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[UrbanRats]

It's one sequel. Jesus...

At least 5.5 years after the first as well. (as in from the ps3 release date, but also in the story )

Not really the point.
Personally i understand the realities of big budgeted games make it impossible to create something like this and not capitalize on it in the decades to come, but i had hoped they would've at least left those specific characters alone.
This discussion happened several times in the past years, so it's pointless to bring it back now, although i did find it very disappointing to see.
However the major issue i have is really endemic of nerd/geek culture in general (because is so present even in movies aimed at that specific demo) and is the constant need for fan service and winking at every turn and opportunity.
And i mean the very nature of something like PSX is coming from that, but nevertheless, it gets exhausting after a while, and it's one of the reasons why i'll probably always have a hard time taking videogames seriously, as a matured art form.
Every other thing has to be a tease, a wink, a "remember me?", blergh.

 

[Jaevlar]

Really need to save up to a PS4...


Any info regarding the soundtrack? Hoping Gustavo Santaolalla gets another go at it.

 

[tommyguns]

Really need to save up to a PS4...


Any info regarding the soundtrack? Hoping Gustavo Santaolalla gets another go at it.

Was confirmed yesterday that he is back for Part 2.

 

[More_Badass]

i'll probably always have a hard time taking videogames seriously, as a matured art form.
Every other thing has to be a tease, a wink, a "remember me?", blergh.

And yet a matured art form like film is obssesed with teases, winks, and "remember me"s...arguably more so than video games

 

[KorrZ]

Lots of people have said that, but they keep Joel out of focus both to have it be a surprise that he's in the game and also to highlight that Ellie is the main playable character this time around.

Joel is not gonna be dead lol. Druckmann ain't that bad of a writer.

Yeah. Thank god for that. It's also why I don't think it's guaranteed that Joel will die in this game. They made the right decision, and the game was far better for it last time by not killing either of the characters. The cheap gut punch of a character death is far less interesting than the open ended ending we got. Hope they follow a similar path.

 

[The Cretan]

The attention to detail is insane.

Notice the blood between the finger and the palm.

There is a reflection on the blood. Also, the blood reflects Joel's figure when he enters.

There is dirt in Ellie's fingernails, but there isn't the same quantity of dirt in every fingernail.

There is a reflection of Ellie's fingers on the guitar.

The whole grass of the forest moves. I didn't make a gif, you can see that in a regural quality video.

Joel moves some leaves on the floor with his feet.

 

[ViewtifulJC]

Lots of people have said that, but they keep Joel out of focus both to have it be a surprise that he's in the game and also to highlight that Ellie is the main playable character this time around.

Joel is not gonna be dead lol. Druckmann ain't that bad of a writer.

remember the last time GAF had some realllllly stupid ass Naughty Dog theories for no reason besides "WHAT A TWIST"

Kojima has fucked with the minds of hardcore gamers too hard

 

[Fancy Clown]

Yeah. Thank god for that. It's also why I don't think it's guaranteed that Joel will die in this game. They made the right decision, and the game was far better for it last time by not killing either of the characters. The cheap gut punch of a character death is far less interesting than the open ended ending we got. Hope they follow a similar path.

Deaths of major characters definitely aren't always cheap gut punches, but you're right it was absolutely the right decision last game to keep them alive because it led to that fantastic ending. If it makes sense for the story to grave Joel to die this time around, I'm fine with it.

 

[Dragon1893]

I hope Ellie's personality isn't all about hate and revenge in this one.
Her sense of humor and compassion were very important traits of her character in the first game and I feel that removing those completely would create the risk of her ending up losing much of her charm and making her too one-dimensional.
I hope it's not too long until we get another peek at the game, hopefully with a more lighthearted scene.
Keep your dark side under control Neil

 

[Fancy Clown]

remember the last time GAF had some realllllly stupid ass Naughty Dog theories for no reason besides "WHAT A TWIST"

Kojima has fucked with the minds of hardcore gamers too hard

For real. Pretty much all the Kojima theories are total bullshit too, because it turns out even he's not as crazy as his fans! People place way too much emphasis on twists and the "unexpected".

 

[UrbanRats]

And yet a matured art form like film is obssesed with teases, winks, and "remember me"s...arguably more so than video games

I wasn't talking about videogames, i was talking about nerd/geek culture, which videogames are a big part of, but that also includes a big subset of movies.

 

[sammyCYBORG]

If this is really early I'd like it to be PS4Pro/PS5 game.

It probably won't be though.

 

[decisions]

Spoiler

But they said in the Panel that it takes place 5 years after the first game. So it definitely can't be "soon after".

That's not what I said; I said soon after

Spoiler

Joel tells the truth

, not soon after the first game.

 

[Fancy Clown]

I wasn't talking about videogames, i was talking about nerd/geek culture, which videogames are a big part of, but that also includes a big subset of movies.

I think a big problem with it is budget and marketing space. Naughty Dog are doing a great job trying to push more substantive storytelling in the AAA space which allows them the graphical capabilities to make this shit look like an actual movie as well, but because they're tied to that budget and those expectations it's just a lot more feasible to build upon existing frameworks (both technological and in terms of player base and marketing) for financial and developmental reasons. Naughty Dog has a certain degree of autonomy within Sony I'm sure, but I don't think coming up with new IP every other game is realistic at this point.

 

[idonteven]

im sure neil is having a blast reading all this

 

[nero2082]

I hope ND go nuts with clickers in part 2. They had some cool clicker designs but didn't use them in game in TLoU

time to go anal in TLOU2, they are Naughty after all, I really want them to explore pun intended

I remember that the only thing I was pissed about in TLOU1 is that it's a PS3 game, walking through destroyed city in swamps I felt like it didn't belong there, it could be so much more, now tech is there, go ballistic

 

[jett]

If we got a clip of what Johnson said at the session we'd see how corporeal this fiddle really is

https://youtu.be/gF1EQAtaZEo?t=977

 

[UrbanRats]

I think a big problem with it is budget and marketing space. Naughty Dog are doing a great job trying to push more substantive storytelling in the AAA space which allows them the graphical capabilities to make this shit look like an actual movie as well, but because they're tied to that budget and those expectations it's just a lot more feasible to build upon existing frameworks (both technological and in terms of player base and marketing) for financial and developmental reasons. Naughty Dog has a certain degree of autonomy within Sony I'm sure, but I don't think coming up with new IP every other game is realistic at this point.

Oh i get that, which in itself is just an unfortunate reality of videogames production, but i still maintain that LoU and ND had enough of a clout to where you could've had a LoU2 set somewhere else within that world, and leave those characters alone to their really good ending.
But before someone comes to tell me that i can't know better and that they had more to tell etc etc, we've had this discussion multiple times in the past, and it feels especially pointless to have now, so people can enjoy their reunion with these characters, personally i'm deeply disappointed, but i understand why i am in the minority on this; however i don't see THAT specific choice as a marketing necessity in the same way a more general sequel in the franchise was.

 

[Heckler456]

Oh i get that, which in itself is just an unfortunate reality of videogames production, but i still maintain that LoU and ND had enough of a clout to where you could've had a LoU2 set somewhere else within that world, and leave those characters alone to their really good ending.

Neil's speech regarding this exact thought should really be enough to assuage the fear of them (and more specifically him) going into this half-cocked.

 

[strafer]

Maybe they'll use Hugh Jackmans face.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

UPDATE (12/4, 10:41am): On Sunday morning, Sony sent over a statement: “Bruce recently decided to take some much deserved time off after shipping two critically acclaimed games in the last few years. He’s looking forward to returning to the studio soon and jumping back in on his next project.”

http://kotaku.com/sources-bruce-straley-not-directing-the-last-of-us-2-1789650767

 

[Loris146]

http://kotaku.com/sources-bruce-straley-not-directing-the-last-of-us-2-1789650767

Great news.

 

[wapplew]

The attention to detail is insane.

Notice the blood between the finger and the palm.

There is a reflection on the blood. Also, the blood reflects Joel's figure when he enters.

There is dirt in Ellie's fingernails, but there isn't the same quantity of dirt in every fingernail.

There is a reflection of Ellie's fingers on the guitar.

The whole grass of the forest moves. I didn't make a gif, you can see that in a regural quality video.

Joel moves some leaves on the floor with his feet.

And the blood flow when Ellie make a fist.

 

[UrbanRats]

Neil's speech regarding this exact thought should really be enough to assuage the fear of them (and more specifically him) going into this half-cocked.

Again, we discussed this at length, but the basic idea is that regardless of how good this turns out, the idea itself cheapens the main thing i liked so much about the first one.
I thought the first game was great, but in terms of story, it would've been just pretty good if it wasn't for the finale, that showed a level of constraint and boldness rarely found in videogames, where everything has to be spelled out and made extra clear for everyone.
Everything you needed to know about the rest of the lives of these characters was implied thanks to the context of the 20+ hours you put in prior.
This undoes that, regardless of whether they end up telling another good story or not.

And i mean, ND games, love them or not, are obviously never outright BAD, there's no risk of that, so it's not really a concern of "let's hope they don't ruin these characters!", and more of a "Oh i love what they did he-- oops, i guess not".

 

[Bitch Pudding]

http://kotaku.com/sources-bruce-straley-not-directing-the-last-of-us-2-1789650767

Good for him. Neil Druckmann is more than suited for the job.

 

[Jamiaro]

This one looks to me that she has released her anger on some poor wretch by punching him repeatedly.

 

[HeelPower]

Wait so was Ellie attacked or was she the attacker ?

how & why could a functional guitar be with her in this situation ? Maybe she found it lying about ?

I am gonna guess that an actually working instrument & steel strings are very hard to find in the world of TLoU at the point.

The very fact that there is a guitar there should tell us something about what really happened in that place.

 

[dragonbane]

Cant wait to switch blade stab a million more dudes in this. Psychopathic Ellie was way too much fun lol

 

[DemoCracy]

I am overwhelming hyped. This show was pretty exciting; I cried when I hear Joel's voice. I wish the Naughty Dog all the best.

 

[Drencrom]

Any one think it might be Joel is dead and Ellie is imagining him there and what he would say.

Rumors appeared that Joel doesn't seem to have aged and you really don't see his face clearly.

That's silly lol.

Shinobi has spoken

remember the last time GAF had some realllllly stupid ass Naughty Dog theories for no reason besides "WHAT A TWIST"

Kojima has fucked with the minds of hardcore gamers too hard

Definitely, the whole #TeamCG thing was an eyeopener that some people want craaazy twists over anything.

 

[Callibretto]

Oh i get that, which in itself is just an unfortunate reality of videogames production, but i still maintain that LoU and ND had enough of a clout to where you could've had a LoU2 set somewhere else within that world, and leave those characters alone to their really good ending.
But before someone comes to tell me that i can't know better and that they had more to tell etc etc, we've had this discussion multiple times in the past, and it feels especially pointless to have now, so people can enjoy their reunion with these characters, personally i'm deeply disappointed, but i understand why i am in the minority on this; however i don't see THAT specific choice as a marketing necessity in the same way a more general sequel in the franchise was.

Do people really want Last of Us franchise to be a series of stand alone story each with different characters and location everytime? this kind of approach have the potential to never end since they can always keep making new ones without limitation. do we really want ND to make Last of Us 6 for PS6 simply because it sells a lot of copy?

at least with keeping the focus on Ellie who continue to grows between games, there's a sense of narrative progression you can see that it might end eventually. just like Uncharted series with Nathan Drake. he got older and eventually reach his happy ending. which is one of my top 10 best series ending ever for me.

 

[Vanadium]

As was said, game is way off release. Story changed multiple times during development of the original and I wouldn't expect anything different here. Trying to outguess the I see Dead People "twist" here is kinda ridiculous.

After Days Gone and The First Last of Us, I'm more interested in what kind of fun you will be doing in the sandbox other than just shooting more zombies and crawling in bombed out tin sheds. Uncharted 4 felt like a mess to me, so hopefully this gets more development time on the gameplay side.

 

[cLOUDo]

Ghost Joel with a gun?
No way

Spoiler

probably he dies at some point

 

[firelogic]

Again, we discussed this at length, but the basic idea is that regardless of how good this turns out, the idea itself cheapens the main thing i liked so much about the first one.
I thought the first game was great, but in terms of story, it would've been just pretty good if it wasn't for the finale, that showed a level of constraint and boldness rarely found in videogames, where everything has to be spelled out and made extra clear for everyone.
Everything you needed to know about the rest of the lives of these characters was implied thanks to the context of the 20+ hours you put in prior.
This undoes that, regardless of whether they end up telling another good story or not.

And i mean, ND games, love them or not, are obviously never outright BAD, there's no risk of that, so it's not really a concern of "let's hope they don't ruin these characters!", and more of a "Oh i love what they did he-- oops, i guess not".

I don't see how anything in the sequel would cheapen the first game. The first game is the first game. Nothing about it changes. I personally loved The Matrix. I think the 2 sequels are terrible. I hold the first movie with the same high regard as I did before I watched Reloaded/Revolutions. If TLoU2 turns out mediocre/bad or even great, it doesn't colour or change the way I felt about the first game. This goes for anything with multiple parts, be it books, movies, tv shows, or games. But that's just me I guess. I'm not trying to push anything on you. If the sequel is good, it can bring more depth to the original. If it's bad, I can compartmentalize and strike it from the record.

 

[FarFromAnyGame]

The Last of Us 2 is a 2018 release.

Here's why:

Naughty Dog tend to make their characters age in real time as in Uncharted 3's story takes place 4 years after Uncharted 1 and it came out 4 years after.

So if Ellie is now 19, that means 5 years has passed since TLOU. You do the math.

And let's not forget. Naughty Dog used to release a game every 2 years before UC4.
I think UC4 took them that long because what happened with Amy Hennig and they had to upgrade their engine to work from the PS3's cell processor to PS4.

I am confident this game will have a smooth release. They just don't want to announce it because Sony stopped announcing release dates too soon. God of War, Days Gone, and Detroit all have no public release dates.

 

[Gamezone]

The Last of Us 2 is a 2018 release.

Here's why:

Naughty Dog tend to make their characters age in real time as in Uncharted 3's story takes place 4 years after Uncharted 1 and it came out 4 years after.

So if Ellie is now 19, that means 5 years has passed since TLOU. You do the math.

And let's not forget. Naughty Dog used to release a game every 2 years before UC4.
I think UC4 took them that long because what happened with Amy Hennig and they had to upgrade their engine to work from the PS3's cell processor to PS4.

I am confident this game will have a smooth release. They just don't want to announce it because Sony stopped announcing release dates too soon. God of War, Days Gone, and Detroit all have no public release dates.

They said early development, so 2018-2019 wouldn`t surprise me at all.

 

[The Strokes]

I hope Ellie's personality isn't all about hate and revenge in this one.
Her sense of humor and compassion were very important traits of her character in the first game and I feel that removing those completely would create the risk of her ending up losing much of her charm and making her too one-dimensional.
I hope it's not too long until we get another peek at the game, hopefully with a more lighthearted scene.
Keep your dark side under control Neil

I meeeaan, characters evolve, she's probably seen some shit and it's far more believable to have a much darker Ellie rather than her continuing to be snappy.

Edit: Ellie's gonna Kill Joel after she finds out he lied to her and some other shit goes down in Part II, calling it.

 

[UrbanRats]

Do people really want Last of Us franchise to be a series of stand alone story each with different characters and location everytime? this kind of approach have the potential to never end since they can always keep making new ones without limitation. do we really want ND to make Last of Us 6 for PS6 simply because it sells a lot of copy?

"Different characters and location every time" is the norm of storytelling, as far as i know.
When Jonathan Glazer will announce his new movie, people won't ask themselves why they aren't continuing with Under The Skin's characters.

And i don't understand your point at all, who is going to force them to do LoU6 on Ps6, just because they have new characters? You think that can't happen with established ones? Ask The Simpsons.

I don't see how anything in the sequel would cheapen the first game. The first game is the first game. Nothing about it changes. I personally loved The Matrix. I think the 2 sequels are terrible. I hold the first movie with the same high regard as I did before I watched Reloaded/Revolutions. If TLoU2 turns out mediocre/bad or even great, it doesn't colour or change the way I felt about the first game. This goes for anything with multiple parts, be it books, movies, tv shows, or games. But that's just me I guess. I'm not trying to push anything on you. If the sequel is good, it can bring more depth to the original. If it's bad, I can compartmentalize and strike it from the record.

An open finale gets changed by getting closed (by a sequel) so yes, it does change what that meant for the first game.
For some people it may not be a problem (some even thought the finale was bad because abrupt) for me it.
And the open finale was, in my opinion, the strongest asset of that game's story telling portion.

 

[FarFromAnyGame]

I meeeaan, characters evolve, she's probably seen some shit and it's far more believable to have a much darker Ellie rather than her continuing to be snappy.

No more joke book Ellie?

 

[Prompto]

No more joke book Ellie?

Joke book Ellie was gone by the ending of the first game

 

[Memento]

Can we talk about how amazingly directed this trailer was?

It is just so perfect.

 

[gundamkyoukai]

I think a big problem with it is budget and marketing space. Naughty Dog are doing a great job trying to push more substantive storytelling in the AAA space which allows them the graphical capabilities to make this shit look like an actual movie as well, but because they're tied to that budget and those expectations it's just a lot more feasible to build upon existing frameworks (both technological and in terms of player base and marketing) for financial and developmental reasons. Naughty Dog has a certain degree of autonomy within Sony I'm sure, but I don't think coming up with new IP every other game is realistic at this point.

That is not realistic for most things .
Who make a IP for it to be just 1 game ( the same can't be said for whole bunch of other stuff )
They can always branch out after wards if they want .

 

[strafer]

No more joke book Ellie?

That stuff was amazing in Left Behind.

 

[Fancy Clown]

Oh i get that, which in itself is just an unfortunate reality of videogames production, but i still maintain that LoU and ND had enough of a clout to where you could've had a LoU2 set somewhere else within that world, and leave those characters alone to their really good ending.
But before someone comes to tell me that i can't know better and that they had more to tell etc etc, we've had this discussion multiple times in the past, and it feels especially pointless to have now, so people can enjoy their reunion with these characters, personally i'm deeply disappointed, but i understand why i am in the minority on this; however i don't see THAT specific choice as a marketing necessity in the same way a more general sequel in the franchise was.

Yeah that's totally fair. I didn't want a sequel to LoU either, and certainly not with Joel and Ellie again. I think Druckmann has his work cut out for him to keep driving the story of these characters in a way that further complicates their relationship coming off of that ending, rather than stifling what made it so good. What are the odds part 2 will have as good of ending? I'm looking forward to finding out regardless, but I'm certainly skeptical.

Can we talk about how amazingly directed this trailer was?

It is just so perfect.

It really was. ND are getting better and better at cinematic framing for their cutscenes, and this is no different. That shot of Joel out of focus coming through the doorway with the bloody hand in the foreground...those shots revealing Ellie in fractured pieces highlighting the physical tole on her as she plays the guitar. S'good stuff.

 

[Callibretto]

"Different characters and location every time" is the norm of storytelling, as far as i know.
When Jonathan Glazer will announce his new movie, people won't ask themselves why they aren't continuing with Under The Skin's characters.

And i don't understand your point at all, who is going to force them to do LoU6 on Ps6, just because they have new characters? You think that can't happen with established ones? Ask The Simpsons.

because that's what I've read what many people want. they want Last of Us sequel starring new character and setting. while imo, LoU is great because of the characters Joel and Ellie, if they're not coming back at all, I'd rather have totally new IP and no sequel at all for Last of Us.

 

[Dragon1893]

I meeeaan, characters evolve, she's probably seen some shit and it's far more believable to have a much darker Ellie rather than her continuing to be snappy.

Edit: Ellie's gonna Kill Joel after she finds out he lied to her and some other shit goes down in Part II, calling it.

She knows he lied. Are we seriously still discussing this?

 

[Ambient80]

This is from her having gone on a killing spree just a few seconds ago.

I'm also wondering if she didn't kill anyone there, but was forced to witness them being killed. Maybe the Fireflies came in and killed everyone but Joel and Ellie, and Joel was outside because he was running them off/negotiating/killing them. Then Ellie was still in the house and picked up the guitar to chill herself out. She maybe even told Joel what her plan was beforehand, leading to Joel asking if she was "really gonna do this?"

 

[UrbanRats]

because that's what I've read what many people want. they want Last of Us sequel starring new character and setting. while imo, LoU is great because of the characters Joel and Ellie, if they're not coming back at all, I'd rather have totally new IP and no sequel at all for Last of Us.

Understandable, but you don't think they could create new interesting characters in that universe? Ellie and Joel didn't exist prior to LoU after all.
I also wouldn't mind a new IP, but i understand Sony may want a bigger return on that investment, and at that level of production, every idea has to become a franchise.
Within that reality though, i think the next best thing is to at least visit somewhere else, with someone else.

 

[Kenzodielocke]

Wait, is this game already in development for 2 1/2 years?

 

[Uno Venova]

Understandable, but you don't think they could create new interesting characters in that universe? Ellie and Joel didn't exist prior to LoU after all.
I also wouldn't mind a new IP, but i understand Sony may want a bigger return on that investment, and at that level of production, every idea has to become a franchise.
Within that reality though, i think the next best thing is to at least visit somewhere else, with someone else.

They could have, but there would have been too much disappointment surrounding the reveal if they weren't in it, look at the excitement once the characters are revealed, people have been dying for this.