Uncharted was created in chaos: Naughty Dog didn't know what the game should be

Former Naughty Dog designer Benson Russell said that the development of the first Uncharted was chaotic due to the studio's transition to PS3 and the creation of technologies from scratch.

Today, the Uncharted series is considered one of PlayStation's main franchises, although its development started far from smoothly.

Former Naughty Dog designer Benson Russell told FRVR that the studio's transition to PS3 was a serious challenge. Naughty Dog abandoned its old technologies and created new tools almost from scratch. Because of this, many key systems were ready much later than planned, and designers worked on paper for a long time. Artists, meanwhile, created locations and models, although there was no finished gameplay yet to adapt them to.

According to Russell, this is why Uncharted: Drake's Fortune sometimes looks like a game that didn't quite understand what it wanted to be. The developers were inspired by Tomb Raider, and Gears of War also had a big influence on the project. As a result, the game tried to combine both directions and sometimes lost its own identity.

At the same time, Russell remains proud of the result. In his opinion, the first Uncharted was a huge achievement and paved the way for a successful sequel and the entire series.