Thread: Last of Us director Neil Druckmann says he doesn't think he has many more big games left in him

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Uncharted 4 and Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann has said he's started thinking seriously about when he might stop making blockbuster games.

Druckmann has said he's started thinking seriously about when he might stop making blockbuster games.

In an interview with rapper Logic, Naughty Dog's president said he could envision himself transitioning to something more low-key, which enables him to continue being creative in a less stressful environment while also spending more time with his kids.

Asked if he sees himself making games forever, Druckmann said that recently he's "really enjoyed" working on other creative projects like HBO's Last of Us TV show and a Halloween Horror Nights experience at Universal Studios.

"I guess that I don't see myself doing this forever at this scale," he said. "It's just a lot, and it takes a lot out of you. It's very stressful to manage that many people and multiple studios worldwide.

"So, you were talking about how you're entering this new phase in your life, where your kids are number one, and I'm in a similar place where my kids are number one. And I know that, especially, my daughter's now 13, and I feel like life is pulling her away from me. I know that time is limited, so it's very precious to me, and I don't want to waste it when they do want to spend time with me, and that's number one.

"Yeah so, I'm just at a point in my life where it's like, you start looking at, 'what's the end game here? When is it time to call it?'

Druckmann said he's a big Quentin Tarantino fan, and he's keen to find out if the director sticks to his public comments about making no more than 10 films. He thinks the Pulp Fiction director will, but that he'll end up making TV shows or doing something else creative.

"So, I could see myself transitioning to something that's like more low-key, and lower stressed, that still allows me to have this creative outlet," Druckmann said. "But you know, I've started thinking about how many more of these games do I have in me, and it's not that many."

Druckmann went on to say that everything changed following the release of 2009's Uncharted 2, and that he's been a victim of his own success.

"Uncharted 2 was the most fun I had making any of the games I've worked on because Uncharted 1, a lot of people loved it, but it wasn't this huge success. It was successful enough again that we made Sony happy, we made enough money. But with Uncharted 2 we felt like we had something really special, like we all knew it, and we knew we were flying in under the radar, and no one was going to expect what we were about to deliver.

"And I remember we'd spend late nights playing the multiplayer as well, and there was just this camaraderie and the stress wasn't there, and afterwards everything has been incredibly stressful, after Uncharted 2, because now you're no longer flying under the radar, now everybody is expecting something to be great.

"And you have to think, 'how do we make it great and how do we do it in a way that doesn't feel like we're just repeating ourselves?' So you always have to make it great and new, which is really, really hard."

 
I think that in general, Sony will move away from hugely expensive narrative driven games. He's sensing that.

Reasons: he exploding costs, extremely long development times, lay offs and seeing the great success of Helldivers 2 = the management realizing it's possible to make good money with other approaches.
 
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Please go Neil....hopefully the TV Series LOU2 will highlight what a flog he is and he can sail off into the sunset and let someone who knows how to write/structure and pace a good story
 
Good. While I enjoyed the games he took credit for, I'd much rather have someone who isn't so high on themselves at the helm of their games.
 
Hostile on suicide watch

Reading this thread you'd think he was the worst director ever. Let's see;

Last of Us - Amazing
Uncharted 4 - Amazing
Lost Legacy - Amazing
Last of Us Part 2 - Mixed

Honestly typical d pad over reaction 😉
 
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Reading this thread you'd think he was the worst director ever. Let's see;

Last of Us - Amazing
Uncharted 4 - Amazing
Lost Legacy - Amazing
Last of Us Part 2 - Mixed

Honestly typical d pad over reaction 😉

He's definitely overhated, but he does give off that Cliff Blezinski vibe so he's easy to shit on.
 
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Reading this thread you'd think he was the worst director ever. Let's see;

Last of Us - Amazing
Uncharted 4 - Amazing
Lost Legacy - Amazing
Last of Us Part 2 - Mixed

Honestly typical d pad over reaction 😉

Afaik other people had more influence than him (Amy Henning or something?), but Druckmann is a narcissistic fuck who wants to take old the credit.
 
I don't think this is the headline that some may think it is. Dude is 45, and it takes arguably 5-7 years to complete projects of the scope he's been working on. When he started, they could make a huge narrative-driven single-player game in 2-3 years. It's taking them nearly twice as long now. At the present rate, he might have two more big games left and then he'll be 60. I've noticed a lot of my all-time favorite industry people have slowed their pace way down in their 60s.

Age is apparently a thing. He's probably feeling it already.
 
Afaik other people had more influence than him (Amy Henning or something?), but Druckmann is a narcissistic fuck who wants to take old the credit.

Amy left half way though Uncharted 4 and wasn't involved in the Last of us at all.