CJ Melendez of Rely on Horror caught up with Naughty Dog Community Strategist, Arne Meyer at PAX East to ask him a few questions. One of those centered on development for The Last of Us.
When asked about how the development of The Last of Us was different from that of the Uncharted series, Meyer stated that, “We split off the teams so we have a whole separate team working on it. We’re trying to create this new genre, so we’re taking a very different approach to what the teams at Naughty Dog have been used to.
“Some of it started from our technology foundation. We branched off the engine that was used for Uncharted so that we’re able to customize things specific to what we want to do with The Last of Us. A focus on lighting, focus on sound, focus on combat AI…so that’s all custom built on that foundation just for The Last of Us.
“We’re taking this darker, more mature theme to the game anyway. We’re trying a bunch of things that are new for us. It’s a very interesting avenue for us to explore.”
The Last of Us is slated to release on June 14th for the PlayStation 3.