Naughty Dog Staff Says The Last of Us Part I Was Made Without Crunch
The studio's employees shared they didn't need to work overtime to finish the game.
On July 12, Naughty Dog announced that the remake of the original The Last of Us, formally titled The Last of Us Part I, has officially gone gold, meaning that work on the game is finished and it is ready to ship.
Amid the announcement, the studio's employees started congratulating each other on the completion of the project. The developers separately emphasized that during the production of The Last of Us remake, they managed to avoid working overtime, even despite the fact that the studio completely redesigned models and animation, expanded the combat system, and improved enemy AI.
Naughty Dog executives also commented on the completion of the work process emphasizing that they are proud they had managed to completely overhaul the working culture and at the same time didn't sacrifice the quality of the game.
"I’ve been shocked at how much detail went in or what’s even graphically possible today," the studio's animation director Jeremy Yates wrote. "I’m even more proud of HOW this project was made. The entire studio put so much effort into creating such a healthy and thoughtful work culture, without compromising the quality we all came here for."
In the past, Naughty Dog was repeatedly criticized for creating a culture of perfectionism, where games have to be great, no matter the human cost. Although, judging by these recent statements of the studio's employees, it seems that the situation is starting to change for the better.
If you'd like to learn more about the current working culture at Naughty Dog, you can check out our interview with the company here.
