Uncharted lead designer quits Naughty Dog

Uncharted series lead game designer Richard Lemarchand has quit Naughty Dog, it has been revealed.

As reported by Gamasutra, Lemarchand has left the Sony studio to teach at the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California.

The school has previously taught students such as Thatgamecompany’s Kelle Santiago and Jenova Chen, who have worked on games such as the recently released Journey.

"I’ve always been a very hands-on game designer," said Lemarchand.

"And I’m a big believer that no matter what level you’re working at on a project, it’s a very great thing to be able to stay connected to the practical processes of building out a game."

He added: “I also love to think and to talk about our approaches to games, about the way games work when they interface with our minds, and what aspects of ourselves they utilise to work."

Lemarchand is to take up his role at the University of Southern California after a three-month backpacking trip around the world.

Alongside teaching, he added that he would be working on “experimental games” as part of a research project, looking at procedural narrative and exploration.