The co-director of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End has described the upcoming PlayStation 4-exclusive sequel as the ‘end of an era’ for the California-based developer.
Speaking with Official PlayStation Magazine (via gamereactorEU), Neil Druckmann admitted there were more than a few tears among the crew and cast when it came to wrapping up motion-capture work for the likes of Sully and Elena’s characters. Clearly, the Uncharted franchise was an emotional investment for more than just its creators, and it’s not surprising; the cast has remained identical for almost a decade, despite new characters being introduced outside of the core trio of Nate, Elena and Sully.
"We get more and more that feeling of this definitely [being] the end of an era for us as a studio," commented Druckmann. "We’ve been with this franchise for almost ten years now from inception all the way to this point. Luckily, we don’t get too much time to dwell on that feeling because we’re so busy, but every once in a while… you know?
"I remember when Bruce and I came onto the project. A few weeks later we pitched a pretty new story to the team, kind of like a new direction for the project. A lot of things were pretty rough and just slotted in, so there was an ending but it wasn’t as well defined, and at some point we defined more of the [plot] thread and a more definitive ending, and we did a second pitch for the team."
"You could tell people in the room were just getting emotional as we were discussing the specifics of how this series is going to end. That was one of those moments where you felt the excitement and anticipation for our fans to experience this, but a little bit of sadness because it’s ending. The other day we finished motion capture with Emily Rose (Elena) and Richard McGonagle (Sully), and some people got teary-eyed in the room because they’ve been part of this project for many, many years now and it’s wrapping up."
Druckmann’s comments come just days after he confirmed that Nolan North, the voice actor behind Nathan Drake, had finished his mo-cap work for the action-adventure sequel. Originally, Uncharted 4 was due to ship before Christmas, though the team wanted the extra development time to ensure they nailed the ending (among other things) just right. As such, it was pushed back to March 18, 2016, avoiding the competitive Christmas holiday season. The question among fans now turns to whether or not Uncharted will continue after Drake’s story is concluded—something which Naughty Dog has admitted would be difficult to imagine.