Uncharted 2: “Making a Game That’s Telling a Story”

Today, the Uncharted series stands as one of the most venerated franchises. It played a massive role in establishing Naughty Dog at the pinnacle of the PlayStation family. Uncharted 2: ‘Among Thieves’ was way ahead of its time. It inspired a new generation of action games and even laid the foundation for ‘The Last of Us‘.

Uncharted 2 is considered to be one of the finest sequels to have ever been made. The classy visuals blended in with the storytelling technique amassed the game universal acclaim. As a result of which, the game sold over 8 million copies and won the award for the ‘Best Game of the Year’ and ‘Best Console Game’.

Uncharted 2’s reception placed Naughty Dog next to some prestigious studios like Rockstar Games. In 2020, the game completed 11 years, prompting the devs to look back on the process of development and provide us with a glimpse of their journey.

Uncharted: The perfect sequel?

Bruce Straley worked on the first part of the game in 2007 but was made game director for the sequel. He joined hands with Amy Hennig, Neil Druckmann, and Josh Scherr, who together formed the core team. The team would attend regular seminars and this is where the concept of the second title was born, according to them.

“That’s storytelling 101, but we also realized then and there, that’s game design too. So to tether those story beats to the gameplay in a more meaningful way was the foundation that got this team of four people to really look at Uncharted 2 as a holistic experience”, says Bruce Straley, Game Director.

Uncharted 2 has a unique cinematic experience. The sequences, the locations, and the cinematic flair were achieved after tireless hours of brainstorming and creating a world of myriad colors. However, this process of creating a harnessed flair couldn’t be complete without experienced personnel.

Robh Ruppel was appointed as the lead art director, given his hands-on experience working on Disney animations. Jonathan Stein joined the squad as a game designer having had worked with Monolith Productions.

The next task was to give the set of ideas a visual cohesion. Ruppel and Stein were responsible for the visual score, the combat, the ‘Hollywood’ style set with a unique set of fundamentals.

 A Change in Events

Straley goes on to admit that they had different plans for the harrowing scene of Drake escaping from the train wreck.

“That wasn’t our original opening, actually. It was more of a simple, linear three-act structure, which made it a bit of a slog to get into the story. It was Neil, pretty late in production, who came up with the idea to take the middle section of this train wreck and put that at the beginning.”

The structural change from linear progression to going back and forth was a definite risk. However, it paid off. The train sequence set the tone for future quests. It also gave players a clear idea of what had transpired. A sense of fleeting glimpse, a feeling of going back in time.

However, it was risky, simply because it was unconventional.

“The creative team had come up with what they wanted to do already. Our job was just to devise a train that looked interesting, along with the mountainside that its set on, making sure that it felt both impressive and scary”, says Robh Ruppel.

A legacy

Uncharted 2 set the benchmark for the games that followed. For me personally, ‘Among Thieves’ ranks as the best entry in the franchise. It laid the foundation for subsequent titles. This also led to Naughty Dog introducing ‘The Last of Us’.

Uncharted 2 doesn’t have extraordinary gameplay or mind-bending sequences. Rather, it ties each moment in the game together with the character. It makes Nathan Drake the nucleus around whom everything revolves. He gives more meaning to the visuals, the combat, and the special effects. Hands down, it holds its place among the finest games to have been produced.