The Last Of Us Violence Is About Realism And "Setting A Tone"
The Last Of UsMuch has been made of the brutal violence on display in The Last Of Us trailers.
Some have called it unnecessary and gratuitous, but developer Naughty Dog has defended the implementation of such imagery time and time again. Most recently, creative director Neil Druckmann told ShackNews that in truth, it's all about "setting a tone."
"The violence you see inside this world isn't gratuitous and over-the-top just for the sake of being violent. It's setting a tone. It's setting a reality that Joel and Ellie are having to deal with. Everything has to feel tense. Everything has to feel grounded in reality. The reason why we're going for such realistic violence is because we want you to believe that the stakes are high for Ellie and Joel."
The character of Ellie will also serve to soften Joel a bit; she might stop him from performing an especially brutal action, but she's already accustomed to a level of shocking violence that is much higher than normal. After all, we're looking at a kill-or-be-killed post-apocalyptic setting where violence is just inevitable. Still, this explanation may not be enough to persuade every naysayer... Those who hate violence of any kind will remain irked.
Related Game(s): The Last Of Us
Tags: the last of us, naughty dog, the last of us violence
1/3/2013 10:28:03 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (16 posts)
WorldEndsWithMe
Thursday, January 03, 2013 @ 11:37:07 PM
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0 up, 1 down
sawao_yamanaka
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 5:52:32 PM
0 up, 0 down
touchyourtoes
Thursday, January 03, 2013 @ 11:41:35 PM
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If you don't like what you see, don't play it. If you play it don't complain about it. The rest of us don't need a vocal minority trying to ruin something that is going to entertain us for a few hours.
6 up, 1 down
Gamer46
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 12:22:14 AM
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3 up, 0 down
Solid Fantasy
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 2:33:10 AM
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3 up, 1 down
___________
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 3:08:54 AM
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how does gun butting a guy to the ground, than loading a shotgun shell into his mouth set a tone better than just gun butting him?
how does the former make the player believe the stakes are high for your characters better than the latter?
it doesent!
creating a high sense of tension through urgency and pannic, you being caught off guard, you needing things but dont have them, you running out of ammo and about to be killed but ellie comes in and saves your a$$, that is what creates tension, that is what makes the player believe that the stakes are high for the characters.
blowing a guys head off with a zoomed in camera does absolutely JACK set a tone!
it IS gratuitous violence for the sake of gratuitous violence, just like how every game has to have gratuitous cleavage.
why does every feemale character have to have the a$$ of beyonce?
as the saying goes, sex sells!
and sadly so does violence.......
2 up, 8 down
bigrailer19
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 1:04:57 PM
3 up, 0 down
Ludicrous_Liam
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 1:36:40 PM
Then think about The Last Of Us. It's trying to create a 'every man for themselves' survival theme, so therefore it is a much darker tone than anything in Uncharted. So shooting someone in the head and seeing the real impact it would make, does add to the tone it's trying create.
1 up, 0 down
sawao_yamanaka
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 5:50:05 PM
1 up, 1 down
___________
Saturday, January 05, 2013 @ 10:10:24 AM
christ, when will you people stop assuming things and shooting the gun before its pulled out of the holster.
shooting the guy in the head with close up shots, or just smacking him in he head knocking him unconscious, have the SAME "tone" effect!
as i said before, 1 reason whey they do it.
violence sells.
1 up, 1 down
Beamboom
Sunday, January 06, 2013 @ 1:26:55 AM
Video games in general has much to learn when it comes to storytelling. It's not all about being as graphical or explicit as possible. It's not the only way to be "realistic".
Last edited by Beamboom on 1/6/2013 1:28:53 AM
0 up, 0 down
___________
Sunday, January 06, 2013 @ 8:36:23 AM
alien, need i say more?
reason why is the human imagination is so powerful will always conjure up something far scarier and more intimidating than hollywood ever will!
1 up, 0 down
Snaaaake
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 6:50:15 AM
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All gameplay footage I've watched are only fighting humans.
0 up, 0 down
Ludicrous_Liam
Friday, January 04, 2013 @ 1:37:55 PM
0 up, 0 down
bigrailer19
Reply
Thursday, January 03, 2013 @ 11:02:50 PM
Cant wait for this game!