Without Andrew Gavin, there’s a chance Nathan Drake, Sully, Joel and Ellie would never have found a home on PS3. Even though he left Naughty Dog just before the studio made the first Uncharted, Gavin was instrumental in getting the company off the ground, co-founding the Santa Monica-based developer in 1986 with Jason Rubin. We caught up with him for an chat, where he talked about saving the bandicoot, his love of novels and what he thinks Naughty Dog is capable of on next-gen.
Following a recent interview with Sony, Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann claims the original intent was “unfortunately lost” in the process.
He can take dog shit put it in a oven with seasoning then call it waistland cookies the sony fans will pay $40 a cookie give them a medal of cooking.
No mater what trash this sobs puts out/talks about it will sell.
The true fact in the 8 years sense uncharted 4 his first time in the main seat to a point all this "amazing" team did was get 2 dudes to fuck in a van then destroy a franchise they never created.
But being a port studio they are decent at they should keep in there lane at being just that a glorified port studio.
@frosty
Over what? naught dog under his command is a glorified port team tlou2 was mostly tlou 1 asset's with the same game play loop but forced a trans down your throat.
I would gladly help pay for this blight and his team to get removed from gaming in general.
Seeing a LGBT person exist in a work of fiction isn't "forcing them down your throat". Nobody is forcing you to play it. Nobody is forcing you to agree with it. If you think that just seeing a LGBT person exist is "force", it sounds like they make you very uncomfortable, and maybe you need to be doing some serious reflecting on exactly why... looks to me like you're suppressing something with all that fear.
@fro
When i think of the last of us i think of a group of survivors crossing the apocalypse wasteland with a growing bond between 2 people that end up with Joel making ellie his new daughter.
Then you fire up the 2nd one bang joel is dead oh that comic series? bang dead
Oh you want to continue all that we grew in the first one? na f that toss it in the trash
Now here is a trans woman so strong superboy would blush go out there kill all what made tlou1 then halfway get a forced sex scene that you can not skip between 2 dudes.
The gameplay? just like the first game the combat/backpack system crafting sytem? 0 changes/improvements.
I could go on but lets face it they copy pasted that tlou 1 assets bin a shit ton of times.
There is nothing on the box or the ads or anything before the game that said you would going to spend most of the game controlling a new trans character that has no ties to anything of the first game the only existence was to kill what the first game made.
Oh but hey there is a mp mode coming out before 2022 wait what is that? oh we made it its own game then cancelled it now go but the game again as we port it a few times.
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
What has Straley or Henig released since they left ND? Not a thing! stop scapegoating! Which of them is credited with co-writing a majorly successful show?
@mkis007
You bring up Bruce Straley really? someone that gave us 4 generations of amazing games and was there in the creation of 4 legendary franchises but was tossed in the trash for the pos niel druckmann not 7? years ago
So yeah in those 7? years you right all he has done is get 2 awards one is a game award for a puzzle game he made oh boy right like for fuck sake's all niel has done is one game that was a overhyped fan boy orgasm underneath all that ps jizz was just a typical 5/10 game.
Then you drag Amy Hennig that poor woman was also kicked out then became this century's Brendan Fraser with her sexual misconduct information coming out.
We all know how horrible people are treated behind the scenes she might have been sexual attacked groped or something.
So yeah all she did after was battlefield hardline forspoken now that new marvel 1945 game but hey Brendan Fraser was a great actor till he also said he was sexually attacked just now he is allowed back in no doubt she also had to take a leave of absence out and or was forced out on ice.
Man there are way to many out there that look at niel at the new gaming jesus when all he had done is some work on uncharted 4 then tlou2
Oh also the tvhshow? for real all they did was use stuff from the 2013 game its like saying GOT was a 10/10 but never watching past season 3
@mkis007
That's highly unfair to them both
Amy Hennig got messed around working on projects that got cancelled by the publishers (EA) and then ended up on a awful game (Forspoken) where you had 4 other writers working on it which is just a recipe for disaster. She is now working on Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra. Not her fault she was pushed out of NaughtyDog, something both Nolan North and Richard McGonagle have both said in interviews.
Bruce Straley left after burn out, the rest of the story we don't know and will never know just like what happened with Amy Hennig. He decided to take a break and wasn't sure if he wanted to come back to gaming however he had an idea he wanted to make so he founded Wildflower Interactive, a smaller studio where they are currently working on a new game.
@the obvious stain of a commenter
The trans character wasn't Abby. Try playing Part 2 instead of gatekeeping what you think Part 1 was about and meant.
Maybe try watching the show while you're at it, because you're terribly off with your opinion on that too
@just he has been behind 2 of the greatest games ever made. Tlou2 was easily the best non-vr game made last gen. Losers just can't get over Joel's death, mixed with the usual console war nonsense. The fact that you so casually call him a sob shows how deranged some gamers have become about Drunkmann.
@frosty, for people like Just, including anyone that can be categorized as being a minority in any kind of media is "forcing it down his throat " lol. I to don't care for poor "checking box" inclusion for inclusion sake but that was not the case with tlou2.
The pathetic part about it is, you can tell just_looken never even played TLOU, because that was the game where Ellie's sexuality was first brought to light... No "that was forced down our throats" to be said about that.
Only terrified folks in the closet that use their hatred as cover from outing themselves fear LGBT people that much. They exist. They will exist in all aspects of life, including popular media. Get over it.
@all
Once again you drag out something like its a big win
Here is my old channel a clip of me playing TLOU on ps3
https://www.youtube.com/wat...
Search my channel for more clips
Proof its my channel? look at this profiles banner that is 7yrs old then look at other vids on that channel like my bf3 clips to see my psn id. But knowing this group that is way to much work.
Also elle being a lesbian is another trump card? one dlc is all we got of that a dlc that took over a year to be tossed out.
Glad he clarified it but i'm still somewhat skeptical. Plus, his comments about how Ai will revolutionize storytelling were still pretty iffy.
Druckmann claims the tech could 'push the boundaries of storytelling in games.'
I’m more interested in what else he said.
“Neil Druckmann says new Naughty Dog title could ‘redefine mainstream perceptions of gaming’
Replies(6)
every time naughty dog make a game, you play it and get the feeling "this is not possible'
from the boulder running towards you in crash, on ps1,
to the massive open world of jak and daxter, on ps2,
to the QuickTime events sequences of uncharted on ps3/4
and now we will see what they do with ps5,
Arrogant asshole who sniffs his own farts bigs up next game…sounds like typical PR to me
You know what I find interesting? Almost every site reporting this as the main title where the REAL interesting bit of the interview is Neil praising AI and saying it will be used to help push story, characters, dialogue and more.
It’s super shitty to big up AI especially when it comes to story telling and other creative elements.
Just because someone says this type of stuff, it doesn't mean that it's guaranteed to be good news.
You can say this about microtransactions. MXTs revolutionised the gaming industry.
He also said it has "ethical issues we need to address" but of course that doesn't get the clicks.
I’m all for it. Cuts the time to make a game. Look, Hellblade 2 took 5 years to make, if AI can do that in half the time, as a consumer, I support it.
The Last of Us director’s next project is “perhaps the most thrilling yet.
When you start the game Neil will appear personally telling you about real world issues and call you all sort of names if you don't take action now and then you watch a whole movie and that's it
Too much credit.
A good dev doesn't need to announce how good his game is...he just shows it.
You don't see Kojima glorifying his ideas like this and you don't see successful developers glorifying their "great" ideas before release.
It's going to be a shit show...reserve some popcorn.
Its a hard pill to swallow but the naughty dog we once had is long gone. Most don't realize it but eventually just like with bioware and blizzard...it'll be hard to ignore.
Neil just wants to be Kojima so bad, meanwhile Kojima is just like a child enjoying the world, saying whatever comes to his mind and having so much passion, man I don't even like his games that much but the man is just passion incarnate!
And the popcorn is always ready for Neil
Ever since Bruce Straley left it was like Neil lost his leash and went on full ego trip, not unlike Kojima tbh but at least with Kojima you can see how much he loved video games and how he truly want to push the boundaries. Neil felt like he’s just strutting around..
Erm dude. Never played a kojima game before? He can absolutely come across pretentious to some people. He puts his name in the credits of every Mission you do in mgs5.
I mean...
Also naughty dog absolutely has the power to bring in people from a very different demographic unlike other gamecompanies. TLOU and Uncharted were absoolutely groundbreaking for gaming.
Also Druckman never said it "will" he said it "could"
Sounds actually very optimistic but also cautious to me.
Stop hating move on
@crow: “You don't see Kojima glorifying his ideas like this”
You mean like this👇👇
https://www.gamedeveloper.c...
ALL DEV HYPE THEIR NEXT GAME IDEAS so I call BS on your statement
Lmao please tell me this is sarcasm? Kojima is the epitome of a dev glorifying his ideas even worse than this.
Id like them to show something. Only doing 2 TLOU remakes this far into the PS5 life is disappointing.
I disagree. Whenever a developer knows he is working on something really good they will go out of their way to tell everyone. The Last of Us Part 2 was a well-made game even though the story could have been better.
I hope Naughty Dog grows from that and if they choose to kill off the main characters, they can execute it like in Game of Thrones where we are left in shock and it leads to a satisfying conclusion.
We don't know if the naughty dog of old is long gone since they were able to complete the Last of Us part 2 using fresh talent despite the challenges. Let's hope for the best
This all sounds like cope when ur greeted with the reality that Last of us is more popular than ever and last of us 2 was yet another critical darling.
I'm sorry but outside of a very vocal minority who loves to whine really really loudly Naughty Dog is nothing like those 2.
" You don't see Kojima glorifying his ideas like this and you don't see successful developers glorifying their "great" ideas before release."
Really?!
ND games now are a political battlefield, it's allegory as a game, according to him even, it's so easy to say you don't care about politics and then love games that are only made by and for politics
Games are not made “for” politics. Games are an expression of someone’s speech. There is NOTHING wrong with a developer expressing itself in its own creation. Whether that expression is deemed “political” or not, it does not make a difference.
This is the very foundation of the freedom of speech.
Where is the freedom of speech? Anyone center to right has to hide it or get kicked out of the industry. It's beyond one sided, no freedom allowed.
@itBourne
My friend, you are not informed about how freedom of speech works. I suggest that you inform yourself so that you understand where your rights begin and end. (Not a knock at you)
But to set you on a correct direction, I will explain it. Your freedom of speech is a right to be free from infringement by “State action”. In other words, it does not protect you from acts/repercussions by non-government actors. Therefore, if by “center to right” you mean you would like to insult other people, know that while you are free to do so (to a constitutional degree as there are limitations), you are not free from the public repercussions of your speech. So, if your place of employment deems your conduct to be such that they do not approve your speaking on their behalf, they have every right to stop you by terminating your employment. You are free to express yourself, and no government agency can stop your speech, but you are not free from public consequences of your act/speech. People often confuse these matters and then conclude that “we dont have freedom of speech because I get fired for saying highly offensive things that are my opinions.”
Now, if someone is fired for non offensive opinion/speech, they may have a claim for unlawful termination.
I hope this clears things up.
Better yet, you start the game, go through what you just said, and then your PS is bricked, and your account is permanently banned!!!!!
Druckmann doesn't really beat you over the head with the message of the game. The only thing he said about The Last of Us Part II prior to launch was that it was commentary on the cycle of violence.
In reality, it was also commentary on the decades long Israel-Palestine conflict, which he doesn't really mention until after the fact and is a reflection of his own lived experiences. In fact, I would not be surprised if it was difference of opinion on this issue that led to him and Straley parting ways. Extremely contentious issue, moreso now than when the game launched.
However, I do find it extraordinarily fascinating that, following 6 October, Druck missed the entire message of his own work.
That aside, Naughty Dog is an incredible studio that has made incredibly memorable titles every generation since PS1... But that said, Naughty Dog (Druckmann, specifically) needs to reel it in. Neil went on about how ambitious Factions II was with years of silence otherwise, only to have it unceremoniously cancelled in a letter to the public.
Temper the hype, Neil. We'll see when it's time to see it.
please shut up and release a game, Naughty dog has not released a single title apart from Remaster on PS5...
People like to ignore reality because they dont like this guy. I really wish people could just accept that we all have different political leanings, and that is ok, we are not enemies. Especially now that people have already learned how social media algorithms prevent us from seeing eye to eye with people who have different opinions from us.
Personally, ND is my favorite developer, and I can’t wait to see what they are working on.
Neither have released anything by themselves. This weird Neil hate is wacko. It reads like thinly veiled antisemitism tbh.
People that don't like Neil give him all the hate and Straley and Henig all the love...it's a very easy to read sign of hate beyond what they have actually contributed.
I think you more accurately want it to be antisemitism to convince yourself instead of considering any sort of nuance for whatever multitude of reasons may actually be for others. Just cause he's jewish doesn't make him exempt from criticism, and considering current events that's not a hill I'd advise to die on.
I don't think it's mostly antisemitism.
I think some people genuinely hated the direction the story took and instead of being adults and saying man I just didn't like that story, they're being weirdos and saying neil sucks, even though Last of us 2 is objectively from a gameplay perspective some of naughty dog's best work.
Then a small minority of those people are the transphobes, homophobes, and racists.
That being said the neil haters either way are definitely weirdos.
I don’t know anything about this antisemitism claim (might be missing sometging here), but there is definitely a anti-gay thing because this was a major TikTok clickbait subject for the influencers that pray on people’s right wing emotions.
You can see it even in the comments here. It’s crazy, one game with gay characters and people melted! I blame social media algorithms.
He's gaslighting us to want something that doesn't exist yet. This fool got demoted back to janitor status where he belongs for destroying the last of us franchise.
OPM Crash Bandicoot seems to have lost his marsupial magic over the years. Do you think his games can be revitalised?
AG Crash needs a total reboot. There’s an opportunity to reset the history, and go back to his creation story and the original conflict with Cortex. In that context, you could reprise classic Crash 1 and 2’s settings and villains. It would make sense to use a more modern, free-roaming style. I would concentrate on Looney Tunes-esque animation and really addictive action. That’s what we did with the original Crash, and there’s no reason it couldn’t be done today. Given the current Crash games, people forget that he was once cool. Our Crash had a certain whimsical edge to him. Sure, it was goofy – but it wasn’t dumb.
OPM What do you make of Crash today? Are you sad that he’s gone from PlayStation icon to yesterday’s mascot?
AG I don’t pay much attention to recent Crash games. For me, he’s like the hot high-school girlfriend who put on 50 pounds. I just can’t look. His post-Naughty Dog games fall down not only in being too goofy, but in gameplay and balance. We tried very hard to make every level evenly paced, addictive and engaging. Crash was about being frantic, but at the same time relatively free of frustration – although some of the levels in the original were too hard.
He is right the last few games that came out on PS2 were crap.Sony needs to get the license back and hand it back to it's original fathers.
I want crash back onto next gen consoles and especially a crash team racing! I couldn't stop playing them and still am by today and as for the last of us that already looks insane, imagine seeing it on the next gen platforms a long side with uncharted :O
Get him, Jason Rubin and Mark Cerny do contract work for Activision to make a PROPER Crash game, we've already lost Spyro to Skylanders, Crash can still be saved
Sony needs to bring Crash back home to Naughty Dog.
It's where he belongs and there are plenty of fans that want him back on the Playstation and back to starring in quality games. Crash deserves it!