Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Message Board older than one year ago

#ps3 You too can half-tuck like Nathan Drake this year with the official Uncharted belt buckle, one of a many fine prizes included in the collector's edition of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, revealed today by Sony and Naughty Dog. More »

We’ve gotten a lot of questions via our NaughtyDog.com blog comments, Facebook Wall posts and Twitter asking if there will be a Collector’s Edition of UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception when the game is released in November 2011. Today, we can reveal the answer as a very definite YES for our fans in North America!

As you can see in the image above, the Collector’s Edition comes with a functional Traveling Chest replica which stores all of the other aspects to our Collector’s Edition – exclusive Steelbook case for UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception, a full size replica of Drake’s belt buckle from UNCHARTED 3, a full size replica of Drake’s necklace which includes Sir Francis Drake’s ring, and exclusive statue of Nathan Drake from Sideshow Collectibles.

You’ll be able to pre-order the UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception Collector’s Edition from many retailers. Speaking of pre-orders… we’ve listened to a lot of your feedback about the pre-order bonuses from the UNCHARTED 2 release – mostly how many of you were bummed by not being able to get some in-game content without pre-ordering at multiple retailers or waiting for it to be added to the PSN Store over a year later. Because of that feedback, we’ve restructured how we provide pre-order content – nearly all of our retailer exclusive bonuses grant you early access to key multiplayer Weapon Mods, Boosters and Medal Kickbacks.

First up is early access to the Creepy Crawler Kickback, which is available now by pre-ordering at GameStop. The Creepy Crawler Kickback allows you, when you’ve scored the requisite number of Medals, to turn into a swarm of deadly creatures to overwhelm your opponents as long as you’ve got time left on the Kickback countdown timer.

By pre-ordering at Best Buy, you’ll unlock the Regeneration Booster early. The Regeneration Booster increases your healing rate in multiplayer, so that you can recover from your wounds and re-enter battle with full health sooner.

Pre-ordering at Amazon.com nabs you three pre-order bonuses – one Kickback and two Weapon Mods. The Carpet Bomb Kickback allows you to send out three grenades with a single throw to blanket your opponent – or take out a group of opponents – with multiple explosions. The Clip Size Mods for the Para- 9 and G-MAL increase the size of your bullet clip, allowing you to trade more shots with your opponent before you have to reload.

Over at Wal-Mart, you can get the Callout Weapon Mod, which allows you to equip your old friend, the AK-47, with a laser sight that enables your entire team to see the location of the opponent you are currently targeting.

If you don’t see your favorite retailer listed above, don’t fret – many other retailers who participate in our pre-order program will be offering a voucher code for an exclusive UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception PSN Avatar and PS3 XMB Theme.

The Collector's Edition of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception will include something special to display under-slash-over your artfully half-tucked shirt: a replica of Nathan Drake's belt buckle! It also includes a ring with a necklace strap, and a Nathan Drake figurine -- wearing a tiny replica belt buckle and ring of its own! How meta! The game is packed in a Steelbook case, and the whole thing is loaded into a "travelling chest" box, for $99.99. A similar special edition has been announced for Europe.

On top of that, Sony has sweetened several different pots with a bunch of retailer-exclusive pre-order DLC. Best Buy offers a "regeneration booster" to heal more quickly; Amazon gives players a "Carpet Bomb Kickback" (allowing you to send out three grenades at once) and a clip size augmentation for the Para 9 or G-MAL weapons. GameStop's super weird offering is the "Creepy Crawler Kickback," which turns you "into a swarm of deadly creatures for a limited time." Wal-Mart puts a laser sight on your in-game AK-47 that your entire team can see. Other "participating retailers" provide a PSN avatar and a static theme.

IGN has been bringing you Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception news all week long as a lead in to developer Naughty Dog's E3 presentation at Sony's PlayStation Press Conference. Today, we're finally giving you a glimpse at what you'll be bringing home on Nov. 1, 2011 with details on the Uncharted 3: Drake...

Andriasang has posted a few tidbits from the latest Famitsu, the tastiest of which may concern the Japanese localization of Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. Like Uncharted 2 before it, Uncharted 3 will receive a full and reportedly high quality Japanese localization. Of much more importance, however, is the game's Japanese title.

According to Andriasang, it translates to "something like" Uncharted: Atlantis Which Sleeps in the Desert, which is just delightful. Honestly, if you need more than that to get you through the rest of the day, we can't help you (though we suppose another look at the Japanese Uncharted 2 box art wouldn't hurt).

E3 is next week. That means Sony's having its yearly press conference, and that means Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is going to do something cool. IGN has been bringing you Uncharted 3 love each and every day this week, but we're just warming you up for whatever piece of amazing developer Naughty Dog breaks off and throws the world's way Monday at Sony's E3 PlayStation press conference...

#drakesmultiplayer The first two Uncharted games for the PlayStation 3 established Naughty Dog as one of the premiere single-player developers on the console. That's just not good enough for these people. More »

By now you’ve probably read the full details of what you’ll get with UNCHARTED 3’s upcoming multiplayer beta. Now, in our new video interview, Naughty Dog’s top developers reveal just how deep this rabbit hole goes. At a glance, UNCHARTED 3’s most obvious multiplayer enhancement lies in its sweeping character customization options in the form of weapon loadouts, gun mods and a wide selection of ability-enhancing Boosters. You’ll be able to modify your character’s appearance in almost every way, whether you want to slap some aviators on Nathan Drake or cobble together a custom hero or villain from scratch. “There are hundreds and hundreds of parts and every part has a customizable color,” Game Director Justin Richmond tells us. “You can look the way you want to look. We want it to feel personal.”

“Personal” is a theme that permeates every yawning nook and cavernous cranny of UNCHARTED 3’s redesigned multiplayer experience. Underneath the ultra-polished shooting mechanics and well-balanced arsenal of weapons lies a social media platform that is positively thrumming with potential. With UNCHARTED 3, community is finally a two-way street: You can tap into your Facebook friend list to recruit a Buddy, then fight by his side while earning rewards for coordinated kills — with a bonus for landing the obligatory post-kill high-five. Afterwards, you can upload your favorite video clips to Facebook and YouTube for sharing. Or, if you prefer, you can watch streaming community clips via UNCHARTED TV while you wait for the next match to begin.

You’ll get your hands on UNCHARTED 3’s new multiplayer modes when the beta begins on June 28th for PlayStation Plus subscribers and owners of specially marked copies of inFAMOUS 2; full access follows on July 5th for all PSN users. Watch the video and read on for more excerpts from our interview with Game Director Justin Richmond and Game Designer Roger Cogburn. And chime in with any questions in the comments!

You’ve already contributed to UNCHARTED 3’s multiplayer mode by playing The Lab.

“We’ve been running The Lab sessions for UNCHARTED 2,” UNCHARTED 3 Game Director Justin Richmond explained, “and we used that feedback to help design UNCHARTED 3.” With The Lab, Naughty Dog’s designers experimented with new modes using UNCHARTED 2’s sizeable multiplayer audience. “Plunder Pistols ended up being super popular,” Richmond said, “We knew it was fun internally, but being able to test it with the fans in The Lab verified that we thought was cool. We want to do even more of that with UNCHARTED 3. We have the ability to get feedback from the fans, and we want to maintain that dialog.”

UNCHARTED 3’s 3D technique paved the way for split-screen multiplayer support.

“There are a number of ways to implement 3D; some are more ‘fake’ than others,” Richmond explained. “We committed to using 3D early on, and we wanted to do it as real as possible because it allowed for splitscreen. 3D and splitscreen are kind of the same thing because the game is basically rendering each frame twice. As soon as we figured out how to do that with 3D, we knew we could handle splitscreen. Now, I am grossly oversimplifying that — the programmers would kill me for saying it was that easy! But basically, our 3D implementation allowed for splitscreen support.”

UNCHARTED 3’s splitscreen multiplayer enables dual PSN logins.
“You don’t have to be on some guest account,” Richmond said. “You and your friend can sit down in splitscreen and level up both of your characters. We support two different PSN ID logins.”

The dynamic multiplayer events were inspired by UNCHARTED 2.

“UNCHARTED 2’s Trainwreck multiplayer level that had an event where a cargo train fell down and revealed an RPG,” Game Designer Robert Cogburn explained. “We were surprised by how that resonated with people, so with UNCHARTED 3 we decided to swing for the fences and go as epic as we can.” Every level includes some sort of dynamic event: Airstrip’s opening truck chase ends in a finale at the airport; Chateau’s spreading fire slowly consumes the central floor and reveals a new area and weapons.

You’ll collect random loot in order to unlock new gear.

Fallen foes will occasionally drop randomized Treasures, and you’ll want to collect every piece you find. “The Treasures add a bit of an RPG element,” Cogburn said. “Every Treasure piece has a varying level of scarcity, and they fit into sets. Once a set is fully completed, you’ll earn an item: a gun, a custom part, an emblem, and so on.” What’s more, if you’re battling with a buddy, he or she can run over and grab Treasure for you. “We can update the Treasures dynamically, too,” Cogburn teased, “so we can add more later if we want to.”

You’re no longer helpless while climbing.

Back in UNCHARTED 2’s multiplayer, climbing left you high and dry — especially if you encountered another enemy. “It came down to who could hit the ground first and get his gun out,” Richmond said. “It kind of sucked — you could only climb or drop down.” Not so with UNCHARTED 3. “Now it’s more like a chess match. Should I edge over and try to kick him? Should I drop? Should I climb? If I do, will the other guy pull me down? It adds an extra dimension to the combat.”

UNCHARTED TV support supports uploads and downloads for YouTube and Facebook.

Plenty of games enable you to capture multiplayer footage and show it to your friends, but UNCHARTED 3 is transforming its multiplayer component into a full-blown video publishing platform. “We can not only upload your video clips to YouTube and Facebook, we can stream videos into the engine,” Richmond said. That means you’ll be able to watch Clips of the Week and community clips while you wait for that next multiplayer level to start. “And we will constantly update that content,” Richmond promised.

UNCHARTED 3 will give high-level players much, much more do.

“With UNCHARTED 2, high-level players would hit a point where they didn’t have anything to spend money on,” Cogburn said. “UNCHARTED 3 is much deeper.” Boosters, which enhance player abilities, can now be leveled up with use. And if the competition gets really tough, you can even buy pricey-but-potent Paid Boosters to temporarily even the odds. “The ranking system plays into that because the higher your rank, the more Paid Boosters will appear. It’s a far more interesting ranking system than in UNCHARTED 2.”

All you probably need to know about the Uncharted 3 beta is that it's more Uncharted -- and therefore you want it right the hell now. Thinking about it that way, the article full of details posted by IGN is extraneous. But on the other hand, new info!

The beta includes two multiplayer maps: Chateau and the Airstrip (described here), both with "dynamic events" occurring during play, like planes flying in. Players can choose from nine modes including Team Deathmatch, 3-Team Deathmatch, Team Objective, Free For All, Plunder, High Stakes, and three unrevealed co-op modes that IGN mercilessly teased for a later reveal. Players will choose either a Drake/Sully/"treasure hunter" Hero team or a bad-guy team made up of customizable pirates.

Four of the new "Power Play" events will also feature in the beta. These one-minute events change the rules (like "marking" one person on the winning team to be worth three points) to turn the game around at critical moments.

Check IGN for the full rundown of beta components. The beta launches officially on July 4, but will be accessible early, on June 28, for Infamous 2 owners and PlayStation Plus members. Which, thanks to one of Sony's acts of contrition, will be everybody! As long as the store is back up by then, that is. The beta is set to end July 13.

It's been a little more than a month since developer Naughty Dog broke the news about an Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception beta, but even then, all the team gave us was a set of dates. Today, Naughty Dog is giving us the whole, wonderful enchilada. Below, you find every critical, nerdy detail and v...

The biggest video game show of the year is just around the corner and while IGN's E3 coverage is up to the minute and in full swing, waiting another week for news on the biggest games doesn't sound like much fun. Luckily for us, Sony and developer Naughty Dog agree. This week, we're bringing you brand new Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception news, videos and features. Each and every day, there's going to be something Nathan Drake-related on IGN...

A piece of concept art for Uncharted 3 showing a London pub in which Nathan Drake and Sully scrap it out early in the game has been been revealed...

#theartofgaming Every year experts from the fine art world and the interactive entertainment industry bestow upon video game artists the highest honor they can receive — inclusion in the Into the Pixel art collection. Let's take a look at the seventeen pieces that made the cut this year. More »

 

The blockbuster success of James Cameron’s Avatar proved what many gamers and game developers already knew: Motion capture is the future of performance. The film’s groundbreaking use of mocap technology caught the attention of Hollywood and the game industry, raising interest in perfecting the nascent craft with a combination of new technology, refined processes, and good old-fashioned acting chops.

”We’ve developed a unique process for motion capture and performance capture for games,” UNCHARTED 3 Creative Director Amy Hennig explained during a recent tour of Naughty Dog’s cutting-edge new mocap studio in Culver City, California. “We’re kind of ahead of the pack.” Hennig described the evolution of the UNCHARTED series’ motion capture technology, beginning with the humble stage used to record UNCHARTED: Drake’s Fortune. It was an outdated, uncomfortable place to perform, equipped with a camera array that painted the room with eye-searing red light. And its poor acoustics made dialog recording impossible, so in-game speech had to be added later.

“We cast very carefully, that’s step one in any project. If you cast hastily or badly, you’re screwed forever. If you cast well, you can write any piece of crap and they’ll make it sound wonderful. Trust me, I’ve done it!”
— Amy Hennig, Creative Director, UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception

Following UNCHARTED’s breakout success, Naughty Dog upgraded to the vastly more sophisticated facilities at the House of Moves for UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves, a game that further strained the boundaries of cinematic game storytelling. The House of Moves facilities featured an integrated sound stage that enabled Naughty Dog’s team to record dialog while simultaneously capturing the actor’s physical performances — a then-unheard of process that is quickly becoming the gold standard for video-game performances.

An array of 86 infra-red cameras capture the actors’ physical performances with eerie precision. The studio’s integrated soundstage lets the actors deliver their lines seamlessly along with their movements.

Now, with UNCHARTED 3: Drake’s Deception, the team is shooting on its very own cutting-edge mocap set, the culmination of years of pioneering experimentation in game storytelling. Though the sets and props are largely virtual, Hennig and her team make frequent comparisons to shooting for television. “We don’t have the luxury of writing a big script in an ivory tower,” she explained. “We have an outline that we work from and we write the scenes as we go.” That looser approach gives Hennig and her storytelling team the flexibility to adapt to script changes or make tweaks based on a performer’s strengths. “As the writer, I get to learn the actor’s voices — their cadences, their idiosyncrasies, and I write them right in,” Hennig said. “Their characters become infused with their personalities.”

UNCHARTED 3’s high-tech motion capture process converts the actor’s movements into 3D datam which displays in real time over a simple approximation of the game environment. Later, animators and artists adjust the mocap data and drop it into the final game.

Actor Nolan North — who performs as series frontman Nathan Drake but also boasts an impressive resume of film, TV, animation and game performance work — raved about working with Hennig’s team on the UNCHARTED series. “I find that movie stars aren’t that interested in doing games, but actors are. There is a freedom and a beauty of doing this that’s like going back to the roots of black-box theater. It’s collaborative; it’s the true actor experience.” North also pointed out a rapid shift in the perception of video game performances among actors. “It’s changed. I know people who used to do video games and told me, ‘oh, eventually you’ll move on to animation.’ And now they’re trying to get back into games!”

“This might surprise some people, but we don’t just play Drake and Sully. Sometimes I’m mocapping the guy whose neck I’m breaking! Sometimes we play as the bad guys…in UNCHARTED 2’s train sequence, you’ll notice that one soldier runs with a bit of a limp. That’s me, chasing me, and getting blown up by propane tanks.”
— Nolan North (as Nathan Drake)

This humble array of sandbags and carpentry will be transformed into a realistic vehicle in the digital world of UNCHARTED 3. (Right) Naughty Dog pioneered the process of capturing motion and dialog simultaneously for video game performances, eliminating the disjointed feel found in some other game performances.

“Amy writes a great script. It’s like a strong tree, and we just branch from it,” Nolan North says. “If you let actors go too much with ad-libbing, when you don’t have a strong story structure, it becomes a mess. We do our thing, and then Naughty Dog takes it and makes magic.”

E3 2011 is creeping up fast. The video game industry's biggest event takes place in LA June 6-8, but in the meantime we're highlighting the biggest titles of the show. Today we've got Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, one of the most anticipated games of the show...

You might have been under the impression that the greatness of Nolan North could never be contained. You're right, of course, which is why he chooses to confine himself to voice acting. We can only assume that the raw power of an entire North performance, both body and voice, would result in a catastrophe of universe-imploding proportions. For years, North has struggled, leading only half a life.

Thank the stars that Naughty Dog discovered a way to safely (and separately) capture both his physical prowess and vocal genius, allowing him to live as a complete person. You can see a video of this miracle technology at Eurogamer, which has posted a behind-the-scenes look at the motion capture techniques used in Uncharted 3.

Just look at all those faaaaaaaaabulous guns!

How can you get into the Uncharted 3 Beta? Plus, new boosters, new customization, new video functionality and more get packed into Uncharted 3's multiplayer! Find out all the details in this interview with

Shocker: before Uncharted 3 launches this November, you’ll be able to get your hands on the game’s competitive component via an open beta, Naughty Dog announced on the PlayStation Blog today. Bonus double shocker: showing loyalty to your Sony overlords will get you into that beta about a week quicker.

Here’s the deal: Naughty Dog is planning to kick off the beta on June 28 for all PlayStation Network Plus members and "specially marked copies" of Infamous 2. On July 5, the beta will open to all PSN members. You don’t even need to beg at a blog’s doors for codes--you’ll get your shot as long as you have a PSN account. 

These details were all revealed during a preview event for the game's multiplayer, which hammered home a few cool points about the tweaked component. Foremost, Naughty Dog will be offering even more customization options. From load outs to character gear and mods, you’ll apparently have plenty to tool around with in the game. You'll also be able to take your matches to your social spheres by uploading gameplay videos to Facebook or YouTube--no more fiddling with HD PVRs.

Uncharted 3, by the way, hits this November 1 on PS3.    

#handson My first few minutes spent playing Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception in the game's multiplayer mode was dedicated to making my Nathan Drake and my Victor Sullivan look different from all the other Drakes and Sullys I was fighting against. I put a fisherman's hat on Sully, gave him a blue Hawaiian shirt, decked him out with rings. My Drake wore aviator sunglasses and wore a brick colored shirt, half-tucked, of course. More »

#watchthis Soon, you'll be able to high five your PlayStation Network and Facebook buddies while standing over the corpse of Nathan Drake—and you'll be rewarded for doing so in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception's all-new online multiplayer component. More »

Game director Justin Richmond said he wants Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception to be the premier multiplayer experience on the PS3, a game that makes players "leave that disc in their system because they want to play so much."

We won't know whether or not that will happen until players actually get their hands on the disc this fall, but judging by the feature list revealed this week at a Sony event in Los Angeles' Chinatown, Naughty Dog might just pull that off. The actual gameplay hasn't changed all that much -- the multiplayer still relies on the single-player campaign's shooting and cover mechanics. Outside of the game modes, however, the metagame is just plain incredible.

You won't have to wait until November 1 to try out Uncharted 3's impressive multiplayer experience. Naughty Dog is putting the mode through an open beta test that director Justin Richmond says should "teach us a lot." Early access to the multiplayer beta will be granted on June 28 for PlayStation Plus subscribers and for those who have purchased inFamous 2 (recalling a similar promotion tied to the first inFamous). The beta will launch for all PSN members on July 5.

Uncharted 2's multiplayer beta attracted more than 130,000 participants and saw an awesome prize gifted to a few lucky players, so expectations are high for the new beta. After the break, check out a thumping trailer for the new multiplayer features, including the deeper character customization -- and get a look at that spectacular Airstrip map! Mark your calendars: The real fireworks begin on July 5.

Developer Naughty Dog has announced that Uncharted 3 will feature heavy integration with social networks Facebook and YouTube, and include a new video service called Uncharted TV.

The previous game in the series offered Twitter integration (with varying success), but Uncharted 3 is going all-in on the social networking gamble, allowing players to share achievements and actions on Facebook directly from the game, and even message and play with Facebook friends who aren't connected on the PlayStation Network. The multiplayer menu has a Facebook-specific feed attached as well, so players can browse those updates right alongside the game's new customization features.

The game also integrates with YouTube. Courtesy of a revamped Cinema mode (that allows players to rewind previous games and even mark out clips and major game events), video can be posted on YouTube from inside the game, and Naughty Dog will run a service called Uncharted TV to post "plays of the week" and other announcements through the video sharing service. The whole setup was surprisingly full-featured -- players will get a look at just how it all works when the game goes into open beta on July 5.

The gauntlet is thrown with the announcement of the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception multiplayer beta coming in June.

We now know that Nathan Drake's villain in Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is an older British woman named Katherine Marlowe, but what if she's really old? Really, really old? What if she's like 450 years old? That might sound crazy, but Uncharted is a franchise based on people chasing the Foun...

If you missed the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception PAX East panel this evening, you also missed your chance to grab the first piece of DLC for the upcoming game. On their way out, attendees were given a PlayStation Network voucher code for an exclusive PAX East Uncharted 3 character skin. No details were given as to what the skin is, who it is for, or if it's single-player or multiplayer...

#opinion There was a time when video game developers seemed to be seeking approval from a wider, more mainstream audience. More »

As you’ve no doubt seen already, Naughty Dog chose GDC as the place to reveal Nathan Drake’s antagonist for UNCHARTED 3. The calculating Katherine Marlowe is clearly a different type of villain than the brute force Lazarevic or deadly accurate Navarro.

Watch now as U3’s lead designer Richard Lemarchand tells us more about this villainess, as well as the talent behind the role. He goes on to tell us about the positively jaw-dropping implementation of 3D, and how its development pays dividends even to players who don’t yet possess a 3D display.

Did you hear Richard use the word “stereoscopy” in a sentence? It speaks wonders of the English schooling system.

When I say Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception has the best stereoscopic 3D presentation I've seen so far, I don't mean to imply that I'll shut my laptop after I complete this sentence and dash out the door to buy a 3DTV (an inconsiderate and fatal idea, given that I'm writing this from inside an airplane). The work done by Naughty Dog, with 3D incorporated from an early stage of development, is not an effective sales pitch for the technology -- and that's why it's good. The effect is subtle, unobtrusive, useful, and very distant from the eye-blasting nonsense of what you would derisively label a "sales pitch."

Kneeling on the floor in front of a large 3D television, Naughty Dog co-founder Evan Wells appears childlike and completely involved as he marches Nathan Drake through the burning chateau, a now-familiar venue for Uncharted 3 gameplay demos. As Drake and stubborn sidekick Sully attempt to escape, the heat of the flames racing them to the top of the building, they're forced across a wooden beam that's fallen between the crumbling remnants of a floor. "This an inner ear thing?! Let's go!" Drake yells from the other side, firing at thugs as Sully slowly -- like, slowly -- walks and wobbles to the end of the beam. This is an interesting, tense scene regardless of your television, and in 3D it's very easy to gauge Sully's distance at a glance. That's not exactly mind blowing, I know, but I'd rather take a sliver of contextual usefulness over an in-your-face cheese slap.