We got hints back in February that Uncharted 4 has been in development since the last three years, however, there is little doubt now that the game’s development is well in process.
Naughty Dog is really clocking big time on the project. So what’s the most interesting thing we have to tell you about it right now? It is that the other recent fan favorite title, The Last of Us’ dialog system is going to play a major helping hand in the development of Uncharted 4.
Naughty Dog Audio Programmer Jonathan Lanier was interviewed recently about the game where he discussed how the dialog system was very dear to them:
The dialogue system in The Last Of Us is amazing, and (Dialogue Supervisor) James should get a lot of credit for working with (Lead Programmer) Jason Gregory on it. We never had anything remotely as good for the Uncharted series. The next Uncharted will benefit heavily from this.
We used a psycho-acoustic technique to trick the listener. We created a separate reverb unit that had a very short delay on it, and dedicated it to dialogue in cases where characters were obstructed. We called it the “Dialogue Sweetener”. This allowed us to create a tiny bit of reflection that was enough to trick your brain into thinking that the sound was bouncing around in the room. So if Ellie walks around a corner, you can still hear her as if she was close by.
There also were breathing systems for each player that combined with the atmosphere created a very realistic vibe. Moreover, we do know how The Last of Us and the Uncharted series (including Uncharted 4) are very story –centric, and that means a lot of dialog.
It is really important for a game that the immersion is maintained, we all know that. Building on that, it is also a fact that a dialog can be (at times) something that can either make or break the immersion. So naturally, the importance being given to it by the developer is really justified.
I personally think that the dialog system of The Last of Us was a very well carved aspect of the game, and having something built on that for Uncharted 4 would really hike up the immersion for the game. What do you think?
