setyrslfonfire

What is it like being in the presence of Cate Blanchett?

Hey guys! Thank you so much for doing this. I am a massive TLOU fan. I have a few questions…

1. The relationship between Joel and Ellie is the most genuine and touching in gaming, that's a given. I also consider it, however, one of the greatest relationships in fiction. What do you consider the most outstanding fictional relationships?

2. The final shot of TLOU is totally flooring. The look in Ellie's eyes is so ridiculously human. As the credits rolled, I sat there absolutely gobsmacked, not only at the whole game, but specifically at that final shot. Considering you didn't use motion capture for faces, how did you portray such raw and complex 'humanness'? It was seen to some extent throughout the game (certainly more than other games), but that final shot is absolutely amazing. Can you tell me any more about it?

3. Some writers find that their characters end up writing themselves. Was this the case with any of TLOU's characters, or were they developed more consciously with careful consideration put into character choices etc?

4. You guys have mentioned in the past that whether you do a sequel or not, you are probably done with Joel and Ellie. Now that you are done with them, do you miss them? How do you feel about the possibility of never being with them again?

5. In 'Grounded', it is mentioned that this story wouldn't be different if it were a man and a boy, or a woman and a girl. It is also mentioned that in creating TLOU, the genders of Joel and Ellie were rather irrelevant, and they were just characters. In saying this, was the story always going to be an adult and a child/teen? Did you play around with the age of the child? Why did you settle on Joel and Ellie?

nailed it

Hey, sorry your question didn't get answered. Bruce said this during their last AMA in response to a question about The Road by Cormac McCarthy

that book was awesome. Neil & I both read it... I think back during U2 development. It's a very impactful story. yeah, it was one of many influences. mainly the lengths the father is willing to go for his son, and the darkness of the world that surrounds them. it really shines a light on the things humans are willing to give up (morally) to in order to survive. we also read City of Thieves, the movie No Country for Old Men, the movie Children of Men, and the Walking Dead comic... among some more non-fiction reads about how the world falls apart in "World without Us" and "The Last Town on Earth".... check 'em out.

Thank you so so so much for replying. Tal Peleg definitely did knock it out of the park. As did you all did with the whole game. Thank you so much for this game. I can't wait to see what you do next :)