fame. On February 18 in Las Vegas, Cerny will become the 13th member of the AIAS' small club -- a club that includes development bigwigs like Will Wright and Shigeru Miyamoto, among others. For those of you who don't know, Cerny's been hard at work behind the scenes of some of our favorite games throughout the years. The developer's had a hand in everything from Sonic 2 through God of War 3, with his influential "Cerny Method" of tenacious development being passed down to modern day big boys like Insomniac's Ted Price and Naughty Dog's Evan Wells. "Mark has left an indelible mark on all of the games he's been a part of, the developers that he's collaborated with, and most importantly the individuals that he's worked along-side of," Wells said in the press release (warning: PDF link). For Cerny's part, he said he's "thrilled to accept this award" and humbly offloaded some respect to past colleagues that he's "had the pleasure to work with over the years." We're looking forward to witnessing the "Cerny Method" in action during his acceptance speech, wherein he only allows himself 30 seconds to catch our interest before reevaluating the entire thing.
Naughty Dog's Evan Wells talks writing, pacing of Uncharted 2
Truth be told, there's so much info contained in G4's massive interview with Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells that we couldn't possibly encapsulate it all in one headline. Naturally, it all focuses on Uncharted 2, which has been raking in awards left and right as 2009 comes to a close. Among other things, Wells discusses the script, which the team actually wrote as the game was being developed. While there was a rough outline at the beginning of production, Wells notes that having a fully fleshed out script can cause trouble if changes have to be made in the middle of development. Wells also discusses the pacing of the game, which he likens to pulp novels and movies like Indiana Jones. He admits that Uncharted 2's treasure hunting mechanic can actually slow the pacing. Should Naughty Dog work on another Uncharted -- and we get the feeling they just might -- Wells says the treasure hunting could be improved, perhaps by making more hidden treasures available only after the first playthrough. Other topics covered include the complexity of the train level, sales numbers and how far Naughty Dog thinks it can push the PS3 hardware. Uncharted fans should definitely give it a read.
VGA 2009: Naughty Dog's Evan Wells talks Uncharted 2 DLC, focuses on multiplayer
This past Saturday brought us the Spike TV Video Game Awards and – before experiencing the litany of world exclusives that awaited us inside – we spent some time outside cruising the red carpet and talking (briefly!) to many of the game developers and talent. We squeezed them for information as fast as we could while simultaneously wishing them holiday cheer and good tidings. Yes, it was as awkward as it sounds. Here's what we learned from Naughty Dog's Evan Wells about Uncharted 2. Are we going to see any campaign DLC? Well, that certainly is a possibility but right now we're focusing on multiplayer. We're working on some new maps, we have a couple of new game modes in the works, and a lot of skins. So we're going to focus on that right now. Has anything surprised you since launch? Oh, completely. We've been updating our online functionality constantly. We have a new patch coming out later this month, we're improving the load times, we've added leaderboards, we've added clan tags. So really, we're continuing to expand on the online functionality.
Naughty Dog's Evan Wells: Motion controls will 'live alongside' conventional games
With this week's release of Uncharted 2, Naughty Dog's Evan Wells is likely finding it difficult to catch his breath while being buried in praise -- praise which is most certainly deserved. In an interview with VG247, Wells offers his opinion on the impact of motion controls on the future of gaming and he even rolls his sleeves up and wades into the console wars, addressing the always present question of platform superiority. In regards to motion controls, Wells doesn't expect the new tech promised to "supplant the traditional gaming controller any time in the near future," citing that there are just too many games that benefit from traditional controllers. He says these games "would lose something significant" when redesigned for a motion control experience, painting a picture of a future where these new motion-based titles are offered next to more traditional experiences. As for comments that Uncharted 2 could never work on the Xbox 360, Wells stresses that a platform does not dictate a game's worth and "the differences that you see between any two games has much more to do with the developer than whether it's on the Xbox or PS3." He says that great "programmers and great artists are going to make a great game" and we all know Uncharted 2 certainly had both in spades. In the end, it's not like the Xbox 360 would benefit from having Uncharted 2, anyway. We all know two identical entities can't occupy the same space at the same time.
New Uncharted 2 multiplayer demo incoming
After deftly dodging questions like, "How many polygons are there in Nathan's eyebrow?" and "Can I give Elena an accent in my fanfic?" Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells confirmed a new Uncharted 2: Among Thieves demo in an online Q&A held yesterday, courtesy of the PlayStation Blog. "Yes, we're going to have another multiplayer demo before the game hits shelves," Wells said. "The exact timing isn't finalized yet, but it should be available to an even wider group this time, so if you missed the last one I don't think you'll have any problem getting in this one."We're hoping that by "even wider group," he's referring to everyone who can't wait to play the frantically anticipated action-adventure (which is everyone) and failed to gain entry into the recent beta. Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is currently scheduled for release this Fall -- a more exact date will be announced "very soon," Wells teased.
Joystiq interview: Talking Uncharted 2 with Naughty Dog's Evan Wells
When he wasn't busy showing us the best way to get Nathan Drake killed, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells was patiently listening to our questions about facial hair, multiplayer plans and the adventurer's latest female companion. Thankfully, he answered everything we lobbed at him (without lobbing any physical objects back). Read on after the break to find out what other secrets Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has to offer.
Uncharted getting Trophy support by mid-August
We've known for some time now that Naughty Dog's incredible fan-favorite Uncharted is getting Trophy support via an upcoming patch. However, we haven't heard of a time frame ... until now. An interview with Joystiq reveals that the patch was "incredibly easy" to implement because the game "already contains preliminary support fro Trophies via its Medals rewards system." However, don't expect to get any Trophies retroactively ... you're going to have to earn them all over again. (Considering how good the game is, we won't complain!)Interestingly, Naughty Dog's Evan Wells included these "hooks" for Trophy support because the team believed Sony would implement the feature before the launch of Uncharted last November. Guess those guys were a bit too foward-thinking. Regardless, we can't wait to boost our PlayStation Level.
PS3 Fanboy mini-interview: Naughty Dog's Evan Wells
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.
Uncharted's Evan Wells chats about Home trophies, DLC, more
So, Naughty Dog's Evan Wells has been answering questions over at ThreeSpeech. We're jealous, since you all should know how much we love Uncharted. Some of these questions are good, some are left for the more techno-savvy or tech-fetish folk. Check out the full Q&A session for the complete story. - Wells indirectly says "no" to both multiplayer and DLC -- with all the medals and unlockables, no downloadable content is planned right now. No multiplayer either, since the team wanted to create the best single-player experience possible.- Uncharted is using approximately 33% of the PS3's available power. We're about 76% sure that he's making up about 28% of that statistic, but we wouldn't be surprised if much better stuff gets squeezed from the PS3 in the future.- The medals will likely turn into Home trophies when the time comes.If you want to hear about screen tearing, or the time spent in each phase of the development process, please read ThreeSpeech's complete interview.
