Naughty Dog On Uncharted 2: No Animator Could Achieve This
Uncharted 2: Among ThievesWe say Uncharted 2: Among Thieves is the best looking game of the generation, and we're hardly the only ones. Naughty Dog really went off the chain (heh) with this one, and how they did it has been a hot topic of conversation lately.
Perhaps most impressive is the game's character animation, especially in regards to facial expressions. This alone separates Uncharted 2 from every other video game on the planet but don't think it came easy; in fact, with the sheer amount of effort involved, Naughty Dog stands proud and says they doubt another animator could do better. During a recent video interview, one of the project's lead programmers explains how the team was able to harness the power of the PS3's Cell processor. It's an interesting interview but the part that stands out is this:
"Really no animator could animate enough animations to produce the same look that we've been able to do by mixing and matching, by layering animations on top of each other, by blending between animations even of different layers. And that really give the players a lot more control over what he wants to do that's not limited by our animators."
There's just so much about the game that's worth talking about, even though the outstanding graphics have taken center-stage. Both the interactive and non-interactive animations are truly groundbreaking in every sense of the word so if you haven't yet had the pleasure, you need to see it for yourself. It's very difficult to describe all the little things that Naughty Dog did so well in bringing these appealing characters to life, so...yeah, you just gotta play it. Or play it again. Whichever.
Related Game(s): Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
10/23/2009 10:49:21 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (36 posts)
Bandit1
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:16:43 AM
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3 up, 0 down
AshT
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:17:51 AM
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3 up, 0 down
TheJackyl
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:18:43 AM
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3 up, 14 down
Troy Powers
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:25:35 AM
14 up, 0 down
Kowhoho
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 3:16:06 PM
Last edited by Kowhoho on 10/23/2009 3:17:50 PM
3 up, 1 down
TheJackyl
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 4:58:23 PM
I get that Batman is a way more stoic character than Drake however take a look at the facial animations done with characters like the Joker even in the opening scene. Especially if any of you have the PC version where you could really crank up the graphics that was highly impressive.
Well, I'm off to rent a copy of U2 now. Maybe I'll retract my statement later on... or maybe not.
1 up, 3 down
www
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 7:01:47 PM
2 up, 2 down
Fane1024
Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 3:21:23 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:19:56 AM
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The only caveat I have is that when Drake picks up the GAU-19 and moves, the animation looks a bit 'pasted in'. Especially when he goes up stairs. That said, it's not a facial animation. However it's so different from the rest of the weapon wielding animation of Drake, all of which are silky smooth and natural. I have a feeling that weapon was added into the game for the Multi-player, and was added into the single player game late in the process. All the other weapon animations of Drake work really well, and the animations of the soldiers carrying the GAU-19 weapons are smooth as well.
Oh well, the solution of course is not to use the GAU-19 except to get a trophy or beat Crushing...
Incidentally, as I posted in another comment....
For all those wondering whether there will be an Uncharted 3, here is a quote from a Naughty Dog.
"We've been so busy on Uncharted 2 that we've done a very poor job of planning for the future right now," Wells jokes. "Certainly, there will be another Uncharted. We have lots of ideas of new adventures for Drake."
There you go, straight from the horse's - I mean Dog's - mouth. There will be another Uncharted.
Happy dance time...
15 up, 0 down
newchef
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 1:07:20 PM
2 up, 0 down
bomba2812
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 4:01:51 PM
happy dance time... LOL
1 up, 0 down
___________
Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 9:04:32 AM
im still stuck on the tank level.
buy the time im finished this im going to need some absinth, and laser hair treatment because im going to be bald from ripping my hear out!
that said, so far, im finding it easier than uncharted drakes fortune, so hopefully it will stay that way.
0 up, 0 down
Troy Powers
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:24:58 AM
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10 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:35:14 AM
As good as Uncharted 1 is, Uncharted 2 has more subtlty and depth to the character animation.
Last edited by Highlander on 10/23/2009 11:36:14 AM
3 up, 0 down
www
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 1:53:10 PM
I'm feeling real lazy looking for the treasures though.
Last edited by www on 10/23/2009 1:53:28 PM
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 3:24:55 PM
Well, I hadn't thought about doing that, shame on me! Perhaps I'll give Chloe a spin, I've missed watching a female player character running around since the end of Xenosaga...
1 up, 0 down
www
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 3:44:51 PM
1 up, 0 down
maxpontiac
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:33:16 AM
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5 up, 2 down
Jawknee
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 12:35:29 PM
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Last edited by Jawknee on 10/23/2009 12:36:17 PM
0 up, 0 down
Geobaldi
Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 1:49:14 AM
2 up, 0 down
furbiesmustdie
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 1:40:05 PM
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1 up, 1 down
Kangasfwa
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 1:52:44 PM
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3 up, 1 down
maxpontiac
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 2:24:54 PM
What if Naughty Dog decides to take their act to another media type such as movies??
3 up, 0 down
fstop
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 2:35:13 PM
Thumbs up though!
2 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 3:30:08 PM
Then again, games today are approaching where digitally animated moves were 5-10 years ago, which is pretty good territory to tread. Games like Ratchet and Clank already have the animation and resolution to be better than computer animation for TV. As ever though, the video game console make become more powerful, but then so will the animation render farms at Pixar...
3 up, 0 down
Wage SLAVES
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 5:27:50 PM
I understand moore's law has been holding up but how that transpires to the Pixar movies and such has yet to be seen. I feel like games making leaps and bounds whereas the movie seem to be trotting a along.
I've seen Toy Story 3D and that could be the future...but I left the theater motion sick ready for my gut to explode.
I guess what Im saying is that there has to be a limit as far as graphical quality. However, technology never ceases to amaze us and push boundaries.
Last edited by Wage SLAVES on 10/23/2009 5:29:07 PM
0 up, 0 down
Highlander
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 9:35:01 PM
If you have 1000 Cell BEs running in parallel, You can do 100's of times more work than an individual Cell BE. Moore's law constrains what you can do with the design of the individual Cell, but says nothing about putting lots of them together in parallel. For certain kinds of problem (including rendering frames for animation) you get an almost linear increase in speed as you increase the number of processors.
1 up, 0 down
Aftab
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 3:56:55 PM
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But, best looking game of this console generation, by far. I even popped in KZ2 last night (haven't played it since march when I left for traveling), and I was just embarrassed of the in-game character models. At the beginning just before actual gunplay, when Rico is getting briefed by intel (I'm forgetting her name), you'll see what I mean. She continues to finger-point and head-bob long after she finishes talking. And when the gang departs the station, and plummets to the landing zone, it's kinda of creepy to see how static their faces are, to the point where their unblinking and unshifting eyes just look like painted-on textures. Where as in U2, when though Drake is just standing still, his eyes, face and body is constantly animating, shifting his weight, looking about, and even grimacing and gets startled if bullets start flying, or an rpg or grenade explodes. And that's what happens no matter what position he's in, like hiding, running, or climbing (this has to do with the layering that happens with the CELL which otherwise would have to be individually animated for, as mentioned in the interview).
1 up, 0 down
kevinater321
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 8:54:44 PM
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0 up, 1 down
ExhumeART
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 10:48:40 PM
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2 up, 0 down
___________
Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 4:22:17 AM
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heavy rain is looking really good too.
but come the end of next year theres going to be allot of competitors with RAGE, half life 2 epp 3 and crysis 2.
so uncharted 2 wont be holding the crown for too long.
0 up, 2 down
Highlander
Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 11:33:31 PM
0 up, 0 down
___________
Sunday, October 25, 2009 @ 9:02:31 AM
criticism where criticism is due.
praise where praise is due.
0 up, 0 down
Ricochet
Saturday, October 24, 2009 @ 4:48:32 AM
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Come on Ben, that's too low, even for you, the title is misleading.
"Really no animator could animate enough animations to produce the same look that we've been able to do by MIXING and MATCHING"
Your title is doing a disservice to all fans who respect Naughty Dog. From the statement above, they're obviously stating that their animations are unachievable without using "their" methods.
That's kinda like saying "you can't reach from Asia to America." When it should've been "you can't reach Asia to America without getting on a plane or a ship"
Last edited by Ricochet on 10/24/2009 4:49:25 AM
1 up, 1 down
SILVERAMMO
Reply
Friday, October 23, 2009 @ 11:07:24 AM