Hi, we're Justin Richmond (Game Director) and Robert Cogburn (Lead Multiplayer Designer) of Uncharted 3 at Naughty Dog. AUA!

Thank you for hours of enjoyment

Thanks for playing.

If you were to, theoretically speaking, make a game that takes place in outer space, would Nathan Drake be a potential character that would appear there?

If only the Starlight wasn't so Savage...

Why is it that we haven't seen much in the way of Naughty Dog merchandise? Last of Us and especially Uncharted, are ripe with say..action figure, potential. I need Drake, Sully, Elena, Joel, and Ellie toys!

We are actually in the process of cutting more licensing deals. Stay tuned.

Which feature/spec of the PS4 are you most excited about as developers?

More power. More and Faster RAM.

Commitment to indies. Commitment to games in general!

It's a killer machine.

It would be an honour if you saw my Chloe Frazer cosplay, uncharted is the reason I bought the ps3, best story/game I have ever encountered. Uncharted 4 would be unreal, just saying :P

http://i41.tinypic.com/54ocy.jpg

That's awesome! Hopefully we will see you at a con! thanks for the kind words about the game!

Are ND going to stick to serious games like TLOU and Uncharted. I liked Crash and Jak and Daxter but the new games are a class apart

We will continue to make the games that we want to play. For now that is character based, narrative driven games. That could change in the future.

Have ND ever considered making an RPG?

Not since I have been here.

How much do you love scripting in scheme? Like, a lot? We could probably replace our editor with notepad.

Nice try Cowboy.

What is some good advice for aspiring game developers?

Go make a game. Seriously. There are so many tools out there that allow anyone to make games. The best thing about the state of games now is how democratized it has become. Unreal. Unity. go build something! Always be building.

Also, don't just play games. Read. Watch movies. Go to art exhibits. Hike. Take photographs. Inspiration is everywhere.

Justin and Robert,

First off, thanks a lot for taking the time to do this.

What I'd really like to know is how you guys got your start, and what advice you would give someone wanting to cut their teeth in the video game industry. Storytelling and programming are big interests of mine, and a job in the video game industry could be a way to do those both at the same time.

Thanks again!

I went to film school (Boston University, hell's yes Red Sox) and while I was there I interned for Avid (a company that makes editing software). They offered me a job and while I was there I started to learn Softimage.

After a few years I went back to school at Vancouver Film School and got a degree in 3D animation. My first job out of VFS was as an animator on the game Death, Jr. made up at Backbone Entertainment. From there I moved into design.

I heard a story (that I think comes from Warren Ellis) about breaking into comic books that applies here. There is a huge wall around the industry, and everyone who wants in has to find there own way past it. Once that person gets inside, that entrance is closed forever.

Have you ever considered killing off a main character? There's that one bit in Uncharted 3 (that I won't spoil just in case) that I believed actually was the death of a main character and I was oddly disappointed it wasn't real it was done so well.

Thanks.

Anything is on the table. We try to do what's best for the story we are trying to tell. We never walk in saying, "Well this has to happen." We find things along the way that changes the way we see things. Sometimes that involves a death, sometimes it doesn't.

How is it to work with Nolan North?

Nolan is awesome. He brings so much to Drake that it is scary. We collaborate with the actors, and many time Nolan comes up with ideas on the fly that end up in the game. Many of the little observations that Drake makes on his adventures are off the cuff from Nolan during ADR.

He is also crazy versatile. Check out David from the TLOU.

He's amazing. I was shocked when I learned it was him doing the voice of David. Also, his Penguin. Glad to know he's as awesome as he seems.

When was the last time you saw him there at ND?

I think it was when he came to get his copy of TLOU.

What platform do you guys use to develop the game? Is it true you use old G5s ? For PS4 will you just use x86 workstations?

We work on mostly windows, and some linux. The editing team uses macs. Amy Henning writes on the mac as well.

Justin you have said this:

"We have always said that if we think that we can make something new and interesting, if the fans still want them, then we can make another one."

I hope you realize we do want more adventures :)

that's good to know:)

To me, Naughty Dog is synonymous with ground breaking graphics, especially in regards to details. What visual detail in a ND required a surprisingly large amount of work/trickery to pull off, that most people might overlook?

The tracers in Uncharted 3 were a pain but they came out awesome. Sand footprints. Sand sliding off foot prints. Sand on pretty much anything.

SPOILERS FOR Uncharted 3

The drugged out effect was a huge deal. It was way harder than I thought it would be. It came together pretty well though :)

END SPOILERS

Naught Dog means literally everything to me and you guys have pretty much directed my path in life and I wanted to show you my Ellie cosplay--

http://25.media.tumblr.com/d861293bf1b1ca8fec6fc0b17d1fe864/tumblr_mqb1g3dMx61qawcr5o1_1280.jpg

http://24.media.tumblr.com/fca002c32274eab4661a18215a07625c/tumblr_mqb1g3dMx61qawcr5o3_1280.jpg

c: Thank you so much for everything you have done!!

Those are awesome! Nice work.

Thanks for the kinds words. We're glad you like our stuff :)

Justin and Robert: Was there any mistakes you guys made in U3, that you don't want to repeat in your next game?

If you aren't making mistakes then you aren't pushing hard enough. For everything that went wrong we learned something and got better. The next game we won't make those same mistakes again, but somehow a whole new crop pops up and kicks you in the face. That's just game development.

Hello naughty dog!! uncharted and tlou amazing games. I have a question, what you think when you getting new hardware like ps4? do you plan to use full power first or try to gradually use the power of the console to the end of its life cycle?

We are always trying to use the maximum power of the machine, but it takes time. Every game you learn more about how to use it, the idiosyncrasies, etc.

Thanks for doing this AMA and spending your time with us.

Do you have any advice for someone interested in writing for games?

Write. Every day. No excuses. Writers write. Write all kinds of stuff as well.

Also, play games. Play everything. Writing for games is different than other kinds of writing, and having a large vocabulary about the kinds of games that are out there will help.

Hone your craft. Then try to make contacts at studios looking for writers. Follow your favorite studios. I know that right this very second bungie is looking for writers. That's just one example.

What do you like most about working at Naughty Dog?

The people. This place is full of awesome people. The games we make are a massive team effort, and I feel lucky to work with the best people on the planet.

How many people work at Naughty Dog?

Around 200 and growing.

What's up dudes

What up.

Have you considered making games using CryEngine 3 or Unreal 4?

No. We write our own in house engine. We want to control every aspect of development, and by keeping it in house we feel like we can make better games.

What are your favourite games of all time? Mine are more story/character focused games like Metal Gear Solid, Uncharted and The Last of Us.

Thanks!

So many games on that list. MGS 1. FF III. Ocarina of Time. Majora's Mask. Under A Killing Moon. Zork. Tetris. It goes on and on.

Does Naughty Dog hold tours or is there even any way a fan could come by and get something signed?

I "fan boy-ed" out when I saw the TLOU Post Pandemic edition, unfortunately it wasn't available for us in Canada so I drove down to the closest GameStop to the border and ordered it, I would just love to get it signed, great game and experience

Cheers

If you can catch us at a Con we'd be happy to sign anything you want.

Man thank you so much for delivering the Uncharted series and especially Uncharted 3 which is my favourite. How long take the development of UC3 ? Thanks guys

2 years.

Justin and Robert: As a first year student in Game Development, do you suggest any skills or resources I should acquire which would increase my chances of working for an epic games studio as you?

Make games. Experiment. Do crazy stuff. Work with a team, such as a group of modders. Play everything.

Read this book: http://www.artofgamedesign.com/

Please rate /u/NDDoug's kickflip on a scale of 1-10.

I haven't seen it. But Doug is awesome at everything else he does, so I'm going to give it a blind 10.

What was the first video game you've ever played? And which game was your first love?

J- My parents had an old Pong game that plugged into the UHF on an old black and white tv. I thought it was the greatest thing ever. The first game I ever loved was Blastermaster on the NES. That game was brutal but I loved it. So many hours spent.

Hi Justin and Robert,

Happy Birthday Uncharted 3! I probably counted down the days until 11/1/11 for several months and could hardly contain myself when I picked the game up at midnight.

Uncharted 3 exceeded all of my expectations. The story was captivating, the twists and turns were shocking, the graphics were extraordinary, and the sequences blew my mind. Honestly, the only time I took the game out of the ps3 was to play ND's other groundbreaking epic experience, The Last of Us.

I just wanted to say thank you (including the entire Naughty Dog team) for all of your hard work, sacrifice, sleepless nights, stressful days, and for all of the heart that you put into not just Uncharted 3 but all of your games. You consistently push the boundaries of video game-making and you raise the entire industry's bar with every single release.

Thank you.

My only question: Will I be able to experience another Nathan Drake adventure in the future?

Once again, thank you guys. The art that you create makes me excited for the future of video games.

Have you read the book or comics?

I loved The Eye of Indra. Is that what you're referring to?

There is also a DC comic you can check out.

Do you know where it's available? I've had a hard time tracking them down.

http://www.comixology.com/Uncharted/comics-series/6948 BOOM

Again just want to say thanks for taking the time out of your busy schedules to answer questions we had and take our feedback into consideration. Wish you guys luck with your PS4 project and any future UC3/TLoU DLC. :)

Final question, what indie games would you recommend to us?

Papers, Please. Made by an ex Naughty Dog! (go Lucas!)

You guys had some partnerships with Insomniac years ago, right? Any possibility of working with them a little bit again, or with other companies? Or do you guys like to keep your doors closed now?

We were never partners, just good friends. Never say never, but for now we do everything in house.

What is your favourite part of game development? Is it the excitement of starting a new project, or playing your game for the first time?

For me its the production/polish part. Seeing the game come together sequence by sequence is an awesome feeling. We work so hard and fast at the end you can see the thing taking shape almost every time you re-run the game. It's the most stressful but most exciting part of the process.

Thanks a lot. This means a lot to me. You guys have inspired me to go into game design next year when I start University. Uncharted and The Last of us are the greatest games ever made and you guys should be very proud. :)

Thanks and good luck!

What were some of your guys's favourite moments in Uncharted 3? And were there any moment in Uncharted 3 where you have the expression of "did we really just do that"?

Yea, when we finished the game.

Though I'll never forget playing the plane sequence for the first time. Justin called me over, "Cogburn, come play this." It was without audio at the time but it blew my mind. That sequence is incredible.

When we finished the Chateau demo we were playing it one last time in our theater and I looked over at Evan he looked back and just smiled.

Have you decided to utilize the streaming component of the ps4 in your next game out? In the MP of UC3 you seemed to embrace video use and watching cinema, will this be something you embrace and expand on if/in further games with MP?

I am really excited about this component of the hardware. We haven't started thinking about it yet, but it is a really cool feature.

Hey guys! So excited yall are doing this. I was actually flown out with my brother to audition for the spot that Jeremy/Spyder got. That was an awesome experience and really solidified my love for the series. I consider myself a pretty big gamer but have never liked shooters and was always disappointed that I didn't. Uncharted was the first multiplayer shooter I was really comfortable with and enjoyed playing greatly, so thanks for that. I'm the leader of a clan and have a lot of questions for you guys on behalf of my constituents. lol. First, I was curious if there was ever a competitive Borneo map that was made? There were few things that seem to suggest there was.

In Uncharted 2 I made one, but we never shipped it. It just wasn't fun. I tried to make it work, but the design just never came together. So we tossed it.