naughty dog
Latest
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.
Naughty Dog interested in using Uncharted engine for new Jak & Daxter
Discounting the excellent PSP-exclusive Daxter, it's been a while since we've seen a new iteration of Naughty Dog's action platformer. With work finished on Uncharted, Naughty Dog's Evan Wells had a few things to say to ThreeSpeech. The engine used to create the beautiful vistas of Uncharted will certainly be used as the foundation for their next game. "We will most definitely continue to build on the Uncharted code base with all of our future titles for the PlayStation3. We have a lot of very sophisticated systems that are general purpose and could be used for a wide variety of genres. It's very exciting to think what we can do with this tech now that it's in place and we can focus on accomplishing something even more ambitious."Of course, what could the team be working on next? "Jak and Daxter is a definite possibility some time in the future. There is a lot of interest around the office in going back to that franchise and seeing what we could do with it using the Uncharted engine."Granted, we'd be more than ecstatic for the announcement of either a new Jak or Uncharted game. Leave it to Naughty Dog to create characters that we just can't get enough of.
Drake's uncharted fortune: concept arts
Yes, we mangled the game's title in the subject line on purpose. If you've been keeping up with Three Speech and their Uncharted concept art specials, then you'll be glad to know the third and final portion of the series is up and waiting for your wallpaperization ... or whatever you plan to do with the gorgeous concept arts. Are we going to sit here and force you to read rambling text about what the pictures look like, or are we going to give you the link to look for yourselves? We aren't sure yet. Oh, we just did? Right then. Enjoy.
Uncharted shown too early, says Naughty Dog
Many wanted to burn an effigy of PS3 Fanboy writer Andrew (that's me) for my negative impressions of Uncharted at E3 earlier this year. "It's too bad that uncomfortable controls, glitches, and a finicky camera are getting in the way of a potentially excellent game."Of course, things turned around quite significantly. The game received a 9.5 from both Nick and Andrew in their joint PS3 Fanboy review -- a remarkable improvement from the earlier builds, as noted on the fancast. So, what does developer Naughty Dog have to say about such a drastic turnaround? Speaking to 1UP, Evan Wells noted that "Something else that I would say might change is something you guys pointed out in your 1UP Yours show -- the fact that we showed the game so early. In fact, we knew at the time that it wasn't, you know, solid -- in particular the A.I. and the gunplay."The early criticisms of the game were pretty unanimous across the critical mass, and that has imprinted a negative image on many gamers. Granted, the team used the feedback and really focused their development. "And we put it out there hoping we'd get the benefit of the doubt that we still had seven months of production left and then of course, we got the feedback...and it was good feedback, and in some ways it was a great focus test for where we were headed." But, had Naughty Dog refrained from showing the game so early, could Uncharted have made an even bigger splash on the gaming community?
PS3 Fanboy review: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune
Usually, I open my reviews with one or two vague paragraphs about the game, but this time I'm not going to beat around the bush. Uncharted is the best PS3 game, nay, one of the best games, I've ever played. If that's enough for you to get off your bum and go buy the game, fine, get going! If not, you can read this review to see if you fall off of that purchasing fence you're perched on. Even though I found the game amazing in almost every sense, I'm still going to approach the review as objectively as possible.Uncharted follows the tale of Nathan Drake on his search for the Golden Man, "El Dorado". As a descendant of Sir Francis Drake, he has an edge on finding the treasure that his ancestor apparently knew the whereabouts of. It's a tale that could only be weaved by masters of film, but it transfers into the world of next-gen gaming perfectly. In fact, I'd much rather watch/play this game than ever see another Indiana Jones film. Well ... maybe, those are classics. But it's definitely preferred over the new fourth Indy movie coming out at some point. If Uncharted could get described as an amalgamation, it would go like this: One part Gears of War, one part Orgasmic, a dose of Prince of Persia, a dash of Resident Evil 4, and a plethora of storytelling akin to Indiana Jones.%Gallery-3209%
Naughty Dog loves PlayStation Network opportunities
Have you gotten a hold of Uncharted or are you holding off until we review it (check back Monday!)? Well, let it be known that the game has "medals" that work like the 360's Achievement system, giving you a total of 1000 medal points to unlock across the course of the game. Naughty Dog liked doing that and will probably integrate that aspect of the game into Home once it's released.Naughty Dog said that they could use the PlayStation Network to deliver some downloadable content for games like Uncharted while working simultaneously on a sequel, or another title. Still, the time between games on Naughty Dog's schedule have always been over a year until they understood the platform in and out -- that trend will continue on the PS3. So what we got from this quick discussion was that we can expect downloadable content for Uncharted as the team hammers away at another game over the next year or two. We can't wait.
Metareview: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (PS3)
Don't be glum, PlayStation 3 owners! Sure, your console of choice can't play Super Mario Galaxy, but it's going to be receiving DivX support in the hopefully near future. Oh, wait, you bought it to play games? Well, that's been a problem for a while, but it seems that Naughty Dog's latest offering, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, might be the perfect cure for what ails you. Part Tomb Raider, part Gears of War, and all pretty, this game certainly looks great, but what about the entire package? Are we witnessing the birth of the next great video game series? The Metareview contains these answers, and more.
El Dorado Megamix track up for downloads
Love music? How about musical remixes of songs from video games? The official PlayStation Blog has just the thing for you, then. They've uploaded a remix of an Uncharted song entitled "The El Dorado Megamix by DJ Shadow" and you know what? The song's pretty cool. You can either read about the song and reasoning behind using DJ Shadow's talents on the blog itself, or go straight here for a free download of the song. You can get the whole soundtrack on iTunes come November 20th, so that's always an option too.
Uncharted demo fixed for European PS3s
Some good news this morning for PS3 owners across the pond: Though Sony Europe has promised that the demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune would appear on the European and Japanese PlayStation Stores November 22, Naughty Dog has dropped the region specificity on the American demo, opening it up for everyone. According to Christophe Balestra, co-president of Naughty Dog, the whole ordeal originated from a lack of knowledge about the PSN infrastructure. He claims they didn't know that European and Japanese PS3 owners couldn't access the US PlayStation Store and download demos - an oversight that Balestra himself corrected with the quickness. Now if Naughty Dog can just get the game out without boobies in their opening logo (link NSFW), they should be in the clear. [Via PS3F]
PAL Uncharted demo coming Nov. 22; US region lock a mistake
Accidental region locks be damned, Sony Europe has confirmed (via IGN) that a demo of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for PAL PlayStation 3s is coming November 22. Those of you who downloaded the US version on your PAL or Asian territory consoles may have found yourselves in uncharted (hah! we're punny) waters, as you would reportedly receive a message that asked you to insert a disc to play the game, essentially locking you out of the demo. According to SCEA Line Producer Sam Thompson, the prompt is an unintentional "bug." "Please ignore this prompt and accept our apologies," said Thompson, in a nod that almost indicates Sony is supportive of (or at least apathetic to) PS3 owners using multiple ID names to download content from various regions. No word on when the demo will be ready for Japan, but hopefully eager gamers in the region can download the bug-free PAL version.
Sony reveals 1 million pound advertising campaign for Uncharted
UK trade magazine MCV is reporting that Sony Europe are planning for a million dollar marketing campaign for Sony's next big exclusive, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune. Sony are eager to enlighten as many people as possible to existence of what is being referred to as the PS3's biggest hope for the Christmas season. Product manager at Sony, Phil Lynch, says that they have "booked extensive 16 to 34 male slots for November and December." TV adverts have been sorely lacking in the UK - both in number and in quality - so we're happy to hear that there will be more game specific ads on our tellies. The advert will also run in cinemas and the entire thing has been shot using PlayStation 3 rendered graphics. The campaign goes even deeper with a partnership with Empire magazine which will run a feature about "every man" heroes, with comparisons to Uncharted's main character, Nathan Drake. Along with extensive online advertisements, this all looks to be shaping up to a worthy effort for Naughty Dog's latest game.
Uncharted demo to arrive on Nov. 8
You now have a reason to look forward to Nov. 8, other than the chance to celebrate the birth of your personal favorite blogger. It's also the date on which Sony will be dropping a demo for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune on to the PlayStation Network. Not only is the demo just one week away (huzzah!), but, according to CVG, it's going to be four-levels long, which sounds pretty hefty for a sample. We're sure that will be a welcome diversion as you pass the time while the birthday cake is baking.
Uncharted's Halloween trailer features no pumpkins, only awesomeness
Despite Uncharted's Halloween trailer having nothing to do with the holiday itself, it certainly adds to our crush over Naughty Dog's new title. The new video, which shows off the game's amazingly beautiful levels and environments, also adds a bit more details about the game's storyline. After watching the video, it's hard not to come away thinking it will be one of the PS3's most epic titles to date, and with Uncharted's demo due to hit the Playstation Network a week or so before the game's release, November just became our favorite month of the year.
Uncharted a franchise; sequel all but confirmed
The first title in the Uncharted series and a sequel is already being discussed in an interview with Opposable Thumbs. Christophe Balestra, co-president of Naughty Dog, has no qualms in saying that Naughty Dog is a franchise studio - all their previous big games have been parts of a series. Uncharted is no exception and Balestra says that it would be "a waste" to leave the game without a sequel - and we agree! Uncharted fills 91% of a Blu-Ray disc and uses streaming from the disc to the hard drive in order to minimize load times. Naughty Dog seem infatuated with the technology of the PS3 and see it as some sort of challenge to get even more out of it in the future. We look forward to seeing what they come up with as well as finally get our hands on the first title next month.
See more Uncharted with new trailer
Sony has released a new trailer for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to mark Halloween, but it's puzzling, because the trailer's not particularly scary. The only thing we could figure is that Sony was hoping that lazy writers would say something to the extent of "The only thing scary is how good this jam looks!" and everybody would be a winner. Because we care so much about you, we're avoiding the temptation. What we will say is that the new environments featured in this trailer are enticing; not just because they look really good, but also because they reassure us that we won't be spending the whole game trudging about a jungle setting. Also: Jet skis!
Uncharted interview divulges game size, SPU usage
Evan Wells sat down with PALGN for an interview about Uncharted recently, talking the game up with words of praise and the promise of treats. Well, he talked about the game, anyway. It's a long interview, so we'll skip the story stuff in case you don't want to know. Wells believes our first playthrough will last from 10-12 hours, but with four levels of difficulty, the hardcore bunch will probably enjoy trying out the hardest mode of all. There are 60 little treasures hidden throughout the game as well, so finding them will probably take more than one run through the game unless you're very, very meticulous. Also, "we've also put into the game a medal system, so as you're playing the game if you perform special feats you'll get medals, such as getting a certain number of headshots, getting a certain number of headshots in a row, killing people, doing a special brawl combo, just lots of things along the way that will unlock the medals. The medals then contribute to your overall medal score and your medal scores then feed into our bonus system which allows all of the unlockables to be unlocked." Sounds like there's plenty to do in the game other than just blaze through it! The medal system is also planned to turn into a trophy system once Home hits. Rumble is built right into the game, so for those of you who'll be importing Dual Shock 3's, you've got a surefire rumbling game on your hands.The meat of the interview is why Uncharted could only be on the PS3. Wells explains a number of reasons. First, standard hard drive creates the seamless, load free world. Blu-ray helped squeeze the 24GB game on a single disc -- he says it wouldn't have been impossible on DVD, but the game would have been very, very different. Future games, Wells declares, will probably demand a dual-layered Blu-ray disc. The Cell processor served as a very handy tool for compiling all of Nathan's 3,500 animations as well, so you'll see the right reaction, or a random/new reaction, every time something happens. Wells admitted that "As far as the Cell processor and the SPU's are concerned we were only using about 1/3 to 1/2 of the SPU's at one time and so there is still quite a bit more we can do." We can't wait to see what the future holds, but for now, we can't wait to play Uncharted!
Naughty Dog co-president says Uncharted not that similar to Tomb Raider
When you first see Uncharted's beautiful scenery and gameplay, it's hard not to immediately think of Eidos' Tomb Raider series. While many gamers continue to make those comparisons, anyone who's watched a few gameplay videos will realize the two games aren't that similar after all.Naughty Dog copresident Evan Wells told Gamespot that he understands the comparisons, but the gameplay focus and the lead characters are entirely different. "I think just by the very fact that both Nathan Drake and Lara Croft are treasure hunters, there will be comparisons. But beyond that, they diverge pretty rapidly. From a character standpoint, Nathan Drake is an everyman who struggles to get by, who you can see on his face that he's stressed out as he's flinching from bullets ricocheting off the cover he's hiding behind, while Lara is the more stone-faced acrobat, perfect landing every time," he said. "And then the gameplay, obviously we were very focused on third-person cover-based play, while theirs is more auto-aiming and a little more heavy on the puzzle-solving."Well said, Mr. Wells. Hopefully, this clears up any misunderstanding anyone has about the two games. While it'd be great if Uncharted reaches the same success as Tomb Raider, we just hope it doesn't follow Lara's downward spiral of mediocrity.
Sony sets mid-November for Uncharted demo
After posting an interesting piece on Uncharted on the official PlayStation Blog, the AI and Animation Programmer for Naughty Dog, Christian Gyrling, responded to commenter's questions regarding a demo of the title. He said simply, "a demo will be available in the PlayStation Store sometime mid November. I don't know the exact date as of now." Demo in November? Game due out in November? It seems we'll get a demo a week or so prior to release. That's all, really. Gyrling seems pretty gung-ho about answering commenter questions, so if you've got something else on your mind, it doesn't seem too far-fetched to think he'll shout an answer sooner or later.
Uncharted completed, demo expected mid-November
Bravely venturing into the comments section on the official PlayStation Blog, Naughty Dog's Christian Gyrling has stated that development on shooter slash spelunker Uncharted: Drake's Fortune has come to an end. "We went 'gold' last week," says the game's AI and animation programmer. "Right now the game is in other words 100% done and is currently going through the approval process." But sir, we're sure there's no need for that -- we already approve. Gyrling also comments on the previously mentioned PSN demo and expects it to be available for download in mid-November. That should give you a fair taste of all the jeep-driving, pirate-shooting, treasure-grabbing and occasionally-falling-to-your-deathing action promised for the game's November 20th release.
Debate! Uncharted: lost in a wave, or system mover?
There's an interesting little quibble over at Ars Technica about the relevance of Uncharted to the holiday performance of the PS3. There are two sides: Frank and Ben. Frank thinks the game will be a surprise hit in November, worthy of praise and front-page reviews, etc. Ben thinks it'll get lost in the tidal wave of excellent games due out in November. Did somebody say sitcom?Seeing as how most of the other games due out are multiplatform titles, it would be foolish to think Uncharted isn't on most PS3 owner's radars. Naughty Dog is a huge Sony-supportive company and the game itself, well, built from the ground up on PS3, it looks damn nice. So is a high volume of titles (a lot of shooters, it seems) really all it takes to bury this hyped up game? Ben thinks so. Frank, however, is smart. We kid, we kid. Both make valid arguments. How do you guys feel about Uncharted? Is it going to make a splash on the PS3, or bellyflop into oblivion in the wake of stuff like Haze, Call of Duty 4, and Unreal Tournament 3 (despite the delay)?
