The Last of Us writer Neil Druckmann has clarified the writing process for his next game after a quote taken out of context went viral.

 

 

Game director and co-chairman of video game developer Naughty Dog, Neil Druckmann, took to Twitter to clear up misunderstandings about comments he made in a recent article in The New Yorker about his currently unannounced next game. In the article, which discussed the upcoming HBO adaptation of The Last of Us and the lousy track record of video game film adaptations, Druckmann claimed that his next game would be “structured more like a TV show.”

Naughty Dog has a long history of developing games with strong cinematic influences.

Taken out of context, Druckmann’s comments that his next game would draw on TV rather than film influences have led some to speculate that his next game would be episodic; more akin to Telltale Games’ The Walking Dead series than Druckmann’s previous, narratively independent projects.

The broader context of the quote proves otherwise.

The final paragraph of the New Yorker article details Druckmann’s shift. He wrote The Last of Us entirely on his own. But Halley brought in screenwriter Gross to co-write the second part of The Last of Us. Gross had previously written two episodes of the now-cancelled HBO series Westworld. Inspired by television’s “writers’ rooms,” Druckmann has hired more than one co-writer for his next feature. He assembled an entire writing team to develop the story.

He quoted the official Twitter account of The Game Awards, which tweeted the quote out of context. Druckmann wrote: “I’m sure no one will misconstrue what this means!” followed by the “tearful laughing face” emoji. He further clarified that the quote in question was “about making our games in an even more collaborative manner.” The New Yorker article explains that many of today’s Hollywood screenwriters grew up on video games. The writers of video game adaptations of recent years have not. This fundamental understanding of the medium, lacking in previous generations of screenwriters, has allowed writers to more easily transition from film and/or television to video games. Druckmann taps into the video game literacy of modern screenwriters. If this becomes a trend, Druckmann could once again be at the forefront of game narrative innovation.

The New Yorker article also points to how the upcoming HBO adaptation of The Last of Us has expanded on narrative threads that the original game only had time to hint at.

The movie adaptation does not have the “too much story, not enough gameplay” dilemma. Craig Mazin, the showrunner of the HBO adaptation, has dived into the source material. For example, the details of the romantic relationship between the supporting character Joel and Ellie meet, Bill and his partner Frank. Bill’s backstory was only hinted at in the play. All other details about Druckmann’s upcoming game, apart from the television-style writers’ room design, are being kept under wraps for the time being.

Source: Twitter

I’m sure no one will misconstrue what this means! 😂

(Spoiler: it’s about making our games in an even more collaborative manner! Stoked to show you our projects as soon as we can!) https://t.co/Vb5HzuMCXr pic.twitter.com/FdtFgthVtv

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) December 27, 2022