“Man, that was a great day. It was a sad day. “
What kind of event could provoke such a violent emotional turn, a reaction so broad that it seems to contradict itself while implying that there is more complexity to the naked eye? by Troy Baker, the veteran voice actor who plays Joel in The last of us, part II, it was his last day of filming (motion capture style) together Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie in the game. In her exclusive appearance on Collider Games Podcast with our own Dorian Parks and Dennis Tzeng, Baker got into the tumultuous ups and downs of wrapping up a company as the Naughty Dog masterpiece.
Image via Naughty Dog, Sony Interactive Entertainment
The rumors about TLOU2 they are true. It is very violent and very brutal. As Baker said, “It is the most brutal game I have ever played … But it is not free.” In fact, and those of you who remember that damn giraffe moment from the first will agree: The last of us games often host surprising moments of beauty among the butcher shop. Baker argues that these brutal moments are necessary for beautiful moments: “This game rests on a pendulum, and to reach the heights it must reach, it must go to the depths. So to reach that level of beauty, we must have that level of despair. This is how it works, that’s the physics of emotion. “
That pendulum swings even more when you have a “fully developed character” like Ellie, and the game lets you “be the version of Ellie you want to be.” I, like many players in TLOU, have grown attached to both Ellie and Joel. So naturally did Baker and Johnson, the performers of these iconic characters. And when it came to the last moments of these two artists working together … well, Baker can tell the story (and give some shade to Unexplored actor Nolan North for good measure).
“There was no dry eye on stage. There are about 30 people on stage. And it is a scene. That was an interesting thing; There were a couple of scenes there that I thought, ‘Shit, that was our whole morning. Like, we worked an entire morning on one scene, or we spent the whole afternoon on one scene, ‘and that was one of them. And that’s the only thing no one wants to hear is, ‘That’s a wrap …’ And I had just seen Nolan go through this with Unexplored. And she was giving her shit … because she always loves to keep court, but she doesn’t want to be the center of attention when it’s a real time. And suddenly I look, and he’s not paying attention Uncharted 4. And they are taking out the cart with a cake and champagne and I say: ‘Ohhhhh shit’. And they say, ‘Everyone, that’s a wrap for Nathan Drake.’ And they say, ‘Talk!’ And he says, ‘I just want to go to my car and get out of here.’ And so here it is, we’re finishing me, and here comes the champagne, and I say, ‘I don’t want to be here.’ We all just hung out because we didn’t want to leave. “
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment
As if that wasn’t enough emotional damage for Mr. Baker, wait until you hear what a text message sent to his scene partner Johnson after his wrap: “’A lot of life has passed between that day and this. In many ways, the story of this game and that journey reflects our individual paths. ” And I said, I said, ‘I can’t say I was impressed by your performance because it has the opposite effect. I get closer and closer as I go. Each choice is handled with skill and honesty. I can’t say enough friend Ashley is turning off the lights to the next level. The next level goes out. “
Watch Baker’s emotional story in the following clip. To see these two work together with their majesty of “lights off of the next level”, look The last of us, part II, on PlayStation 4 now. And if you want to know how to get all the trophies, we support you.
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