Andy Gavin was 16 when he created a little game company called Naughty Dog with lifelong friend, Jason Rubin. That would lead to the creation of Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter, and a game style we’ve come to appreciate for its use of technology and polish.

No doubt partly attributable to his time at MIT, Gavin’s programming know-how made him a recognizable leader in the gaming industry. Though he has turned his attention to books and hasn’t made a game since 2004, to date, more than 35 million of Andy’s games have been sold to the tune of a cool billion.

We cornered Andy on Twitter recently and he agreed to do an interview for Blast:

BLAST: In your career, you’ve created a bunch of memorable characters — Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Dexter. Where do you get your inspiration for your gaming characters?

ANDY GAVIN: Mostly from combining ideas from TV, comics, movies, books, films etc plus a dose of random and pure imagination.

BLAST: How did you get your start in the gaming industry?

AG: Jason and I met at age 12. We both loved video games and had some friends in common that swapped (aka pirated) games together. I was a pretty decent programmer and he was a good artist (for 12). Since my games ran well but were ugly and his looked great and crashed, we combined forces. We worked on some games we never published while 13 and 14, including an Apple II version of PunchOut, then when we were 15, sold our first game, Ski Crazed. Naughty Dog was born (although it was named JAM Software until 1986).

BLAST: But you’re a writer at heart right? Writer or gamer? What’s your label?

AG: Serial creative. I was a reader first, and during my entire video game career. I also did a lot of writing in High School and college (but never published anything). Only recently have I been able to devote the time to writing that it really needed. But I would say that my video game career really helped me with it, not so much in the particulars of story or prose craft, but with my general skills at managing and pacing big creative projects. I find that writing uses essentially the same creative muscles as game making.

BLAST: Well speaking of writing, you have a fantasy book that’s out now and, surprise, surprise, another on the way. Tell me about your upcoming title “Untimed” — I hear it’s steampunk. Can never get enough of that.

AG: “Untimed” is a YA time travel novel that chronicles the crazy adventures of a boy no one remembers, who falls through a hole in time and finds himself lost in the past. It’s very different with an extremely immediate first person present voice (in this book the only thing anyone can hold on to is the present). It rocks. Seriously rocks.

Right now (as of early May) it’s out on submission to New York and London publisher’s via my agent, Eddie Schneider of JABberwocky.

BLAST: You also co-founded a little outfit called Naughty Dog. Are you working on any gaming projects right now? What’s percolating? Anything caught in limbo that you want to try to free up here in this interview?

AG: I still love video games, particularly fantasy ones, but I don’t have anything in development. I’m counting the days until the release of Diablo III! I’d love to make a game somewhere between that, Dark Souls, and WoW. But then I think about the 5-7 year project…

BLAST: When you’re not writing or gaming or writing games, what do you do for fun, since this is all obviously WORK, right?

AG: Spending time with my family. Reading (mostly speculative fiction and history). Food and wine. I’m an incurable gourmand. Photography, video games, technology, history, travel, and archeology are a few of my other passions. I’m particularly fascinated by the ancient western world.

Depending on what kind of gamer you are, this may sting a bit. It turns out that before Naughty Dog began work on their upcoming end of the world action title, The Last of Us, they were well into development of Jak and Daxter 4, but scrapped plans when things started to feel forced.

“We dug around trying to find the core of Jak and Daxter,” The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann told Game Informer Magazine. “Who are the characters? We had to reboot it essentially. Every time we got excited about an idea we’d take a step back and look at it and be like ‘It’s not Jak and Daxter, are we just slapping the name on it for marketing reasons?’

Druckman went on to add that his computer is currently full of rejected ideas for Jak and Daxter 4.

“It started feeling like a compromise,” Druckmann added. “The more we tried to make Jak and Daxter like we wanted to, it didn’t feel like things were matching up. We have folders and folders filled with scrapped ideas.All the ideas just started to feel like they were going so far away from what made Jak and Daxter Jak and Daxter,” added Evan Wells, co founder of Naughty Dog. “Even though we wanted to give fans another Jak and Daxter, we felt we weren’t going to give them the game that they wanted, and that we would end up either limiting the direction that the company had this passion for while simultaneously not creating the game that fans wanted. We just realized we were going to just do everybody a disservice.”

So does that mean that the series is done?

“Never say never,” he said. “It could happen. Naughty Dog’s got a long history and I think it’s got a long future so to say we’ll never go back is kind of crazy but right now we’ve got The Last of Us that we’re definitely going to be supporting. I guess there’s a possibility that the Uncharted team could move on to Jak and Daxter. It’s still up in the air, but I wouldn’t think that’s going to happen, because I think we’d run into all of the same problems with that team that we did with this team.”

Those looking for some (semi) new Jak and Daxter action will want to pick up the HD collection, when it releases February 7. Check back later for our full review.

When news of The Last of Us broke last week, it seemed cool, but then at last night’s VGAs, it was announced that it was coming from Naughty Dog, the studio behind the Uncharted series. Alright, I’m interested. Check out the first trailer below.

In the coming weeks and months, you’re bound to hear a lot about the big things that make Uncharted 3 so special. You’re going to hear about the thrilling set pieces, the over the top action and the multiplayer. While these things are impressive and go a very long way in making the game what it is, they’re not what makes the game truly great. What separates Nathan Drake’s latest adventure from other action adventure games is the little touches. It’s in the way that Naughty Dog made the worlds and characters so believable, how through a combination of wonderful music, writing, pacing and gameplay, you’re going to care more about these characters than most.  

Simply put, Uncharted 3 is one of the best games I’ve ever played.

Once again you’re dumped in to a globetrotting adventure with Nathan Drake, Sully and the rest of his pals. Trying not to give away much, you’re on a quest that deals with Drake’s ancestor; Sir Francis Drake. While this may seem like business as usual for the franchise, it’s truly anything but. For the first time in franchise history, things aren’t as black and white as “we’re going here to look for treasure,” sure those moments are here, but the story is built around developing the believable relationships between characters like Drake and Sully or even the game’s new villain Katherine Marlowe. Key here is that for the first time ever, we’re actually doubting Drake’s intentions, and each of the game’s characters instantly feels much more real, and watching that story play out is incredibly interesting.

Perhaps what makes the game so incredibly riveting to watch is just how well every part of the game works in unison. The story features absolutely brilliant pacing that rivals that of Hollywood movies, and the top notch voice acting combined with the stunning score and remarkable visuals makes for a great experience. With Uncharted 3, Naughty Dog has cemented their reputation as one of the best storytellers in not just the industry, but all of popular culture.  It’s seen in the relationship reveals, the stunning plot twists that make you rethink the entire strategy, and perhaps most importantly, the game’s feeling of resonance players are sure to have each time they step away.

Gameplay wise, Uncharted 3 takes a lot from its most recent predecessor, but here, things have been fine tuned. You’ll still jump from ledge to ledge, shimmy across pipes and escape from certain death at the last minute, but somehow – it still feels fresh and new. Perhaps it’s because the game at times challenges what you think you know from the series. Take one of the game’s early stages where I was trying to follow the game’s villain, Katherine Marlowe. To get a better vantage point, I jumped on to a pole protruding from the side of the building, but before I knew it, it snapped in half, sending me to my death. It’s moments like these that caused me to stop and rethink my choices for most of the game.

The majority of Uncharted 3’s campaign is centered around gigantic, over-the-top action movie style set pieces that even outdo those of the previous game. Whether it’s clinging for dear life to a chain on the outside of an old tower or escaping a burning chateau in France, Uncharted 3 is full of moments that are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.  What makes these moments so memorable is just how human Drake feels during them. Now, I’ve heard a lot of complaints about how Drake feels less human this go-round, how he can seemingly survive anything, but do you really want the opposite? Do you want to have to start over after every gunshot, every grenade toss. Drake is remarkably human and relatable because after these events, he’s huffing and puffing, trying to catch his breath; amazed at what just happened.  He shows true emotion. He seems to be just as surprised at what just happened as I did. If you ask me, that’s much more human than most action games, which feature heroes who don’t even flinch in the face of danger.

I may be in the minority here, but I actually loved the melee combat in Uncharted 2, so I was a bit apprehensive when I learned they were changing it for the new game, but after only a few minutes, I found myself enjoying myself every bit as much as in the previous game. There’s now a dedicated reversal system, which goes a long way in helping change the rhythm of a fight, along with a context sensitive grab mechanic. Say you’re standing by a window, you can grab a guy and toss him out of it, or slide him down a bar you’re next to. If I had to compare it to another game, it would be that of the recently released Arkham City, which also had a stellar melee system.

Uncharted 3 is at its best when it’s doing two things, keeping me on the edge of my seat and making me care about what’s happening to its characters. The game succeeds most in both ways about midway through the game, when (hoping to avoid giving too much away) Drake is alone in the desert and you feel like you’re right alongside him. Naughty Dog does this by using a number of camera and control tricks that bring the player even more in to the game.  Go into a cave with tight passageways and the camera zooms in and stays tight on Drake, so you feel like you’re there.  Another great example is in the opening bar scene where Drake rests against the bar for a second, it’s an extremely believable animation, and doesn’t progress until the character allows it to. Nathan Drake feels less like a character, and more like a believable person.

 The Blast Factor: I play most games in a predictable fashion. I sit down, play for a few hours and then I walk away. I do anything else. I let the game brew in my head. With Uncharted 3, I couldn’t do that, every time I tried to walk away, I was pulled back. I needed to know what happens next; and that my friends is the mark of a truly excellent game. Uncharted 3 is sure to wow you with its fantastic presentation, thrilling gameplay and all around complete package. This is a game that I can’t recommend enough, and your PS3 library is not complete without it.

Naughty Dog released this new footage of Uncharted 3′s desert environment, and it’s downright gorgeous. Fair warning before you check it out, there’s one minor spoiler…sort of. Uncharted 3 launches for the PS3 on November 1, 2011. Enjoy!

We’re used to our game heroes seeming immortal, but things aren’t so set in stone at Naughty Dog, makers of the acclaimed Uncharted series, as they say that they’d readily kill off one of the game’s main characters if the story called for it.

“We’re not dogmatic about anything,” Naughty Dog’s Co-President Evan Wells told cvg.com. “If that is what it takes [to advance the storyline] then that’s what it takes. And not just for dramatic shock value – it would definitely have to tie into the narrative that [we're] trying to tell and expose an aspect of Drake’s character that we would want to delve into.”

Wells also confirmed that the series two female protagonists Chloe and Elena do make appearances in the game (as revealed in the trailer), but play a less prominent role this time around.
“We are trying to keep things fresh and draw certain aspects of Nate’s personality out as well as the characters he’s surrounded with,” he explains. “Chloe and Elena are back but they aren’t the emphasis of the story the way they were in Uncharted 2. This time round the emphasis is on Victor Sullivan and his mentor/protégé relationship with Drake.”

Check out Uncharted 3 when it launches for the PS3 this November.

Update: Naughty Dog has confirmed that this art is not authentic. Sorry folks.

We’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about Uncharted 3, but it finally looks like those rumors may have some weight to them.  Amazon France now has a listing for Uncharted 3: World of Deceit.

The listing, which doesn’t have a concrete release date comes on the heels of what seems to be leaked art by Los Angeles based concept designer Albert Ng, which also bares the title “World of Deceit.” When questioned about the art, Ng claimed it was merely “fan art” done for “his architecture class.” It should also be noted that Albert NG’s website also features other concept art from games, so take this one with a grain of salt.

Earlier this year, an employee at Naughty Dog’s LinkedIn page was caught with Uncharted 3 as their current project. Sony and Naughty Dog have yet to comment on the rumors.

Check out the concept sketches below, What do you think?

Uncharted and Jak & Daxter development studio Naughty Dog is moving to a brand new studio in sunny Santa Monica, California, the company said on its blog today.

The team announced the move this morning and detailed it saying the team will pack up and move an entire 500 feet to a “killer new studio” with “significant upgrades” where the team will build Uncharted and Jak & Daxter sequels.

Images of Naughty Dog’s new space can be seen on the studio’s Flickr account. The new place looks really, really nice.

What’s more, the studio released this commemorative artwork reflecting the move, which we’re also pretty fond of.

The move, in cartoon fashion.

Last night at the 13th annual The Academy of Arts and Sciences awards in Las Vegas, Uncharted 2 took home a whopping 10 awards.

The event is heralded as the most respected and recognized award show for interactive entertainment and the awards are voted on by industry professionals.

Uncharted 2 seized ten awards including overall game of the year for 2009. Other games receiving awards included the usual suspects; Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and others.

Here’s a list of winners from last evening. If you missed the live streaming broadcast on IFC.com last night, it’ll be replayed February 26th 10 p.m. EST, 9 p.m. Central on TV.

Outstanding Achievement in Animation — Uncharted 2

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction — Uncharted 2

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering — Uncharted 2

Outstanding Achievement in Gameplay Engineering — Uncharted 2

Outstanding Character Performance – The Joker, Batman: Arkham Asylum

Family Game of the Year — The Beatles: Rock Band

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year — Brutal Legend

Videogame Pioneer Award — David Crane

Outstanding Achievement In Adapted Story — Batman; Arkham Asylum

Outstanding Achievement in Original Story — Uncharted 2

Best MMO/RPG of the Year — Dragon Age: Origns

Outstanding Innovation in Gaming — Scribblenauts

Hall-of-Fame Award — Mark Cerny

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition — Uncharted 2

Outstanding Achievement in Soundtrack — Brutal Legend

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design — Uncharted 2

Adventure Game of the Year — Uncharted 2

Outstanding Achievement in Online Gameplay — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Action Game of the Year — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Lifetime Achievement Award — Doug Lowenstein

Sports Game of the Year — FIFA Soccer 10

Racing Game of the Year — Forza Motorsport 3

Fighting Game of the Year — Street Fighter IV

Outstanding Achievement in Portable Game Design — Scribblenauts

Portable Game of the Year — Scribblenauts

Casual Game of the Year — Flower

Social Networking Game of the Year — Farmville

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design — Batman: Arkham Asylum

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction — Uncharted 2

Overall Game of the Year — Uncharted 2

A Long Beach, California animal shelter has been sponsored by video game developer Naughty Dog, a Kotaku report today says.

According to Kotaku, the shelters in the Long Beach area are sponsored by companies to help pay for the needs of the kennels. Food, grooming maters, etc.

Naughty Dog's Shelter.

But not this one. This shelter is sponsored by video game developer Naughty Dog, the team responsible for the Jak and Dexter and Uncharted series.

What’s  nice about this news is that Naughty Dog never issued a self-praising press release noting how great Naughty Dog is for doing this, and for that, I praise them. Why is it if we do nice things, people have to know?

Source: Kotaku

Uncharted 2 is about to get a lot more beefy, as developer Naughty Dog today announced a slew of new content for the action/adventure game set to release in just two weeks.

Arriving Feb. 25 on the PlayStation Network will be two new maps, 6 character skins, more PlayStation Trophies and a handful of in-game medals to earn.

More of this soon.

According to the report from mega-game site IGN, the DLC, which will set you back a very affordable $5.99, is comprised of content based off the original Uncharted title.

The maps are based off environments from the original and the character skins, playable in the game’s online component, are that of Drake, Elena, Atoq Navarro from the original.

All the medals and Trophies will be earned in multiplayer, which we assume to be our hint that Naughty Dog wants us to play online more.

The maps can be purchased separately for $3.99, the skins for $2.99 or, as previously noted, both for $5.99.

More information, including specifics about the Trophies and medals can be found at the IGN report.

Source: Uncharted : Among Thieves DLC Blast

I have no problem proclaiming Uncharted 2: Among Thieves to be my most beloved game of 2009, and holding it in the highest-esteemed category of all time, so today’s utterance of a third installment is intriguing to say the very least.

Legendary voice-actor Nolan North, aka the voice of video games, who’s lent his vocal box to 2009′s Halo 3: ODST, Assassin’s Creed II, Uncharted 2, and Shadow Complex, today pretty much revealed a third Uncharted game is in the works, and that he’ll reprise his role as Nathan Drake in it.

Additionally, the actor told GamePro he’ll be working on the Assassin’s Creed II sequel as well, making his 2010 working schedule heavy on hits.

Personally, I wish some studio would lock the man up for a long exclusive contract. When I played and reviewed Army of Two: The 40th Day last week and heard his voice every minute, it almost destroyed the authenticity of the game, as all I could think of was Nathan Drake the entire time.

Source: IGN

Seems like everyone and their brother wants in on the money-making motion-control movement Nintendo started with the Wii, but not Naughty Dog.

That’s right, the “Uncharted” development team wants nothing to do with the new fad.

“We really don’t have any interest in using the motion control to do a third-person action game,” said Naughty Dog boss Evan Wells. “If we were going to make a motion controller game, we’d want to tackle it from the bottom up and make sure that we were designing the game around the motion control, the way the best Wii games are designed.

Motion control? Totally not happening.

“I’m not a Wii hater at all, in fact, it’s probably one of my most played consoles in the house. I have a 3-year-old son which might account for some of that, but Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort are some of the best experiences of this generation, honestly …  I think the PlayStation audience is totally for it. In fact, I bet you there are lot of closet Wii owners in the PlayStation community.”

As a recent PlayStation 3 adopter, and lover of all things Nate Drake, this is very, very sweet news, at least for me, a lover of fundamental mechanics with my action/adventure games.

Source: Destructoid

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves just got bigger, better, and more multiplayer enhanced.

Developer Naughty Dog, who crafted one of the best reviewed games ever, added an additional multiplayer environment to the fray and built in some new stat-tracking elements, to keep gamers enthused in the action/adventure title.

The new map is called “The Fort,” and as Naughty Dog put it, it’s a throwback map, designed from an environment from the original game.

The map looks and sounds to be loads of fun as it’s a long rectangular map with wide open spaces and excellent flank routes, with a shotgun located in the center and RPGs along the outside.

What’s more, if you’re into showboating and stat-tracking, Naughty Dog added leaderboards to the multiplayer menu.

Now your precious kill/death ratio will be tracked, as well as the number of wins, losses, level, competitive wins, money, and co-op points.

Happy hunting folks, and here’s a detailed video showing off the new locale.

Source: Naughty Dog via Destructoid

We could save ourselves a lot of time if I just told you straight up that you need to get Uncharted 2. If you have a Playstation 3 and don’t own it yet, why don’t you stop whatever you’re doing and just go get it. If you liked the first one at all, then you’ll love this one–it’s better in every way. If you don’t have a Playstation 3 yet, then this is one of the best reasons for you to go get one. For those of you that are still here and need a bit more convincing, read on; Uncharted 2 is one of the best games on the Playstation 3, and a serious contender for Game of the Year on any platform.

Let’s start with the shiny and fun stuff: Uncharted 2 has the most impressive graphics I’ve ever seen on a console game. If that sounds like hyperbole, then you haven’t seen Uncharted 2 in action, so quit your whining and go find out for yourself before you contradict me. Animations are fluid and realistic. The environments, which were part of what drew people to the original game in the first place, are brighter, colorful, and just feel alive. There are parts of this game that approach photo realistic, and the cutscenes use the in-game engine (Naughty Dog Engine 2.0, an upgraded version) to tell the game’s story–the seamless transitions between cutscenes and in-game events is impressive, to say the least.

The music in the game is wonderful in its ambient nature, rising and falling at all of the right times to increase tension and keep you focused on the game world. Sound effects are satisfying to hear–explosions, gun fire, the chatter of Nathan Drake as he rolls away from grenades or pops a guy in the head with a shot. Most wonderful is the voice acting though–the writing and acting are of such high quality that the game is almost as entertaining to watch as it is to play. Nathan is a lovable lead, but the supporting cast is just as entertaining–old favorites in Sully and Elena return, along with newbies like Harry Flynn and Chloe, two characters who have a history with Nate that are with you through various means throughout the adventure.

The story is well done (just like in the first game) so even if you begin to tire of shooting from behind cover at your enemies, you will want to keep playing to hear that next line or see the tale unfold. I won’t spoil a thing for you, but the game begins in the midst of the action, with Drake falling out of a train car that’s suspending from a snowy mountain. Flashbacks bring you into the past, and you play your way right back to the scene after a significant number of hours. It’s a neat mechanic that is not seen very often in games, and it worked to great effect here as you re-lived the events of Drake’s life leading up to his being half-dead in the snow.

Uncharted 2′s gameplay is split into three distinct sections: platforming, puzzles, and shooting. The puzzles in this sequel are improved from the first–they aren’t as painfully obvious, and you now get to flip through a few pages of your journal at a time in order to figure out just where Nate has seen this puzzle before. They are still simple though, but enjoyable to solve. The platforming is the more significant part of the gameplay, as you will spend a huge chunk of your time in Uncharted 2 climbing, jumping, and trying your best not to look down. Climbing isn’t as easy as it was in say, inFAMOUS, where you automatically latch on to everything, but that’s because there are more specific paths for Drake and company in this game than in that one starring a super powered protagonist. Climbing is satisfying, and sometimes finding the right path is a puzzle unto itself–a more challenging one than the actual puzzles at times. There’s a hint system in place if you take too long, and you can press up on the D-pad when notified one is available to see it. It’s helpful, especially your first time through the game, as it just points you in the right direction without actively telling you what needs to be done.

You’ll spend more time shooting than anything in Uncharted 2, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. Luckily, the controls are tighter, and for this reason you’ll have much more fun blasting away mercenaries than you did in the original. For one, grenades are now thrown by holding L2 to create a throwing arc, and then releasing it to toss your grenade. Need a quick explosion? Naughty Dog’s got you covered there too, as you can now blind fire a grenade using your reticule as a quick and dirty guide; hold L1 and press L2 to fire your grenades this way. I use this more often than the more accurate system, just because there isn’t always time to setup a grenade lob. Plus, it’s a hand grenade, and almost counts here; you don’t need to be spot on with each one to do damage.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, one of the most hotly hyped PlayStation 3 games of this year will include Twitter integration.

As imaged below, the main screen in Ucharted 2 has a “Twitter” tab. Accessing this feature allows adventure gamers to let the world know of their in-game habits.

The in-game Twitter account will be tied to your real-life one, and whenever you reach a level milestone, log into multiplayer, upload a cinema file, when you complete a chapter, and when trophies are unlocked, your followers will know.

Maybe it’ll look something like “Earned the Nathan Drake: Certified Badass trophy,” or “Achieved 10 headshots in multiplayer.” Whatever it shows, we like this new social combination and can’t wait to see how it plays out.

How do you feel about letting the world know when you’ve accomplished an in-game feat?

via The BPPS

The way video games are cinematically scripted and executed these days, coupled with our growing love for the medium, makes a corresponding major motion picture a very attractive risk for movie houses. Well, today the Hollywood Reporter is stating that Columbia Pictures has signed on to bring the award winning story of Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune to the big screen.

Kyle Ward, the man responsible for the Hitman flick and the Kane and Lynch film in development, is currently building the script, but all we know now is that it’s moving ahead. How? Not so sure.

The PS3 exclusive from developer Naughty Dog was a smashing success; with jungle-themed action, emotional weight of the main character Nathan Drake, and the fact that today it lives on as a “must have” for new PlayStation 3 gamers, how could it not be?

No word on who will play Nathan Drake, or anyone else in the game for that matter, but why not speculate?

Let us know who you’d think would make a great jungle adventurer.

Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune sadly(or not, that’s up to you) had no multiplayer, but the sequel, Among Thieves, contains frenzied online mayhem in both a cooperative and competitive manner, and best of all, the beta for said multiplayer began yesterday.

However, the only way to gain entry to the exclusive beta is through the purchase of another Sony exclusive, inFamous. We’re not saying this is a bad thing, as inFamous looks to be an incredible title worth your money, only that you can’t simply download it freely.

So if you’ve already purchased inFamous and were unaware of the gift, snap open that box as soon as possible and enter your redemption code on the PSN. And if you need any more reason to pick up inFamous, maybe this beta will be your deciding factor.

Questions or concerns regarding the beta? Head on over here, to the PlayStation blog where Uncharted 2 multiplayer designer Justin Richmond has an in-depth guide to multiplayer in the title.

The beta runs from June 3 to 28 so get in while the going’s good!

If you’re already in the beta leave us your impressions in the comments.

If 2009 is to be the year of the PlayStation 3 then certainly the outcome is hinged upon the successes of key exclusive titles, namely Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.

The crew at Naughty Dog, developers of the famed original, has been quite secretive regarding the hotly anticipated sequel, but today, in an interview with IGN, Richard Lemarchard, co-lead designer on the project spilled a few beans regarding environmental design and teased us more with six new and snowy screenshots.

Speaking about the new traversal system Lemarchard said:

“To that end, we’ve added animations and technology that allow Drake to climb and explore the environment in a much more free-form and organic manner. Drake’s movement has expanded by leaps and bounds (Pun intended!) beyond just jumping from handhold to handhold. Drake now freely clambers hand over hand on all sorts of objects like walls, ladders, signposts, monkey bars, ledges, ropes and so on. We added the ability for him to swing on free-hanging ropes across chasms, too.”

Unlike the original, Among Thieves will have Drake climbing over more than just rock ledges, prompting the question of how Naughty Dog goes about level design.‚  Lemarchard noted that no new game engine was built for the sequel, instead borrowing from the original allowed for developers to:

“Very quickly rough out a space in 3D, build it in our tools, and then immediately run and climb around it to get a sense of the space: the feeling of scale that the environment has, how easy it is to perceive paths through the level, the lines of sight that you have from the various spots that you can climb or run to, and so on.”

Finally, as you may remember, in the jungles of the original, the water looked beautiful and had the physics spot on.‚  The elemental successes Naughty Dog created in the original have been carried over to Among Thieves Lemarchard promises.

“We’ve spent a lot of time focused on the distinctive look that snow has as it falls and is blown by the wind, and of course on the way in which Drake leaves footprints as he trudges through the snowdrifts in the Himalayan mountains that he ventures to. When he’s out in the snow he’ll accumulate a layer of snowflakes on his clothes and in his hair, which will slowly thaw when he gets back inside under cover. Ice reflects light in a way that cleverly mimics the sub-surface scattering that goes on inside a chunk of frozen water, and gives it a look of incredible volume and density. We have a few more tricks up our sleeves, too – all in all, we’re really happy with the way the weather’s shaping up in Uncharted 2.”

Mixing elements from the short and tantalizing teaser trailer in December and now this interview, Among Thieves really looks and sounds to be truly top-notch.‚  No rush Naughty Dog, take your time, we will wait.

Enjoy these snow-ridden screens found in the gallery.

Head on‚  over to IGN.com for the full interview and high-res screens.