Game director and co-president of video game developerNaughty Dog, Neil Druckmann, took to Twitter to clear up some confusion regarding comments he made about his currently unannounced next game in a recent article inThe New Yorker. In the piece centered on the upcomingHBO adaptation ofThe Last of Usand the spotty track record of video game-to-film adaptations, Druckmann stated that his next game would be “structured more like a TV show.”Naughty Doghas a long history of developing games with heavy cinematic influences. Out of context, Druckmann’s comments about his next game taking more influence from TV than film left some thinking his next game would be episodic in nature; more akin to Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead series than Druckmann’s previous narratively self-contained projects. The quote’s broader context proves otherwise.RELATED:Reliable Leaker Says The Last of Us 3 is in DevelopmentThe final paragraph of the New Yorker piece details Druckmann’s shiftfrom writingThe Last of Uson his own, to surprising his Naughty Dog coworkers by bringing in screenwriter Halley Gross to co-writeThe Last of Us Part 2. Gross had previously written two episodes of the now-canceled HBO seriesWestworld. Inspired by television writers' rooms, for his next game, Druckmann didn’t just bring in a single co-writer but rather assembled a full writers’ room to flesh out the story.
Quote tweeting the official Twitter account of The Game Awards, which tweeted the out-of-context quote, Druckmann said, “I’m sure no one will misconstrue what this means!” followed by the “face with tears of joy” emoji. He continued by clarifying that the quote in question was “about making our games in an even more collaborative manner.”The New Yorkerarticle explains that many of today’s Hollywood screenwriters grew up playing video games, while writers of video game adaptations of years past hadn’t. This fundamental understanding of the medium that was lacking in previous generations of screenwriters has allowed writers to more easily shift from film and/or television to video games. Druckmann isusing the video game literacyof the modern screenwriter to his advantage. If this should become a trend, Druckmann could again place himself at the forefront of game narrative innovation.
The New Yorkerarticle also hints at ways the upcoming HBO adaptation ofThe Last of Ushas expanded on narrative threads the original game was only had time to imply. Without having to worry about bloating a game with too much story and not enough gameplay, Craig Mazin, the showrunnerof the HBO adaptation, was able to dive into the details of the romantic relationship between Bill, a side character encountered by Joel and Ellie in the source material, and his partner Frank. Bill’s backstory was only hinted at in the game. Any other details regarding Druckmann’s upcoming game outside of the formation of a television-style writer’s room, are still being kept under wraps.
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