Uncharted 4: A Thief's End marks a high point for the series in terms of emotionally resonant storytelling, capping off a rollicking, action-packed adventure with a surprisingly poignant epilogue showing Nathan Drake's comparatively mundane life as a father 15 years after the events of the main story. I've played that game so many times I've lost count, and the ending never fails to wet my eyes just a little. That's why I was shocked to hear creative director Neil Druckmann put together the rough outline within weeks, according to a developer who was working with him at the time.
Ryan Trowbridge, who was character technical director on Uncharted 2 through 4, tells Kiwi Talkz that Druckmann ran an "efficient" ship at Naughty Dog when he took over as creative director from Amy Hennig, who left the studio abruptly in early 2014 during Uncharted 4's development.
"He was put forth with probably what felt like a very arduous task of 'how do you take this IP and make number four of Uncharted, and breathe more life into it, and keep going, and also take over a project that's already been in production for a while'," says Trowbridge. "And he so quickly took what was there. In my recollection, it seemed like it took him only a couple weeks to regather himself."
Trowbridge says it's possible Druckmann knew about his new role for longer than was apparent, which would've given him more time to prepare a new story for Uncharted 4, "but he went and he had written a new" plot for the game. Druckmann had "adjusted to the story, took advantage of a bunch of things that he had already done, added some other things that he felt were needed, and very quickly got us on track."
Druckmann and game director Bruce Straley definitely had big shoes to fill in the wake of Hennig's departure, which itself sparked major controversy when IGN reported that Druckmann and Straley forcibly removed Hennig from the project. Naughty Dog immediately denied that claim and it was officially retracted by IGN years later, but Druckmann's role as successor to Hennig on Uncharted 4 remains one of the most controversial topics in the Naughty Dog pantheon to this day. The fact that the game itself is nothing short of a gameplay and narrative triumph is a testament to Druckmann and Straley's perseverance in the face of intense scrutiny.
