*Spoilers for* The Last of Us Part II *lie ahead.* This started out as one of those "I was planning on sharing this link some day" posts. I forget how I came across [this thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLastOfUs2/comments/q601nn/bruce_straley_wasnt_credited_as_a_writer_for/) by Elbwiese on the subreddit[^1] for *The Last of Us*, but I've had the tab open on my phone for ages to read through it. I was cleaning out my tabs and decided to re-skim through the post. The thread reminded me of [this excerpt](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/last-us/) from the Empire interview by Ali Plumb with Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley. The directorial duo was asked what the toughest part of the story was to iron out, which turned into a question about the game's original antagonist. > **Who was the antagonist in that iteration?** > >_Neil:_ Tess was the antagonist chasing Joel, and she ends up torturing him at the end of the game to find out where Ellie went, and Ellie shows up and shoots and kills Tess. And that was going to be the first person Ellie killed. But we could never make that work, so… > >_Bruce:_ Yeah, it was really hard to keep somebody motivated just by anger. What is the motivation to track, on a vengeance tour across an apocalyptic United States, to get, what is it, revenge? You just don’t buy into it, when the stakes are so high, where every single day we’re having the player play through experiences where they’re feeling like it’s tense and difficult just to survive. And then how is she, just suddenly for story’s sake, getting away with it? And yeah, the ending was pretty convoluted, so I think Neil pretty much hammered his head against the wall, trying to figure it out. I think he came up with a good, really nice, simplified version of that, and it worked out. Huh. That sounds familiar. From the back of the box of *The Last of Us Part II*, >Experience the devastating physical and emotional consequences of Ellies vengeance as you embark on a relentless pursuit of those who've wronged her. And from the [PSN product page](https://store.playstation.com/en-us/product/UP9000-CUSA07820_00-THELASTOFUSPART2), >Five years after their dangerous journey **across the post-pandemic United States**, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, **Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure.** As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions. > >...Experience the escalating moral conflicts created by **Ellie’s relentless pursuit of vengeance.** The cycle of violence left in her wake will challenge your notions of right versus wrong, good versus evil, and hero versus villain... *Emphasis my own* So what changed? Well, to quote [Paul Gimatti](https://youtube.com/watch?v=AhKLpJmHhIg) from his performance in *The Holdovers*: > "History is not simply the study of the past, it is an explanation of the present." As the original game was wrapping development, parts of the team shifted their gaze toward the company's first single-player DLC. Neil was telling Ellie's actress Ashley Johnson all about the *Left Behind* over dinner. During that meal, Neil also ran Ashley through [the initial pitch](https://youtube.com/watch?v=gF1EQAtaZEo&t=1500) for *The Last of Us Part II*. But not long after the completion of *The Last of Us* on PS3, the development of *Uncharted 4: A Thief's End* capsized and leadership tapped Neil and Bruce to right the ship of the studio's first PS4 game. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for the story of *Part II*. >“I fooled myself thinking that I had a good idea when they were all really bad, so I’m glad we got to take a break with ‘*Uncharted 4*’ so I could take a break for an extra three years to think about these characters, and what kind of story would compliment the first one well,” he says. “The first ideas were very plot-driven and focused on some surface stuff, and I lost sight of what made the first game special — this very core, primal idea of unconditional love a parent has for their child. We didn’t have a clean idea. It was just a bunch of plot points and twists.” That is Neil in an interview with Luke Winkie from [Variety](https://variety.com/2018/gaming/features/the-last-of-us-part-ii-neil-druckmann-interview-1202844420/) in 2018. The time spent cranking away on *A Thief's End* gave Neil, Bruce, and crew time to chew on ideas for *Part II* instead of diving right in as intended. As *Uncharted 4* wrapped in 2016, parts of Naughty Dog shifted to early development on *Part II*. You can see bits of the [initial narrative walkthrough and pitch](https://youtube.com/watch?v=SC3C7GMMfDU&t=40) with department heads in *Grounded II: The Making of The Last of Us Part II*. No one has out right said this, but I feel confident that Joel's death was an anchor in the plot of *Part II* all along—all the way back to Neil's original ideas back when the first game was wrapping up. Just look back at the [PSX 2016 reveal](https://youtube.com/watch?v=W2Wnvvj33Wo&t=124) where Joel emerges as a silhouette from a white light. That detail really "[screwed](https://youtube.com/watch?v=SC3C7GMMfDU&t=2475)" Naughty Dog. This vengeance has always been the push. And it has been there since the earliest drafts of *TLOU* itself. That means Bruce was there too. So let's go back to Bruce's original line of questioning. > Yeah, it was really hard to keep somebody **motivated just by anger**. What is the motivation to track, on **a vengeance tour across an apocalyptic United States**, to get, what is it, _revenge_? You just don’t buy into it, when the stakes are so high, where every single day we’re having the player play through experiences where they’re feeling like it’s tense and difficult just to survive. How does a developer, a storyteller, a designer keep a player motivated just by anger? The difference between Naughty Dog's first attempt (Tess) and their second (Ellie and Abby) is—and you all had to see this coming—putting it on the stick. Tess' original role was pure narrative. The whole plot plays out off the controller and out of the player's hands, figuratively and literally. The player has no agency, no investment, and no motivation. All of that rests on Tess' shoulders and doesn't click with the audience in the intended way. With Ellie's pursuit of vengeance, the player has investment and motivation. Agency is a bit loose here, given that the story will play out the same every time. The agency falls in the gameplay loop and how vicious you want to play as Ellie; you could mow down every enemy or slink by and avoid conflict as much as possible. > It's hard to imagine the story without Joel dying. You feel that hate, Ellie feels that hate. You're 1-to-1. You're on the stick. And that informs the rest of the story. That quote is from [Lead Editor Joe Pettinati](https://youtube.com/watch?v=SC3C7GMMfDU&t=1026) during *Grounded II*. This works because the player has spent 13-20 hours in the previous game playing *as* Joel. And then he is killed in a "[really unforgiving sort of way](https://youtube.com/watch?v=SC3C7GMMfDU&t=3350)" that feels "senseless" to the player. You want to chase them to the ends of the earth. And, I think, it works. Having just replayed the two games back to back, there is an undeniable push when playing as Ellie. It's in your gut. It's in hers. So then how does Naughty Dog motivate you to play as Joel's killer at the pivotal switch-a-roo in the middle of the game? You end on a cliffhanger of course. There is a weight and realization when you see the "Seattle Day 1" title card again. The last three in-game days slams onto your shoulders and you start to understand the story is far from over. But when the vengeance is stripped, what's left? And at first, that drive is a gameplay and plot twist. There is a desire to see resolution, to get back to Ellie's side. Then you play as Abby, come to live out her side of the story, and you begin to experience empathy in a consequence-free environment. When you get to the boss fight with Ellie, you feel the full weight of both characters. You don't want either one to lose, at least I didn't. Then Naughty Dog switch-a-roos you again. >What is the motivation to track, on a vengeance tour across an apocalyptic United States, to get, what is it, _revenge_? You just don’t buy into it... What is the motivation track in Santa Barbra? Vengeance is surface stuff at this point. We are well beyond an eye or an eye. Ellie's obsession at this point is freedom. In Ellie's journal, there's this entry available to read once you get control in Santa Barbra: > I don't know how Dina talks so easily about Jesse. She tells JJ all about him. She thinks it'd be good for me to talk about Joel. To get it out. When she says that it makes the memories sound like food poisoning. > > I don't want to talk about it. It's just gonna hurt. And I think once I'd start I wouldn't be able to stop... > > ...Took JJ on a ride today. He laughed the whole time. I almost didn't think about Seattle all day. It was nice. There's this gap between her and Dina, between her and JJ. There's a physical distance between her and the community at Jackson. Ellie is isolated by her post-traumatic stress and the bridge across the gap, in her mind, is ending Abby's life. But is the player 1-to-1 with Ellie now? Are those emotions on the stick? I don't think so. For me, what's on the stick is longing and empathy.[^2] A longing for rest and an empathy for both women. I wrote this in [[The Last of Us Part II Review|my review]] of *The Last of Us Part II* back in July 2020. >The final boss fight, again between Ellie and Abby, but this time you are controlling Ellie. I can’t think of a boss fight where I didn’t actively want to fight and kill the boss myself. I’m not the one on the beach fighting Abby though. Ellie is, I am just controlling it. Through that control, my emotions are tangled in the fight. I’ve been both Ellie and Abby. I know both their stories. The prices paid for their obsessions. It is in this moment that *The Last of Us Part II*’s ultimate theme of empathy reaches its peak. Naughty Dog broke that parity to focus on something greater. What started back in the early 2010s as a pursuit of vengeance on the stick morphed into a greater challenge. Naughty Dog did end up finding a way to motivate the player just by anger. We bought into it. But vengeance only carries you so far.[^3] The motivation train switches tracks. Its new destination? Empathy. And to get there it required the team to put a character's life, trauma, and path to redemption in our hands: A character that we never wanted to play as. > Why do I have to play as Joel's killer? > Why did I have to play as Abby's father's killer? That was from my journal during my first playthrough. The journey to empathy was not fun, emotionally speaking. Sure the gameplay was fun, but Abby's half of the is arduous. Scar encounter after Scar encounter. Infected at every turn. Hanging. Heights. Betrayal. Friend's dying right before her eyes. And through playing as Abby, your heart begins to shift. Alignment arrives through the gameplay. Both you and Abby learn that vengeance is not enough. It never fixes what your enemy broke. Bruce was right. It was hard to keep a player motivated just by anger. But they did it. And I think they learned and we learned that, in the end, we have to let go of the vengeance to make room for something greater. --- [^1]: And can I just say "woof?" I thought subreddits were meant to be communities to celebrate said sub-topic. [^2]: And a strong desire to see the end! I mean, when I took control in Santa Barbra I couldn't believe there was more! [^3]: About 12-15 hours or so apparently.