Naughty Dog Explain Why Ellie Was Changed In “The Last Of Us”

Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann has explained to IGN why Ellie’s appearance has changed in the latest The Last Of Us trailer.

“When we came up with the character of Ellie we put a lot of thought into what we wanted her to look like, researching the facial proportions, coloring and bone structures of dozens of faces and bodies,” he said. “In addition to this, we held numerous casting sessions to ensure we had the right performance capture artist to represent Ellie, eventually selecting actress Ashley Johnson.”

“As we’re still in the midst of development with The Last of Us, the team has been continuing to put a lot of thought into the creation of Ellie. After delving further into the game’s narrative over the past few months, we decided to modify Ellie’s model to better reflect Ashley’s personality, and also resemble a slightly younger teen more fitting to the story.”

“We’re happy with the final result shown in the cinematic we have released today, and hope the fans like her too.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ShP5xn9Tz90

“From the beginning we were trying to do something different, a darker look at the world, but with the depth of character and performance that Naughty Dog has been known for,” added Bruce Straley. “Somehow we managed to take everyone by surprise by revealing that Naughty Dog has a new game in the works.”

” It’s a game about the human condition. 20 years after a plague has decimated our society, how does man survive? When all moral and ethical codes have been stripped, who do you trust? After watching your friends and loved ones pass, do you think you could still love?” he asked.

“What is life without hope? We’re trying to make you feel these dilemmas while you’re playing The Last of Us.”

On the trailer, Druckmann said that they “wanted to whet people’s appetite before E3. This trailer is a nice little teaser that shows a good look into the world of The Last of Us. It also hints at the layers in Joel and Ellie’s relationship and frames their different perspectives on this world.”

“Our team has been working hard to have something ready at E3 that will please our fans. We’d love to say more, but we don’t want to spoil anything.”