Behind the scenes
Naughty Dog has been pushing this video out there for people to see, and sadly I can't find a youtube port of it, so I'll have to just link to their vimeo-esque player. The video is 15 mins long and talks about the sound design and music of The Last of Us. I find their approach to a "world without technology" intriguing, and in general I think the video is very much worth watching.
Oh, and seeing / hearing someone do a clicker voice in real time is fucking creepy. Worth a view for that alone (I seriously thought they'd used a horse or something, not a real person).
http://soundworkscollection.com/videos/the-sound-and-music-of-the-last-of-us
After watching that, I recommend checking out the official Playstation channel's insightful interview with Gustavo Santaolalla himself which delves into his background (though only moments of this are a direct rip from Grounded, it's almost all new stuff). I especially love seeing footage from a meeting between him and Druckmann.
Interviews
IGN has had some great contact with the Naughty Dog, especially with Neil Druckmann, the lead designer/writer of The Last of Us. Here is their most recent interview with him in which they discuss The Last of Us in post.
Perhaps the part I enjoy most, though, is when Greg talks to them about the PS4. Man, I can't wait to see what they do with that system.
My first contribution involving the voice actors will be these two videos by Gamereactor, being an interview with the two lead actors behind The Last of Us, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. Along with them is, of course, Neil Druckmann himself.
In these videos, totalling around 20 mins, you can hear them talk about finding the right chemistry, the benefits of motion capture / performance capture vs film creation and more!
I find it particularly interesting that Ellie's actress is so unlike Ellie - though Troy is as chill a dude as he always is.
--SPOILERS--
My second contribution is this great interview by Greg Miller at IGN with Nolan North about one of the most interesting characters in the game, David. He explains his thought process behind creating a character who is so different from what Nolan has played in video games in the past - though sadly, his swearing is beeped out :D
What I find particularly interesting is his reasoning for why David acts how he does, and I feel Nolan totally managed to pull it off during the game.
ED: Oh, I was also reminded by @sackmanjones that, yeah, Nolan is in this game! Total shocker, though I guess it shouldn't be :D
Editorial / Spoilercasts
As a person who really loved The Last of Us, there are two spoilercasts which have been posted thus far that I have found to be particularly insightful.
The first one I shall post first is IGN's 1h+ video which dissects a lot of the story, beginning with the ending and moving back from there. I find their overall analysis to be quite in line with how I feel about the game, though to many this would be "too positive". Specifically, aspects such as Ellie never learning how to swim are jokingly touched upon and put aside, whereas to others it is certainly an aspect which can break immersion.
Warning: Greg Miller is once again here, and to some this may be a turn off, but I found his input both funny and at one point quite touching.
The second spoilercast I'll be posting is Rev3games' show, where Adam Sessler hosts part 1 of a 2 part series talking about The Last of Us in detail, specifically Story in the first half, and Mechanics in the second.
In this spoilercast you'll find a more direct comparison between The Last of Us to its literary equivalents, and arguments for how the game hits at the same level as some of those greats. The program, from memory, is more chronologically focussed as well.
I will once again note that this spoilercast is generally quite positive, so if you are looking for more overal critique, I suggest you look elsewhere (I suggest the one done by Gamespot).
That's it for now - I'll come back later when I've found more :D
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