THE LAST OF US Director Neil Druckmann Has a Lack of Confidence in Planning Sequels
When it comes to game development, some creatives meticulously plan out the sequels before the first game even launches, but that’s not how Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann operates.
The Last of Us director says he never thinks about follow-ups while working on a project because he doesn’t have that “level of confidence.”
Speaking at the D.I.C.E. Summit alongside Sony Santa Monica’s Cory Barlog, Druckmann explained his philosophy when it comes to crafting stories.
“The game in front of us is so all-consuming,” and planning a sequel too soon is like “jinxing yourself.” Instead, his approach is simple: “‘What if I never get to do another one?’ I’m not saving some idea for the future. If there’s a cool idea, I’m doing my best to get it into here.”
That’s not to say he’s completely shutting his mind off to sequel thoughts. While developing The Last of Us Part II, he admitted: “Every once in a while an idea pops in your head of where it might go if we get the chance to do another one.”
But for anyone hoping to hear concrete details about a potential third installment, Druckmann didn’t elaborate. He has teased before that “there’s probably one more chapter to this story.”
Barlog, who is known for his work on the God of War series, has a wildly different creative process. He likened it to the infamous It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia meme of Charlie frantically connecting conspiracy theories.
He said: “I try to connect and plan with all of these pieces.” Druckmann, on the other hand, doesn’t see himself working that way, saying it “requires a level of confidence I just don’t have.”
So, how does he decide when a sequel is worth making? He explained: “I ask myself what unresolved elements are still left over and where the characters could go next.” If the answer is nowhere, well, then, “I think we’ll just kill them off.”
Of course, he says he’s “half joking.” But he says that if a sequel is happening, it needs to break new ground. “If we don’t have a new answer then we should ask ourselves, is this the right character? Is this the right game for us to work on? Or is it time to find something new?”
For now, The Last of Us fans will have to wait and see if Druckmann and his team find that “new answer” worth pursuing.
Via: IGN