Naughty Dog: Violence fits the narrative of The Last of Us

[Blacksite]

Community strategist Arne Meyer explains that action game’s desolate post-apocalyptic setting justifies violence, though there will be scenes where players can avoid lethal encounters.

Gamers may recall the E3 2012 demo for The Last of Us (below), in which series protagonist Joel ends a blood-soaked scene by blasting a foe’s head off in close range with a shotgun. This scene, and the game’s other violent encounters, are appropriate because they fit the game’s narrative, according to Naughty Dog community strategist Arne Meyer.

“It’s really important to understand that this is twenty years after a pandemic has destroyed civilization. Outside of [government-controlled quarantine areas] it’s pretty much every man for himself. And that’s what we want to explore in the narrative and the gameplay for The Last of Us. What will humans be like when they are pushed to the limit?” Meyer explained to GameSpot.

“Are they going to take a route of cooperation and rebuild society? Or is it really going to be every man for themselves and they have no morality left; no ethics left to what they do? So that’s the part that violence plays into it. There’s going to be some people who are really out for themselves that will stop at nothing. They've lost every sense of what it means to be human and compassionate; they've lost all of that. And when you look at the violence, that’s the context. There are going to be people who are pushed to that limit.”

Though The Last of Us will be stuffed with scenes of violence, certain scenarios in the game allow users to bypass these bloody encounters altogether.

"There is liberty in the narrative so that you don’t have to kill someone or encounter someone. We do have the opportunity for you to go around, and not even do any combat. There are going to be areas where you can completely avoid combat if you want."

The Last of Us is Naughty Dog's first non-Uncharted game since 2005. It is due out in 2013 exclusively on PlayStation 3. For more on the game, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

via GameSpot.

I admit, the way Joel closed that scene by shooting the frightened Survivor in the face with the shotgun was a bit unsettling. Makes you wonder what else we'll be seeing in The Last of Us. Video games are becoming more realistic in their visuals and the way characters respond to situations.

[DarkVincent07]

I agree that scene was unsettling, but from the whole scenario I could feel for him and understand his anger and fear, so it comes across as a tough decision for the character to make.

Awesome game and I can't wait to see what else ND have up their sleeves in terms of this violence and emotion

[Bio]

Anyone who thinks this game's violence does not fit the context of the world story is a little naive about human nature, I would say. There is no doubt that a real post-apocalyptic situation like this would be full of people who would revert to that kind of brutish behavior because of the sheer desperation and survival involved in everything surrounding them.

Honestly that's why I get a little awestruck sometimes when I think too much about The Last of Us. Those guys, in all of their primal aggression, could be any of us. The last thing Naughty Dog needs to worry about is justifying their level of violence. It completely makes sense and gives more authenticity to the game and narrative. It ought to feel unsettling at times because that is the state of humanity in the world they live in.

[Ghost-Rhayne]

Must be an intense few seconds when you're looking down the barrel of a shotgun after a violent confrontation. One second he had the upper hand, next he was down and all he saw was a guy with a barrel in his face...Those futile pleas as he realised he was fucked meant nothing..I wonder if you'd feel the seconds running away, and you wouldn't have the time or the words to try and reason, a mixture of fear and running time......boom! Yeah it was quite a conclusion to the demo.

[Blacksite]

Anyone who thinks this game's violence does not fit the context of the world story is a little naive about human nature, I would say. There is no doubt that a real post-apocalyptic situation like this would be full of people who would revert to that kind of brutish behavior because of the sheer desperation and survival involved in everything surrounding them.

Honestly that's why I get a little awestruck sometimes when I think too much about The Last of Us. Those guys, in all of their primal aggression, could be any of us. The last thing Naughty Dog needs to worry about is justifying their level of violence. It completely makes sense and gives more authenticity to the game and narrative. It ought to feel unsettling at times because that is the state of humanity in the world they live in.

No, I understand the situation. It's every man for himself. What I meant by unsettling had more to do with how realistically the Survivor was conveying his emotions and, like Ghost-Rhayne pointed out, how quickly the tables had turned to favor Joel and Ellie.

[Dave-The-Rave]

There's a kid involved so all gloves are off.

[imINxile]

There's a kid involved so all gloves are off.

Lol pretty much...protective instincts.

After reading the article, I hope there will be some form of stealth aspect to avoid combat as opposed to just using dialogue options. Don't know much of this game because I'm hyped for it and I'm trying not to spoil it for me.

[Blacksite]

Lol pretty much...protective instincts.

After reading the article, I hope there will be some form of stealth aspect to avoid combat as opposed to just using dialogue options. Don't know much of this game because I'm hyped for it and I'm trying not to spoil it for me.

Joel can move behind enemies and subdue them with a chokehold. Or did you mean something else? I'm sure it'll be much harder to avoid the Infected.

[imINxile]

Joel can move behind enemies and subdue them with a chokehold. Or did you mean something else? I'm sure it'll be much harder to avoid the Infected.

That's exactly what I meant..a little bit of Snake style. Good to hear.

Having a variety of ways to approach combat other than shooting is always a plus.

[admartian]

I'm just glad it's not another zombie game.

[Blacksite]

That's exactly what I meant..a little bit of Snake style. Good to hear.

Having a variety of ways to approach combat other than shooting is always a plus.

Definitely. One of the reasons I like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Hitman: Blood Money is for that very reason. That said, I think Naughty Dog has something special with The Last of Us.

[imINxile]

^ yeah ND most certainly has yet another huge hit they're about to drop on us!

What I don't understand is what Bio touched on..why are they even trying to justify the level of violence? Most games we all play these days have it..promoting to parents of younger kids? I dunno..

[TDbank24]

Must be an intense few seconds when you're looking down the barrel of a shotgun after a violent confrontation. One second he had the upper hand, next he was down and all he saw was a guy with a barrel in his face...Those futile pleas as he realised he was fucked meant nothing..I wonder if you'd feel the seconds running away, and you wouldn't have the time or the words to try and reason, a mixture of fear and running time......boom! Yeah it was quite a conclusion to the demo.

That had to be the craziest ending to an E3 demo ever.

The Last of Us is going to be one epic ride.