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LA Times: David O. Russell in talks for Uncharted film
Things have been quiet in regards to Nathan Drake's death-defying (yet impeccably animated!) leap from video games to film, but the LA Times reports that may be changing. The paper says director David O. Russell (of I Heart Huckabees fame) is in early talks to bring the Uncharted franchise to the big screen, though he's reportedly not the only name on the list. Our friendly advice to the film's producers: It was already made, it starred the charming pairing of Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey and it was called Fool's Gold. Now, make your peace with that fact and move on. [Via Slashfilm]
Uncharted 2 celebrates DLC launch with Double Cash weekend
The online world of Uncharted 2 is getting one of its biggest updates ever this week. Title Update 1.07 went live yesterday, fixing a few glitches and exploits, while addressing unbalanced spawn points. Later today, the Siege Expansion Pack will be available for purchase, adding "two new maps, six new multiplayer skins, one new co-op game type and 11 new online-only Trophies." You'll be able to buy it on the PlayStation Store for $5.99. Naughty Dog isn't quite done with the multiplayer festivities, though. In addition to the new DLC and update, all multiplayer participants can enjoy Double Cash bonuses all weekend. That means players -- newcomers and veterans alike -- will be able to rise up the online ranks twice as fast. If you haven't played online recently (or at all), this is certainly one of the best opportunities we can think of to start.
Enormous Uncharted 2 artbook is a costly relic
While some special edition artbooks could be politely identified as "pamphlets," Naughty Dog has taken a different approach with its illustration-filled tome based on Uncharted 2. The studio (with help from Ballistic Publishing) is releasing a 272-page book featuring the game's "concept art ... character studies, environment art, character modeling, game art, cinematics, motion-capture, animation, and effects." However, all these half-tucked works of art exact a fairly high price from those who wish to acquire them. There are three versions of the art book: a softcover print which costs $59.99, a leather-bound "special edition" which costs $129.99, and a $300 Limited Folio Edition, which is bound in suede leather, embossed in gold, placed within another suede leather-bound presentation case, and includes a certificate of authenticity signed by the game's designers. Only 200 ostentatiously rich Nate Drake enthusiasts will get their hands on this limited print, so interested parties should hop off their money-chairs and pre-order now. [Via Press The Buttons]
Uncharted 2 multiplayer adds new mode with 'Siege Expansion Pack'
Click to expansion-size. Naughty Dog continues to expand the online multiplayer modes of Uncharted 2. The "Siege Expansion Pack" is its second premium gameplay add-on, following February's patch. The new pack adds a brand new co-op game type, two new multiplayer maps, six new skins and eleven new Trophies. "Siege" mode is an expansion of the "Survival" game type, in which a team of two or three players must defend a territory and survive against an ever-increasingly difficult set of enemies. In addition to the new mode, two new maps will be added for competitive play: "The Highrise" features a series of destroyed and under-construction buildings, based on the Nepal map from the single player campaign. "The Museum" is based on the tutorial level from the story, featuring a number of secret climbing routes to get a better vantage point. The add-on will be available on April 22nd on the PlayStation Store. For a list of all the new Trophies, check past the break.%Gallery-90166%
Please pre-order these gorgeous gaming posters for us
People are always saying, "Joystiq, you do so much for me, how can I give back to you?" It's a fine question, and one that we finally have an answer to: You can go and pre-order one of these amazing minimalist video game posters by our friend, Justin Russo. Do we ask this because Justin was on an episode of the Joystiq Podcast once? No, we're far too self-centered to actually help another human. No, we just want him to reach his goal so he'll have enough funding to get the things made and shipped to our home base. Seriously, look at them! How do you not want one? %Gallery-89973%
Naughty Dog invents the missing Uncharted chapter at PAX East
Though the original Uncharted was a well paced and cleverly written experience, it wasn't without its share of largely inoffensive faults. For instance, the game's stealth aspects weren't well publicized to the player, leaving Nathan Drake's instant kill abilities unused for most playthroughs. The game's main antagonist, Navarro, wasn't really demonized in the first half of the game. There were also small plot omissions -- like, for instance, how did Elena and Drake get to their plane after the exciting conclusion of Chapter 3? Naughty Dog recently rectified these three issues during a presentation at PAX East by creating a new, "third-and-a-half" chapter for Uncharted, in which Elena and Drake had to sneak onto an airstrip filled with Navarro's goons, and escape unharmed. With a little help from the audience, the Naughty Dog developers in attendance were able to create a framework for the new chapter, and even bestowed it with yet another clever moniker: "Strip Search."
Seen@PAX: The Uncharted 2 chapter title that should have been
Naughty Dog's panel at PAX East 2010 offered attendees a fairly in-depth look at how the studio created each level in Uncharted and Uncharted 2. One important aspect of the series' level design is, of course, coming up with a clever name for each chapter -- a task assigned to lead designer Richard Lemarchand. Unfortunately, "the Man" occasionally prevents Lemarchand from putting certain chapter titles in the game, keeping Uncharted 2's original train segment title card (pictured above) out of the final version. Curse you, unseen managerial powers-that-be!
BAFTA announces 2010 Video Games Awards winners, goes batty for Batman
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts handed out its 2010 Video Games Awards in London this evening, but it was a resident of Gotham City who came away the big winner. Although Uncharted 2 bagged yet more trophies -- Best Action Game, Best Use of Audio, Best Story and Best Original Score -- Rocksteady's Batman: Arkham Asylum came away as the Academy's choice for Best Game of 2009. Other notable winners include Flower (Artistic Achievement), LittleBigPlanet PSP (Best Handheld Game) and Wii Sports Resort (Best Family Game). You can see the full list of winners by category after the break. Congrats, Bats!
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%
GDC: 'Among Friends: An Uncharted 2 Post-mortem'
There is one drawback to seeing Uncharted 2's co-lead designer, Richard Lemarchand, unfurl the development process behind the most successful and most ambitious game in the studio's history. A post-mortem panel, held on Thursday afternoon at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, delved into developer Naughty Dog's pre-production process, its production pipeline and the climactic rush to a spectacular end. It also highlighted some of the studio's misjudgments, which resulted in a difficult crunch time toward the end of development. And now, every time I play that incredible train level -- "an evil monster of a level," Lemarchand said -- for my personal enjoyment, I'll pull back the curtain and see programmers hunching over keyboards and nodding off into icy cups of coffee. Thankfully, Lemarchand painted a warmer picture, firm in his belief that the development team's intrinsic motivation to produce a character-driven blockbuster helped it overcome the final hurdles. An important pre-production phase dominated the first six months of Uncharted 2's 22-month creation. "Messing it up often means messing up the whole project," Lemarchand noted. There were no deadlines or deliverables during this period, and the team was free to seek inspiration and consider the individual moments they wanted to explore in Drake's second outing. A single image would portend much of the game's direction: A photograph of the Tiger's Nest Monastery in the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan.
Naughty Dog wants to half-tuck Uncharted into the PSP
Naughty Dog's co-president Evan Wells is definitely interested in having people tuck Nathan Drake -- either halfway or all the way -- into their pockets and visit the world of Uncharted whenever they want to. He feels that there are a lot of stories to tell in that world, and that the PSP would be the perfect platform for it. Just imagine Uncharted: Sully's Adventure where you can wheel and deal in the black market, or Uncharted: Elena on Assignment where you're chasing a dangerous news story. Scoop! "I think it would be fantastic to see the game (move) onto a handheld system," Wells told us. "Each one of the episodes is sort of like a standalone thing and I think we could do that pretty easily. If we can find a partner to work with, I'd love to do that ... we definitely wouldn't do it ourselves. We're trying to just focus on the PS3 technology and platform right now." He added, laughing, "But, if we can't find a partner, then maybe we're going to have to find a budget ourselves." Laugh if you will, Wells. You're just toying with our heartstrings is all. We'd love to see Nathan Drake on our PSP. Make it happen. We have Ready at Dawn's phone number if you need it.
Joystiq live at the IGF/GDC Awards 2010
Update: Uncharted 2 wins big (again) at the Game Developers Choice Awards, and Pocketwatch Games' Monaco takes home the IGF Awards' Seumas McNally Prize. A complete list of winners is posted after the break, followed by our liveblog coverage.
Naughty Dog artists go Unleashed
If you're an artist lucky enough to work on one of the biggest games of last year, what do you do when you're done? Well, besides taking time off and thinking about slipping into a coma. If you're at Naughty Dog, then you create your own unique artwork and show it off at the "Unleashed: The Art of Naughty Dog" art exhibit at The Gnomon Workshop in Los Angeles. We stopped by on Saturday night to check out the wares and talk to some of the artists, like shader/texture artist Melissa Altobello (you saw her work in Uncharted 2 during the train level, among others). She created this piece, which was inspired by the recent earthquakes and natural disasters. "I have been thinking a lot about erosion and deteriorating earth, which inspired me to do this piece where the ground crumbles away and we are left to build upon, and try to salvage, the remaining earth." Check out a galley full of the artwork down below, and marvel at the creativity. %Gallery-87628%
Bookie suspects Uncharted 2 has highest odds of success at BAFTAs
British bookmaker Victor Chandler has a strange sense of what things people should be betting on. For instance, we never would have thought that high-stakes wagering would ever find its way into the British Academy of Film and Television Awards. Yet somehow, gambling on the BAFTAs has becoming a thing, leading Chandler to tally up the odds for each of the awards show's categories. Perhaps a bit unsurprisingly, Chandler's calculations place Uncharted 2: Among Thieves in front of the video game category -- the only award chosen by a public poll -- with odds of 6/4. Modern Warfare 2 falls slightly behind that with 9/4 odds. Check out the full breakdown of nominee's odds to take home the prize after the jump. We went ahead and split our life savings evenly among the ten contenders, guaranteeing us a victory when the BAFTAs are distributed March 19. Man, we're so good at gambling.
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!
Uncharted costumes coming to PlayStation Home
If you're one of the countless Americans that has been stricken by halftuck, you'll soon be able to bring awareness to this serious, chronic disease by rocking one in PlayStation Home, thanks to some new Uncharted outfits slated to hit the service this week. You don't have to be afraid anymore, halftuckers, you get out there and fly that flag. Sidenote: The Drake to Chloe switch provides some terrifying new opportunities for the Quincy enthusiasts out there preying on unsuspecting Homers. Consider yourselves warned.
Uncharted 2 sells 3.5 million worldwide with the quickness
You know what, Uncharted 2? We get it -- okay? We get it. You're awesome. Not only did you win all the awards, now, according to Scott Rohde, VP of product development for SCEA, you've sold 3.5 million units, enough to become the fastest-selling first-party game on the PlayStation 3 to date. Frankly, Mr. "Among Thieves," we've all been talking about it and ... well, it's starting to come off as a little desperate. And, to be honest, we're a little upset that Joystiq GOTY honors wasn't good enough for you. There -- we said it.
Uncharted 2 wins Writers Guild of America games writing award
We've lived with an unspoken fear in the back of our minds since the middle of January, when the nominees for the Writers Guild of America video game writing award were first announced. We weren't sure if we could live in a world where X-Men Origins: Wolverine was decorated over Assassin's Creed 2 and Uncharted 2 for having the year's best in-game writing. Fortunately, this fear has been dissuaded: Last night at the WGA awards ceremony, Uncharted 2 writer Amy Hennig took home the prize. In a way, though, we feel bad for Ms. Hennig. How frustrating must it be to know that you can't get comfortable in your seat for too long at one of these awards shows? And can you imagine how many acceptance speeches she's had to write over the past month? The poor thing. [Thanks, Fintan!]
DICE 2010: Uncharted 2 wins like everything at Interactive Achievement Awards
When we awarded Uncharted 2 our top spot in 2010, we simply thought we were aligning ourselves with other people with impeccable taste; however, after reading the results from last night's 13th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards (i.e., the DICE awards) we've discovered that we've also aligned ourselves with the entire video game development community. While we only bestowed a single award on Naughty Dog's latest outing, the Academy dropped ten awards on ol' Nathan Drake and friends, including Outstanding Achievement in Game Play Engineering ... oh, and Game of the Year. (Pictured above: Some of the Naughty Dog team, visibly exhausted from climbing up to the stage ten times.) While Uncharted 2 was the hands-down "winner" last night, there were 17 other awards handed out (some of which we're sure Uncharted would have won, had it been eligible). Other familiar names on the list (which can be found in its entirety after the break) include: Batman: Arkham Asylum, with three awards; Scribblenauts, with three awards; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, with two awards; and Brütal Legend, with two awards. Congratulations to all the winners. Oh, and let's just give Naughty Dog all its awards at once from now on; it's tough to make award-winning games without any cartilage in your knees.
Uncharted 2 & Assassin's Creed 2 headline GANG Award finalists
We thought we'd reached a point in the year where Uncharted 2 and Assassin's Creed 2 would stop being nominated for awards; apparently, we were wrong. The Game Audio Network Guild adorned both games with nine nominations in its 8th annual Audio Awards. Winners will be announced and awards will be distributed on March 12 in San Francisco, alongside the Game Developers Conference. Check out the full list of nominees after the jump. They seem pretty fair, though House of the Dead: Overkill's absence from the "Best Dialogue" category almost ensures that we'll be boycotting the event.
