Naughty Dog’s lead programmer Jason Gregory reiterates they have a ”unique structure” at the studio where its organisation is ”very flat” with little ”hierarchy or formal process.”
It’s what gives them an edge as animators and programmers mingle, where staff can just ”go and talk to whoever” they need to. Gregory believes the PS3 tech has better longevity.
Uncharted from Naughty Dog has been lauded for greatly improving visually with each new instalment, which the developer attributes to better understanding the tech and staff communication.
”We definitely have a unique structure,” said Jason Gregory in an interview. ”We have a very flat sort of organisation in the company, we have two co-presidents, some art directors, leads and everyone else. There’s not a lot of hierarchy or formal process. So if you want something done you just go and talk to whoever it is, whether it’s a co-president or a lead or just anyone. So it’s very open communication and very collaborative.”
”Just as an example actually the programmers sit right next to the animators, and we like to have that because there’s a lot of tight interaction between animation and programming in a lot of cases and it’s really too bad actually that we couldn’t just have everyone all intermingled, but there are limitations with space.”
Naturally they benefit from focusing on developing for a single platform; PlayStation 3. ”I think it’s safe to say that someone who is focusing on a single platform has a lot better chance of really pushing the hardware and really exploring every avenue, and so it’s definitely a benefit. And I think that’s why a lot of exclusive titles end up being the top of their class because you can really focus,” explained the lead programmer.
”Fundamentally the PS3 is a more powerful platform and so there’s a little more potential for longevity on the PS3. But that said every platform has its own unique ins and outs and I think a good team on a good platform will always produce a good game,” he added. The adoption of 3D has proved a trial for Naughty Dog.
”I didn’t work directly on the 3D support but from what I heard there were certainly challenges and with any new technological endeavour there’s always things you don’t predict or underestimate when you start, but that said it seemed like it went reasonably smoothly and I think the end result was pretty stunning. I think it was definitely worth it.”
”But we learned a number of things, one example was that we actually learned some basic rules about how to deal with depth of field so that you don’t have your viewer feeling ill, or when you do camera cuts or changes in camera angle and close ups and so on. We learned a lot about how to manage that stuff so you get a good seamless experience.”
The drive for going 3D came from both the studio and Sony, says Gregory. ”It kind of came from both sides. We heard about the technology and thought it would be very cool. As engineers and technophiles we love any cool and new technology, so it was fun the team to develop.” For now Naughty Dog is enjoying their vacation.
Check out the full interview between Jason Gregory and GamesIndustry.biz.
