Neil Druckmann is one of gaming’s biggest names, and he’s helped write and direct games in the critically and commercially successful franchises like The Last of Us and Uncharted. But Druckmann isn’t always confident in what he’s making while he’s making it–with one exception.
During a speech at the DICE Summit recently attended by VentureBeat, Druckmann said only with 2009’s Uncharted 2: Among Thieves did he feel “confident” throughout the process. “Every other project where I was at the head of it, I was sure at many points that we were not going to succeed. You just have to power past that feeling,” he said.
Part of what creates anxiety for Druckmann is the scope and scale of any given project, including staff and large budgets. “There’s all this pressure,” he said. “There’s no formula for how to succeed. You can never guarantee success. All you can do is follow your instincts, follow the advice the team gives you, trust the process,” he said.
The “process” for Naughty Dog is how the studios works together and vets ideas, Druckmann said, as well as iterating again and again.
“We know that our first idea is never the best one. We have to get to the seventh one to get something interesting, something unique. The first few, you’ve heard of it. It’s something you’ve seen before,” he said. “That’s how you start to dig deeper. We know we’ll have to throw work away. That’s part of our process. At times that can be frustrating for people, members of the team, ourselves. But going through it over and over again, that’s how you get past your doubts. Doubt will always be there.”
Druckmann also mentioned how having a schedule is critical to his working process, even if he might not personally enjoy sticking to a strict schedule. “I need it. The team needs it as well, because–it’s not unique to me. It’s just Naughty Dog. We’re perfectionists. Without it we would just keep iterating,” Druckmann said.
Druckmann is now directing Naughty Dog’s new IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, while he may also be working on The Last of Us 3. Beyond games, Druckmann worked alongside Craig Mazin on The Last of Us Season 2, which comes to HBO in April.
