'The Last of Us' game director reveals why he left Naughty Dog, says he was 'burned out'
Bruce Straley, Naughty Dog's game director for triple-A games such as "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted," recently disclosed the reason why he left after 17 years of being with the company.
Straley, who directed the Sony PlayStation exclusive "Uncharted" until its fourth installment, claimed that the makings and aftermath of "Uncharted 4" was the reason he got "burned out."
According to Straley in an interview with Kotaku last Jan. 18, "Uncharted 4" felt more like an "obligation than a passion" to the director. He explained that although "Uncharted 1" and "Uncharted 2" were stressful, it had a unique charm to the director.
Straley claimed that his favorite "Uncharted" project was its second installment, saying that teaming up with experts and creating a unique story was "the most exhilarating time" of his career.
The same can be said about the director's experience in creating another new intellectual property that later turned out to be "The Last of Us." However, once "Uncharted 4" was assigned to him, Straley said he felt he did it more for the company than for him personally.
"Uncharted 4 became more like, 'How do I do this for the team and for the company?'" the director stated, adding, "I felt like, I guess in hindsight I took on that role more for the team than for me personally."
Straley also said that to create a "beast" like "Uncharted 4" in just two years along with co-director Neil Druckmann made it his hardest project. In comparison, the director started "The Last of Us" in 2009, four years before its release in 2013.
Still, the game director made it clear that he has no hard feelings for Naughty Dog.
"It had nothing to do with Naughty Dog, nothing to do with games, it's just me, I'm a perfectionist," he said, referring to his high standards for producing triple-A games.
Straley later said that everything culminated to his decision of resigning. He also mentioned that if ever he gets back as Naughty Dog's director, he might not be as energized as he was before the start of "The Last of Us" and "Uncharted 2."
