“We’re all at this very early frontier of what is possible here.”
Nine years ago, The Last of Us was first released for the PlayStation 3.
The game tells a sad story, but also a multi-faceted one.
Now, the game is being released once more, remade from the ground up for the PlayStation 5. like note, there will be spoilers for The Last of Us Part 1 in what follows.
[Accessibility is] gonna be a constant push for Naughty Dog."
A lot of the groundwork for this had been laid out thanks to Part 2, however.
But what about those areas of the game that did not share a commonality with Part 2?
Cole’s feedback proved invaluable.
“We don’t want these sequences to just be barrier free - that’s kind of the floor.
We want the sequences to be amazing.”
“They want to play this game on Grounded… they want to get themselves constrained.
There’s a crucial element to all of this, however.
“They want to engage with the gameplay [and] they want to struggle,” says Gallant.
It’s a tool for players to use when it’s needed.
“But they didn’t want a cheat code, so to speak.
They didn’t want to just be able to run around and sprint around through layouts being invisible.
That wasn’t really what they were looking for.
“And it’s nothing but potential out there.
So I’m thrilled to see every other studio that is pushing [for more accessibility in games].
I almost feel it’s a win for everyone.
Every time I see someone else doing something cool.
I’m like, ‘Yes, everyone’s going to benefit from that’.”
“When I take a step back, there are many themes of The Last of Us.
But for me, the main theme or question is, does the end justify the means?
That’s always the question.
So right or wrong?
Would I do it?
I probably would, I would make probably the same decisions.
But it all depends on your particular journey.”
“It is complicated… That kind of tension is very interesting and isn’t easily resolved.
And I think that’s the rich vein that this game draws from.”
But how does the team at Naughty Dog gauge whether their endeavours with accessibility have been a success?
“To some degree, we do have telemetry from a playthrough,” says Gallant.
What we care about a lot more is, who did this open up the experience for?
Who’s excited that they get to play this game that they would have otherwise been excluded from?
What new audience are we building up for?”
“All feedback is valid.
Even if the suggestion isn’t necessarily the solution,” Escayg argues.
“We should always be listening to our fans, and working from that, and from that source.
That’s the goal, period.”
“I think accessibility, when done properly, is completely orthogonal to difficulty…
I want [The Last of Us Part 1] to be accessible to everyone,” Gallant adds.
The base game alone will set you back 70, with other more expensive editions also available.
“It is a full PlayStation 5 game developed with all our latest and greatest engine technology.
“So, from our perspective, this is a PS5 game.
This is a game that was remade and [that] speaks to the price.”
The Last of Us Part 1 releases Friday, 2nd September for the PlayStation 5.
