Naughty Dogâ??s â??interactive cinemaâ?? trade secrets

Californian outfit Naughty Dog has been inundated with accolades for exceptionally high standards of cinema in the PS3 title Uncharted 2.

And in an exclusive extract from a newly-published book on developing the game, Develop Online now features a behind-the-scenes exploration into the various processes Naughty Dog underwent to make their defining title stand out.

“Naughty Dog’s goal with Uncharted 2 was to create an ‘active cinematic experience’, which partially meant taking control away from the player as little as possible,” said cinematic animation lead Josh Scherr.

“The collapsing building in Nepal, the convoy chase, and helping Jeff get to safety are all moments that might’ve been cinematics in other games,” he added.

“However, we made them fully interactive and they were all the more immersive and awesome for it. So when we do take control away, it had better be for a good reason.”

Extracts of the book – entitled The Art of Uncharted 2: Among Thieves – reveals that, at its peak, Naughty Dog’s cinematics team had 32 animators who produced 90 minutes of highly polished animation in less than a year.

“Each animator was responsible for 12-15 seconds of finished animation per week, including the body, face, eyes, props, vehicles, and whatever other elements might be in a scene,” added Scherr.

Full details from the extract can be found here