Uncharted designer leaves Naughty Dog for University of Southern California

After 8 years at the Sony-owned Naughty Dog, Richard Lemarchand leaves the Uncharted developer to take a position within the School of Cinematic Arts at a Californian University.

He’ll be lecturing from the Interactive Media Division at the University of Southern California, which he praised as ”forward-looking” and ”practical” in its methods. ‘Natural transition’.

For years Lemarchand has been close to the program with friends involved too. ”I’ve always been a very hands-on game designer,” he told Gamasutra.

Treasure hunting and teaching? Sounds like Indiana Jones. ”And I’m a big believer that no matter what level you’re working at on a project, it’s a very great thing to be able to stay connected to the practical processes of building out a game,” continued Lemarchand.

The IMD approach to game design is all aces, reckons the Uncharted designer. ”I also love to think and to talk about our approaches to games, about the way games work when they interface with our minds, and what aspects of ourselves they utilize to work.” The 8 year veteran of Naughty Dog believes it’s a perfect time for this change in career.

”I think the simplest answer is that it seems like a natural transition point,” he said.

”I was involved with the development of the Uncharted series not quite from the beginning, but almost… and even though the Uncharted series isn’t intended to be viewed as a trilogy, maybe there’s something about the number three that felt… there is a certain amount of completeness for me,” explained Lemarchand.

”For about ten years now, I’ve wanted to make a different kind of game, alongside my professional practice,” he added. ”I’ve always really loved working on the kinds of blockbuster AAA games that I’ve had the opportunity to work on, and I think I’ve been exceptionally lucky – it’s partly by luck and a little bit of judgment I’ve gotten to work on big games that are also, I think, real exemplars in terms of craft, and hopefully, ultimately, with some transcendent aspects to them.”

Best of luck to Richard Lemarchand and his new role at USC. Hopefully his lectures will turn out a few developers with talent enough to spawn some great games within a couple of decades. Surely someone who helped shape Uncharted has the chops to impart some of that magic?