We took a look at the Infected in our first video in The Last of Us Development series. We then explored the game world and nature’s reclamation of civilization as we know it in our second video, Wasteland Beautiful. Our third video, Death and Choices, investigates what it means to be a survivor in the world of The Last of Us and how Joel and Ellie cope with the harsh realities of post-pandemic society. Watch it now:
Survival is moment to moment in the world of The Last of Us. There are stark consequences to every decision that’s made and if Joel and Ellie want to survive they’ll need to scavenge the environment for every possible advantage. Learning to craft more potent weapons from makeshift materials or take defensive precautions using found objects will be critical to their continued survival.
Up next, our penultimate video in the series will spotlight the combat mechanics and the intimate nature of conflict in The Last of Us. The in-depth documentary we have been creating grew so large that we are currently seeking a unique way to distribute it. We’ll have details about how you can get the feature-length documentary of the making of The Last of Us in the coming months. The Last of Us will be available 14th June 2013.
When pre-production started in earnest on The Last of Us there was a folder of music files featuring work by some of the preeminent musicians in video games, television, and film. These tracks held a sampling of the ideal musical quality, direction, and tone we wanted to have for the project. The Academy Award winning work of Gustavo Santaolalla appeared multiple times. Being that he had never composed for video games before the thought of getting him to work on The Last of Us seemed a bit farfetched. He was approached by our music group at Sony and, well, this video will tell you the full story about the man himself and how he came to work on The Last of Us:
We are honored to have Gustavo’s music and talents in our game. The texture of Gustavo’s musical score serves the game’s narrative and the music is rife with poignant, descriptive and intimate sounds. His work is unlike anything heard in a video game before. It’s a beautiful, haunting, sonic landscape that makes the game’s themes more emotionally resonant and emphasizes thoughtfully how Joel, Ellie, and all the characters in the game perceive the world around them. It’s a masterful musical score.
Want a sampling of the sonic delight Gustavo crafted for The Last of Us? Visit the Sony Music Soundtracks SoundCloud set. If you pre-order the game, via the Sights & Sounds DLC pack, you’ll get full access to the official digital soundtrack. The soundtrack is also available for purchase as a CD via the Sony Masterworks label. The Last of Us arrives June 14th, 2013.
I’m low on ammo, so I clumsily swing my two-by-four at the incoming Clicker — dumb move. The creature sinks its fetid teeth into my jugular, chirping with malevolent glee as it rips out a gobbet of flesh. Arterial blood spurts across my face, now contorted in shock and agony.
I’m dead. This time, I try a different approach. I combine one of my remaining rags and a precious bottle of alcohol to create a Molotov cocktail, then hurl it towards the abomination. Flames envelop the lumbering shape as it wails and collapses, dead at last. I’m alive – for a little while longer.
The Last of Us isn’t afraid to kill you, over and over if need be. And that’s a big part of its considerable charm. As you struggle to survive the game’s inhospitable world, limping from one nail-biting combat scenario to the next, you’ll feel strangely alive and alert. In an era of game development that — at least to this old-timer — tends to babysit players with tutorials and handholding to dial down any chance of frustration, this game’s unapologetically tough-as-nails approach feels both refreshing and quietly revolutionary. Remember when games used to kill you? Naughty Dog does.
Later, I’m ambushed in a bombed-out store by a mob of coldhearted killers — human in name only, and no less dangerous than the infected that prowl the streets. I assess my arsenal: just three shotgun shells and a handful of 9mm rounds. Using the dim lighting to my advantage, I duck behind a counter and drop a nearby gunman with a blast of buckshot as Ellie runs for safety. With the shooter out of the way, I lunge for a pair of nearby attackers and subdue them with a series of wild haymakers. Grabbing a nearby two-by-four, I rush the survivors and bludgeon them into submission. I rendezvous with a nervous Ellie and we move on — though to what, only Naughty Dog knows.
That’s The Last of Us. You do what you need to do and you keep moving. It’s out June 14th, and I think you’re gonna like it.
I’m ready for The Last of Us. This morally grey gem from the brilliant minds at Naughty Dog combines exploration, scavenging, and brutal hide-and-seek combat against hordes of deadly Infected that prowl the remains of a ravaged United States. June 14th can’t come soon enough!
Not long ago, we asked The Last of Us Creative Director Neil Druckmann and Game Director Bruce Straley to give us an intimate tour of the game’s sights and sounds. Among many other topics, our new interview details the disturbing origins of the game’s Infected, an idea which sprouted from nature documentaries. Our discussion also plunges deeper into the turbulent but vital relationship between Joel and Ellie, as unlikely a pair of game protagonists as you’re likely to find.
Please watch, and then leave your thoughts in the comments below!
Our Firefly Pendant contests have ended! The entries for all contests were incredible. Even having seen amazing past work from our fans these entries exceeded our lofty expectations. Here’s a list of our winners for the Fan Art and Video Creation contests. Just click their names to witness some truly remarkable work.
David Michael Vigil
Ben Glueck
Philip Liu
Joseph Lenz
Michael Kiper
Melinda Davidson
Shiyao Jiang
Hui Wang
Alex Raymond Vincent
Peter Mrozik
Kazden Risk
Joe Warren
Colby Reed
Robert Righetti
Lucas Rios
Josh Scheffler
A pencil holder! A birdhouse! An entire environment in a game engine! There’s so much talent and incredible work here, right? We want to thank everyone who took time to enter and congratulate all winners. If you’re wondering about the third contest, the eight winners of our Cosplay contest can be found over on IGN. Watch the video and pick out your favorite Joel, Ellie, Hunter or Infected.
To find all the newly appointed Fireflies and their respective pendants in the game it’ll take some serious scavenging. If you’re looking for a way to help you to find these pendants or just some helpful tips and tricks for your journey you’ll want to purchase one of the official The Last of Us strategy guides. You’ll be able to choose between the Signature Series guide and the sleek Limited Edition guide. If you didn’t happen to win or couldn’t enter one of our Firefly pendant contests every purchase of the Limited Edition guide comes with an exclusive Fireflies key chain pendant of your very own.
Both guides can now be pre-ordered at the Brady Games website. The Signature Series guide is available in the USA, Canada, UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and Australia while the Limited Edition guide is offered for sale in the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia. The guides will be coming out when The Last of Us launches June 14th, 2013. Congratulations once again to all our new Fireflies!
In our first video in The Last of Us Development series we took a look at the Infected. We explored their unpredictable nature, what the Cordyceps fungus has done to these humans, and how we as developers worked some plausible science about infection into the game. Area 5 returned to the studio to discover how we created the game world. The second video in the series looks at what went into the concept and design of the world and its environments in The Last of Us. Check it out:
The key word for the development of every aspect in The Last of Us is contrast. There’s a counterpoint to nearly every detail in the game and we strive to show as much beauty as the ugly, brutal realities of the world allow. We think you’ll find our wasteland beautiful once you get into the game world in just a couple months.
Our next video in the series will explore the crafting and scavenging gameplay mechanics. An in-depth documentary on the game disc will contain an expanded look at all the content in these videos. The Last of Us will be available June 14th, 2013.
We’re proud to share the news that the first issue of The Last of Us: American Dreams – a comic book series published by Dark Horse Comics and jointly written by Naughty Dog Creative Director Neil Druckmann and the talented Faith Erin Hicks – is in stores now. The series art is also by Faith, with colors by Rachelle Rosenberg, lettering by Clem Robins, and the stunning covers by Julián Totino Tedesco.
Trust us when we say that American Dreams doesn’t spoil any of the story found in The Last of Us game, and instead gives you a great introduction to Ellie and her life as told through events inside the quarantine zone taking place prior to the game. I have to say, even though I’ve been able to watch the American Dreams series take shape over the past several months as we worked on it with Dark Horse Comics, it was still no less awesome to finally see it in front of me and read Issue #1 as an actual, real comic book.
Brendan Wright, Editor of The Last of Us: American Dreams, has a great blog post over on the Dark Horse website that introduces the series far better and with more eloquence than I ever can.
The digital version of The Last of Us: American Dreams Issue #1 will launch next Wednesday, April 10, on Dark Horse Digital – which is available on your iPhone, iPad, and Android devices, or on the web. You can get links to the apps or access Dark Horse Digital here.
While the physical comic book is only available in North America for the time being, the good news is that the English-only digital version will be available worldwide. Keep an eye on @PlayStation on Twitter as we will be giving away 50 codes for the digital edition.
Also on Twitter, be sure to join Neil and Faith for a Dark Horse Twitter chat on @DarkHorsecomics on the same day the digital version of American Dreams Issue #1 drops – Wednesday, April 10 at 11:30 AM PDT. [What time is this in my city?]
We’re planning a one-hour Twitter chat, so keep an eye on @DarkHorsecomics on Twitter and the #TheLastofUsAD hashtag. Dark Horse has let us know they’re looking to do some giveaways during the Twitter chat, so this is one you won’t want to miss.
We’re thrilled to see that the comic series has started already – hopefully making the wait until The Last of Us releases worldwide on June 14, 2013, just a little bit easier.
If you’ve already picked up the comic – tell us what you think in the comments!
See the first six pages of American Dreams Issue #1 at Dark Horse’s website. If you decide to pick it up – and I suggest you do! – you can find your local comic book store here.
We kicked off the television campaign for The Last of Us on Sunday, with our first official TV spot on the season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead. We’d like to share with you the red band story trailer that TV spot called out. Take a look at some new gameplay from The Last of Us:
This gameplay represents a slice of the journey Joel and Ellie will be taking across the United States. They’ll travel westward, traversing different climates, environments, and seasons. The moral dilemmas and decisions they’re forced to make will test the limits of their conscience and humanity. Who is a friend and who is a foe? The Last of Us explores many questions that deal with themes of loyalty, love, and redemption. We’re excited to hear what you have to say about the game and its narrative.
The Last of Us will be available June 14th, 2013.
We are now just three months away from the release of Naughty Dog’s newest franchise, The Last of Us. The team is working extremely hard on putting the finishing touches to the game. It’s exciting to see all the different aspects of the game finally come together into the vision we’ve had in mind all along. Joel and Ellie’s journey is turning out to be something truly special that we can’t wait to share with our fans.
With the June 14th release of the game rapidly approaching, we’re excited to announce that the first official television spot for The Last of Us will air on the season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead this Sunday, March 31st at 9:00pm Pacific Time and Eastern Time.
We’re eager to reveal more of Joel and Ellie’s story to you. Tune in to discover where you can find even more new content from The Last of Us.
A few weeks ago we revealed the Infected and let select media get some hands-on time against these unpredictable, fungus-infested humans. The responses were tension-filled and fantastic. We’re excited to share more information with you about The Last of Us and the Infected.
Starting with this video we’re kicking off a series that will pull back the curtain on our design, our technology, and our ideas that shape The Last of Us. We want to give you a straightforward look at our development process and the work we do here at Naughty Dog. We invited Area 5 to visit the studio and capture the development process. Along the way we’ll be unpacking the many different aspects of the game and its development with a documentarian’s approach.
This first video is just a taste of what’s upcoming. Extended cuts of these videos will be available via the game disc. We’ll have more behind-the-scenes access and content as we march toward June 14th and the launch of The Last of Us.
The Last of Us is an ambitious project. In many ways it may be Naughty Dog’s most ambitious project to date – brand new universe and cast of characters, brand new tech, brand new genre, not to mention it’s easily the longest campaign Naughty Dog has ever made.
As we entered the final phase of development for The Last of Us, we came to realize just how massive Joel and Ellie’s journey is. But instead of cutting corners or compromising our vision, we came to the tough decision that the game deserved a few extra weeks to ensure every detail of The Last of Us was up to Naughty Dog’s internal high standards.
As a team we pride ourselves on setting a very high quality bar for every aspect of our games – gameplay, story, art, design, technology and more. We want to make sure The Last of Us raises that bar even further – for ourselves, and most importantly, for you, our fans.
The extra wait will be very short and your patience will be rewarded. Update your calendars. You won’t even have to change seasons. The Last of Us will be available June 14th, 2013. Until then, know that we will be working extremely hard to deliver an experience that matches your high expectations.