The Last of Us 2 got an assist from another PS4 exclusive set in Seattle during the early days of its development, though you probably wouldn't know it from the finished product.
A new Game Informer interview with Naughty Dog co-presidents Neil Druckmann and Evan Wells reveals a new detail about how The Last of Us 2, specifically the portion of the game set in Seattle, took shape.
"Very early on in The Last of Us Part 2 development, we knew that it was taking place in Seattle, and we knew that Sucker Punch had completely modeled Seattle for Infamous: Second Son," Wells explained. "We said, 'We're not going to use the assets in the game, but we want to quickly feel out the space, so can we get access to those assets?' And they said, 'Sure,' and sent it over. We were able to quickly rough out the environment. That was a huge help."
Game developers often "block out" designs for levels with non-final assets that help them conceptualize how the final version will look and play. With all those bits and bobs from Second Son's Seattle ready to go, it likely saved Naughty Dog a good amount of time getting their post-apocalyptic counterpart up and running. It's also a feel-good, full-circle moment that parts pulled from one of the first big PS4 exclusives helped shape one of the last big PS4 exclusives.
Speaking of PS4 swan songs, Druckmann added that The Last of Us 2 shared horse mo-cap data with Ghost of Tsushima - you can see pictures of the horses all dotted up and ready to record for two video games in this 2020 tweet from Naughty Dog animation director Jeremy Yates.
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