The Last of Us 2 it’s a technical marvel, but would you believe that the hardest part was making the damn doors? You will know after reading this Twitter topic.
Kurt Margenau, who was co-director of The Last of Us 2, opened with a broad explanation of why the daily architectural details were real hell for almost all Naughty Dog departments. Margenau comes equipped with details and anecdotes from the development of The Last of Us 2, although many of these problems and their solutions may apply to games of all kinds.
I don’t know what everyone wants. We added doors to combat TLOU2, it took a day. I just need to have a good talent, I imagine … LOL JK WAS THE THING THAT Took the Longest to ACCEPT WHAT WE ARE THINKING 1/100 https://t.co/oUmdRFmiGJMarch 9, 2021
In real life, a door is a large hinged rectangle with some doorknobs. In The Last of Us 2, a door is an object of misery that can be opened, closed or locked, they can block your way at times, but not all the time, they can exist in a liminal space where you still need to interact with things on the other side of the door. You have probably had some frustrating experiences with hinky video game ports in the past, but since Naughty Dog is Naughty Dog, he promised to take all the potential frustration out on himself and fight the Door Threat until only one of them stood up.
Skip to 6:45 in this video by main animator Maksym Zhuravlov for a quick look at just a few of the many ways Ellie can open and move through closed doors – or not open them, if they are locked.
Also, have you noticed that the doors are usually open in The Last of Us 2, but they close slowly when you are fighting? This is so that they can function as visual reminders of where you’ve explored and as automatic coverage of enemies in combat. Have you noticed that all game doors have double hinges? It is so that they always open themselves away from you, without interrupting your step.
“There was practically no department that was not affected by the addition of doors in combat. Friends, melee systems, everything,” Margenau added. “Fuck the doors.”
This topic followed shortly after Naughty Dog opened in all kinds of detailed effects and optimizations for The Last of Us 2.