What sort of thinking went into that part? I’ve seen a lot of Naughty Dog’s history on the Uncharted side, where the characters were always in constant danger of losing their lives, but they never actually lost a hero. GamesBeat: Joel’s death shocked me, coming early in the story. Certain beats were different, but that was already figured out before I came along. He knew Joel was going to be this massive inciting incident. When I met Neil to interview for the job, he pitched me some of the tentpole beats of the story. Gross: When I came on, Neil knew what he wanted to do. GamesBeat: What do you recall about deciding to do a sequel, whether there should be a sequel at all? As long as people are asking those questions, I feel like we’ve accomplished what we wanted to accomplish. This is inciting debate about good and evil, about how far games can get pushed narratively, about what makes a redemptive person, what makes a redemptive story. Halley Gross: What’s happening is what we wanted. GamesBeat: As far as the reactions that stand out to you, whether they’re on the mark or off the mark or otherwise grabbing your attention, what have you felt about that? Image Credit: Luke Fontana A shocking sequel (And here’s a link to our post on the most memorable scenes of the game and my own views on the story). Here’s an edited transcript of our interview.
Gross clarified a lot of my thinking, as she offered interpretations of the characters’ actions and thoughts that we didn’t know for sure while playing through the 35-hour game. We covered many difficult topics, such as the fake scene that Naughty Dog created to throw off our expectations about the shock of Joel’s death, the studio’s refusal to give us choices when it came to killing defenseless characters, and what was going through Ellie’s mind in the final moments. In our conversation, I respectfully brought up many of the points that have made players angry, and Gross told me the team’s thinking from a creator’s point of view.
You see what she went through, and how, in her own journey for revenge, she shows signs of humanity and empathy, particularly as she takes in the outcast Lev and protects him from harm. At a critical point, the story switches perspective, and you play as Abby. Gross said it was a difficult story to tell, but one that tries to make salient points about violence, revenge, hatred, and the ultimate chance for redemption and pulling back from the edge. Ellie becomes consumed with revenge, almost to the point where she is unrecognizable.
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