‘I Think That Was a Big Flaw’ — Uncharted 3 Designer Says the Game Was Hindered by Too Many Set Pieces
An ex-Naughty Dog designer has revealed that Uncharted 2’s massive commercial success may have inadvertently harmed the development of its sequel, Uncharted 3. Designer Benson Russell explained that the two games took fundamentally different approaches to creating their signature setpieces.
In Uncharted 2, the elaborate setpieces—including the iconic train sequence—emerged organically throughout the development process as the team iterated and refined the game’s design. This natural approach resulted in memorable, well-integrated action sequences that became a defining feature of the game.
However, Uncharted 3’s development took a different path. Rather than letting setpieces develop naturally, the team upfront designed approximately 10-12 setpieces, including the cargo plane sequence, and then made decisions about which handful would actually make it into the final game. Russell characterized this as “a big flaw” in the game’s design process.
The implication is that the pressure to match or exceed Uncharted 2’s success led to a more prescriptive, design-by-committee approach that prioritized quantity over the organic integration that made the previous game’s setpieces so effective. This shift in methodology suggests that commercial pressures and the burden of following up a breakthrough title can sometimes negatively impact creative decision-making.