Game News The beginning of The Last of Us could have been completely different according to Neil Druckmann
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All players who have laid their hands on the first opus of The Last of Us have been forever marked by the game’s shocking introduction, which has just been adapted in the first episode of the HBO series. But originally, this intro could have been completely different. And it’s Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the license, who tells us.
Summary
- A cult prologue
- A very different intro
A cult prologue
Difficult to forget the introduction of The Last of Us, as the beginnings of this opus have something to mark the players. From the first minutes, the title of Naughty Dog installs a particularly sweet atmosphere by featuring Joel and his daughter Sarah. And while we expect to take control of the father, it’s the daughter that we play, before the worlds of these two characters are set in motion with the onset of the cordyceps pandemic.
Without revealing the details of this introduction for those who have never done so (yes, it’s possible), it must be said that the tragic conclusion of these first minutes is more than enough to shake up the player. An opening so effective that it was almost entirely transcribed in the first episode of the series. At the time, this feat was largely due to the developers’ choice to give players control of Sarah rather than her father, who was then expected to be the main character of this opus. Except that this choice could have been absent from the game when it was released, while Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, the two creators of the license, had other plans in mind.
A very different intro
Neil Druckmann, via the official website of Naughty Dogreturned to the prologue of the first The Last of Us on the occasion of the broadcast of the first episode of the television adaptation of the game. According to the co-creator of the license, we learn that this introduction is “one of the last points” finalized by the developers, who thought they were offering something else at the start. Thus, players initially had to embody Joel directly rather than Sarah. A choice “too similar” to the productions of the time, while Neil Druckmann wanted The Last of Us to stand out from its first moments from its peers.
For a long time, the plan was to play Joel and not Sarah. As Joel, you heard noise in your neighbors house, you went there before finding out they were infected. And then you went home to pick up your daughter… and then everything else was just as we thought. – Neil Druckman
In fact, the change of character allowed the developers to reinforce the emotional involvement of the player from the first moments of the game, but also to reinforce the horrifying atmosphere that unfolds throughout the progression.
It corresponded to a really unique vision (of this story). Seeing it all through an innocent child made it more creepy and scary (…) Having that defined point of view affected the team’s entire approach to how to manifest this introduction.
With these statements, we clearly say that this last-minute change of point of view was wise on the part of Naughty Dog, as this prologue today embodies the essence of the license.
