At the 2014 E3 video games conference, Naughty Dog fans were treated to teasing trailers of the upcoming Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Nathan Drake seemed to be determined to carry out ‘one last’ job, getting back into the business. But with such a game title, Uncharted followers can expect this to be the final time they’ll see the protagonist. But how much do the players, having spent hours venturing their way through Drake’s life, know about the thief? While this question may have only become relevant in recent times, with more and more games devoting content to the characters’ background and personal stories, it is now something that games developers are going to have to deal with. This may be the fifth installment of the Uncharted series, but it is no exception to the queries of current gamers and so Uncharted is going to change; at what cost?
A large contributor to the ‘personal’ trend currently in gaming is the original PS3, then remastered for PS4 title The Last of Us. After the roaring success the game has received, many games developers are taking note and inspiration from the Naughty Dog game. It comes as no surprise then that Uncharted is one such game considering its relation to The Last of Us. But it isn’t only the developer that Uncharted and The Last of Us have in common, they share Neil Druckmann too, who is a co-director in the Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End project and was a creative director behind The Last of Us. With such a key figure at the heart of the two very different projects, fans need reassuring that the two will remain separate and not fall under the pressure of the personal gaming trend.
Druckmann must see that need in his fans, as he came forward and did just that. Promising that Uncharted will not become The Last of Us, Druckmann explained that lessons have been learnt from the interactivity featured in The Last of Us. In attempting to produce a more personal experience, Naughty Dog are said to focus not only on Nathan Drake as an individual, but also on the journey that Drake goes through and its consequences on the people nearest him. But that does not mean Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End will be dark, at least not as dark as post-apocalyptic The Last of Us. Instead, the emotive and personal content will be entwined with the elements that Uncharted fans love about the series. The Uncharted games carry a distinctive ‘blockbuster feel’ throughout the present titles and that is not going to be neglected in the latest project either. The importance of fun gameplay, coupled with captivating characters and the Uncharted set pieces, is an integral part of the franchise that has kept players coming back for more with every release.
A hint of some Uncharted 4 sets
The next Uncharted game will be arriving exclusively on PS4 consoles in 2015, but by that time we wonder whether the trend in creating emotive video games will continue. Considering the vast lineup of games that are being released in the coming months, the trend looks like it’s here to stay. Even if the games released late next year don’t place as much emphasis on the personal lives of their characters, the success of the games soon to come will still be strong, at least strong enough to remind players that the personal element within gaming really does add to the overall experience. If nothing else can show the significance of emotive characters in gaming, upon hearing of Bungie’s announcement of the beta Guardians’ fate, fans took to writing touching sentiments to their characters held in such fondness. The desire to write a fictional, yet heartfelt, farewell to a character created and destroyed in a matter of weeks must be the result of gameplay that feels more personal and when produced by the target audience, as opposed to just the developers, it shouts volumes. When characters appear to have more depth than just your mission-completing tool, players care more about them and with them, they care about the game as a whole.
Do you want to know Nathan Drake the person, or would you prefer the classic action-focussed gameplay previously seen in Uncharted? Let us know in the comments below!
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