It's always fascinating when two artists discuss their craft, and watching The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann and 28 Days Later writer Alex Garland is no exception. However, it sounds like Druckmann might be considering how long he wants to keep going with his career, questioning "when it it enough?"
Druckmann got his start in video game development at Naughty Dog, and Garland has written both movies and video games and more recently turned to directing films like Annihilation, Ex Machina, and Civil War. Garland also wrote the script for Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, a fantastic video game starring Andy Serkis. It's a Western retelling of Journey to the West, the story Black Myth: Wukong is based on.
In the Sony Creator to Creator video, the two chat about being lonely in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, Naughty Dog's upcoming video game, and how it's still evolving and changing during the development process. Druckmann also jokes about how this game about faith and religion will surely get less hate than The Last of Us Part 2.
Towards the end of the conversation, the two get a little more existential. "I've heard you say in some interviews you need to take a break from directing," Druckmann says, adding that some people have "misinterpreted" this as Garland retiring. "I'm curious, asking for a friend, when is it enough? When is it time to stop the compulsion?"
"Compulsion is the word," Garland responds. "Writing is the product of compulsion. For that reason, it's not a free will issue. You either have the compulsion at that moment or you don't. I do find that even when I am not working, I have nothing to work on, I'm just jotting down story ideas. I don't know why. It's quite either zen or existential or something, because I write these things down, I save them somewhere, like on a bit of paper, and then I never look at them again, ever."
Does this mean Druckmann is considering leaving the industry? He's been around for the best part of 20 years, so maybe he wants to do something else with the rest of his life. Maybe he'll go into movies or TV, or maybe he'll just take a step back and do something else entirely. Or maybe he'll just retire.
We can't know for sure, so for now, why don't you check out our list of the best Uncharted games.
