# Chasing the Stick: The History of Naughty Dog ![[cts_final-cover-art-1.jpg]] # [[Chasing the Stick - The History of Naughty Dog during the PS4 Era|The History]] A deep-dive into the history of PlayStation Studios team Naughty Dog and their development during the PS4 generation. From the *The Last of Us* on PS3 to Nathan Drake’s finale in *Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End* to the 7-year sequel, *The Last of Us Part II*, Chasing the Stick explores how the team puts narrative on the control stick. Available as an article or a podcast for audio listeners. <audio controls> <source src="https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/maxfrequency/200531_CtS_v1_Final.mp3"> </audio> [Direct Link](https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/maxfrequency/200531_CtS_v1_Final.mp3) – [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/chasing-the-stick/id1514786123) – [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/7Ik7wgJf2psroUSa383hhc) – [Overcast](https://overcast.fm/itunes1514786123) – [Castro](https://castro.fm/itunes/1514786123) – [Pocket Casts](https://pca.st/pk988kcr) – [RSS](https://anchor.fm/s/f3c802c8/podcast/rss) # [[How Chasing the Stick was Made|Behind the Scenes]] Dive into Max’s creative process as he shares how he wrote and recorded *Chasing the Stick*. Explore the apps, locations, and tools he used alongside the creative decisions he hade to make to bring the definitive history to light. # [[Exploring Development Time for Naughty Dog’s PlayStation Catalog|Naughty Dog's Development Timeline]] Check out Naughty Dog’s turnaround time from announcement to release all the way from the PS1 generation to today. # [[Cutting the Hair - The History of Neil Druckmann’s Hair during the PS4 Era|Cutting the Hair: The History of Neil Druckmann’s Hair during the PS4 Era]] Inspired by Halley Gross revealing Neil cut his hair after *The Last of Us Part II* released, Max took the *Chasing the Stick* format for research and accurate reporting to explore the evolution of Naughty Dog Co-President [[2018_neil-nintendo.jpeg|Neil Druckmann’s hair]]. It turns out that one lunch-break idea can turn into one of your more popular articles that you’ve ever written. # *The Last of Us Part III* A collection of stories about the rumored development of *The Last of Us Part III*. - [[The Last of Us Part III Rumored to be in Production]], dated December 14, 2022 - [[Naughty Dog’s Next Game has a Writer’s Room]], dated December 27, 2022 - [[History is Repeating Itself]], dated January 9, 2023 # *The Last of Us Online* A collections of stories about the development of *The Last of Us Online*. - [[The Last of Us Part II Major Leaks Have Begun]] dated April 7, 2020 - [[The Last of Us Multiplayer Game Drip Feed Keeps on Dripping]] dated January 6, 2023 - [[The Last of Us Multiplayer Game is going to Pop Off]] dated January 9, 2023 - [[The Last of Us Factions Multiplayer Game Delayed]] dated May, 26, 2023 - [[Naughty Dog Cancels The Last of Us Online]] dated December 15, 2023 # [[The Last of Us Prequel – From Animation to DLC to Second-Party to HBO]] A very *Chasing the Stick*-lite timeline and analysis of the prequel story about Ellie’s mother and father. # [[The Year of The Last of Us]] and its [["The Year of The Last of Us" In Review|Review]] 2023 marked the ten year anniversary of *The Last of Us*. I whipped up a post about [[The Year of The Last of Us|what to expect]] for the celebration and then a [["The Year of The Last of Us" In Review|follow-up]] a year later about how the year went. # [[Evan Wells is Retiring from Naughty Dog|Evan Wells Announces Retirement]] After 25 years at Naughty Dog, co-president Evan Wells announced his retirement from the studio by the end of 2023. # *Ski Crazed* in 4K <div class=iframe-container> <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/sEp5G811emo?si=yKbkc1Pfel9zDkn-" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div> Using a [[MiSTer FPGA Thoughts and Impressions – My Tool for Researching the Past|MiSTer FPGA console]], Max played Naughty Dog’s second game, *Ski Crazed*. Max recorded the off-screen CRT footage with his Canon 90D to show off the Apple II game in 4K. # Announcement and Trailer You can check out both the original announcement and the launch trailer for Chasing the Stick. # *The Last of Us* Season 1 Episode Thoughts & Impressions Being such an important game in Max’s life, he decide to review each episode of the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us. - [[The Last of Us Ep. 1 – “When You’re Lost in the Darkness” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 2 – “Infected” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 3 – “Long, Long Time” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 4 – “Please Hold to My Hand” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 5 – “Endure and Survive” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 6 – “Kin” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 7 – “Left Behind” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 8 – “When We Are in Need” Thoughts & Impressions]] - [[The Last of Us Ep. 9 – “Look for the Light” Thoughts & Impressions]] # Naughty Dog Previews and Reviews Here is a collection of Max’s previews and reviews on Naughty Dog’s library of games. The list is in order of the game’s release order, not publication. - *[[Uncharted 2 - Among Thieves Review|Uncharted 2: Among Thieves]]* Review from Go Left Gaming on August 4, 2013 - *[[The Last of Us Demo Preview|The Last of Us]]* Demo Preview from Go Left Gaming on June 1, 2013 - *[[The Last of Us Review|The Last of Us]]* Review from Go Left Gaming on June 22, 2013 - *[[Left Behind Review– Welcome Home|The Last of Us: Left Behind]]* from Go Left Gaming on February 25, 2014 - *[[Millennial Gaming Speak – Uncharted 4 - A Thief’s End – The Millennial Gaming Speak Preview|Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End]]* Preview from Millennial Gaming Speak on April 20, 2016 - *[[Millennial Gaming Speak – Uncharted 4 - A Thief’s End – Review and Spoilercast|Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End]]* Review from Millennial Gaming Speak on May 17, 2016 - *[[Uncharted - The Lost Legacy Review|Uncharted: The Lost Legacy]]* Review from Go Left Gaming on August 26, 2017 - *[[Millennial Gaming Speak – Episode 106 - The Lost Legacy Review Discussion|Uncharted: The Lost Legacy]]* Spoiler Discussion from Millennial Gaming Speak on August 22, 2017 - *[[The Last of Us Part II Review|The Last of Us Part II]]* Review from Max Frequency on July 25, 2020