The Last of Us 2 story leaks has a huge impact on the perception of the game. There is no denying that these story leaks will have an impact on the sales of the game. The extent of this impact is still not clear but its negativity is evident. Many are accusing Naughty Dog of imposing their ideology on players. I do agree with this remark to some extent but not completely. An indirect message is more impactful than a direct one because it stays at neutral grounds. Naughty Dog is pushing its idea of diversity as the only opinion that matters. In the process, they are forgetting that they are making The Last of Us Part 2 for players, not themselves.
For a long time, Naughty Dog was one of the most respectable studios in the industry. The company is somewhat notorious for crunch time. As per rumors an employee who was not getting paid and was forced into crunch time which got him frustrated. This treatment by the company led the employee to fill the internet with leaks. Leaks have forced the company to release the game. However, SIE has confirmed that they don’t know the identity of the leaker. As per reports, the leaker has no relation to Sony or Naughty Dog. Are we are going to take their word for it? so that they can avoid talking about crunch time. Naughty Dog talks about quality, diversity, and representation while violating human rights as an employer.
The Last of Us Part 2 Story (Without Spoilers)
The Last of Us 2 takes place five years after the events of the first game. This time, players will take control of now 19 years of Ellie. She will come into conflict with a mysterious Christian cult. There are many factors at play that lead to some major issues. I am not going to discuss anything about the plot. Despite leaks, I will still enjoy the game. Some players are pissed and they are thanking the employee who leaked the footage. Others are angry at the employee for ruining their gameplay experience or betraying the hard work of teammates. I will tell you that the ending is not what many would expect. Players are feeling betrayed for the type of ending they saw in the leaks.
Problem with The Last of Us 2 Story Leaks
The Last of Us 2 story leaks will not only impact the game but the identity of Naughty Dog as a company as well. Even Sony is under pressure for how Naughty Dogs is treating their employee and how they are presenting their ideas in the game. The presentation of an idea is not that much of an issue as boosting about it is. Naughty Dog is calling out to players by telling them that you don’t have to play the game if you have a problem with it. I do agree that a game should not face negativity just because of its ideas but enforcing these ideas can cause a backlash.
Leaks of the game are giving us more spoilers that do not align with what people expect. Despite all the spoilers, the full story is still not there. A person needs to play a game to experience its story. The game is set to release on June 19, 2020. We can’t say anything about it before the release. Even if it is a story-driven game. Surely the leaks will have an impact on the sale of the game but it wouldn’t be that much. The intentional visibility of the ideology might be turning some against the game but not all.
Naughty Dog Games Show Diversity and Equality but They are Not the First
We can all agree that when it comes to diversity and gender representation Naughty Dog surely flaunts a lot. They say that games or other media need to represent all races and genders. I do agree with that logic but it all depends on the business. You can’t make a game in a small country because it will limit the versatility of the story. If that was the case, then The Last of Us 2 could have taken place in Maldives or Taiwan or, Chile or any other country. Even Naughty Dog knows it, which is the reason that their games are related to the United States. Due to its cultural diversity, it offers the perfect setting.
The Last of Us Part 2 or any other Naughty Dog game is not the only that shows diversity. Apex Legends has a diverse amount of characters from different races and cultures. They are even representing non-binary characters in the form of Bloodhound. We never saw respawn talking about it all the time. They just made the game so that people can guess diversity and representation just through playing. Resident Evil has strong female characters that are presented in a non-sexualized way. New Tomb Raider Games offers the same kind of ideology and these are only a few of the games. Developers of these games never flaunted about it but we still noticed it. There was no negativity no drama just pure indirect message by other games. The Last of Us 2 story leaks is not the only issue but rather the attitude of developers as well.
Sony and Naughty Dog are Not Talking about Crunch time
Crunch time is one of the major issues in video gaming. It refers to the extra time that an employee has to undergo to finish a game on a set deadline. Mostly this extra working time is not paid or underpaid which leads to exhausting the employees. The mental breakdown is not uncommon in game development due to immense pressure. Some employees have to work up to 100 hours a week, which is ridiculous. Crunch time is a major issue that has been part of discussions on governmental level. Harsh treatment of employees is not only limited to crunch time. Most of the time, video game developers would terminate the position of employees after a game is released. Developers mostly hire employees for each game development. A permanent job is a major issue in the industry which leads to the harsh treatment of employees.
Some of the studios are notorious for extreme crunch time Naughty Dog is one of these studios. In fact, the studio is infamous for its unethical behavior of employees. Nearly 70% of the original staff has left the company due to harsh treatment. Sony is saying that the leaker has been identified. The Last of Us 2 story leaks is not the issue but it relates to the grand scheme of things. The game is going to take some loses but Naughty Dog is losing the respect which is more damaging for developers in the long run
Indirect Message is Always More Impactful
Had Naughty Dog been quite about everything and left the game as it is then none of it would have been a problem. An indirect message is always more impactful than a forceful direct message. I get it that developers are trying to make a game that provides a realistic experience. After all The Last of Us, Part 2 is a story-driven game so emotions are important. Storytelling is about giving lessons through action, not through a direct explanation. Naughty Dog is giving a direct explanation and forcing everyone to get on the train or get left behind. People play games to escape reality and politics not experience it. Final Fantasy VII Remake also had diversity but they never presented it directly. People still got the meaning, it’s like Naughty Dog is pretending that everyone is dumb.
With the direct presentation of the idea, many players who were already against such philosophy began hating the game. If you don’t provoke a person and explain to them what you think then that person would listen. Most of the time they would change their mind. However, you tell them that you are the only right person then things can get messy. Even people who didn’t care about the philosophy of the game are now discussing it. Direct presentation of ideology is always more damaging than an indirect one. Action speaks louder than words. Naughty Dog did the opposite even though they had a chance to show everything through action. The topic of The Last of Us 2 story leaks is deeper than meets the eye.
Verdict
The Last of Us 2 story leaks are creating quite a buzz. The issue forced Sony to release the game even though the release was canceled. Many rumors are spiraling around the internet regarding the leaker. In the beginning, the leaker was considered to be a frustrated Naughty Dog employee. Now Sony has confirmed that the leaker has no relation with SIE or any of its studios. One thing is clear, crunch time is the major issue of video gaming which is a human rights violation. Naughty Dog is focusing on other issues while neglecting the basic issue of crunch time. Many other games are presenting different ideologies indirectly but The Last of Us part 2 is more about words than action. With the release of next-gen consoles on the horizon, Is it a smart thing to do?
