The Last of Us developer on the challenges of adapting the game for HBO

The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game where you play as two people — Joel and Ellie — who must make their way across the United States in the wake of a deadly plague that has collapsed society and turned “the infected” into horrible mutant monsters. It’s pretty much your standard zombie apocalypse setup, but the game distinguishes itself with intense gameplay and sensitive storytelling, building Joel and Ellie into characters you really care about by the end.

The Last of Us was a huge hit, so it was inevitable we’d get more. There’s a graphic novel, a sequel coming out this year, and an HBO adaptation being developed by Neil Druckmann, the writer and director on the original game, and Craig Mazin, the guy behind HBO’s very serious cold war-era drama Chernobyl.

It’s an interesting team-up, but one I’m definitely excited to see play out. But Druckmann is still getting used to working in a whole new medium. In the games, he and the team at Naughty Dog lean on the direct connection between the players and the characters — you literally control them — to players feel what the characters are feeling. But in TV, things are at a bit more of a remove. “Can we make you feel hate, guilt, shame?” Druckmann asked Entertainment Weekly. “Which are interesting feelings that are totally unique to video games. You can’t quite do it in films and TV.”

"In removing the interactivity of the story, how do you make it unique for this other medium? It’s an interesting challenge, and I think there’s a lot to learn from it. More specifically with the show, I got to meet Craig Mazin. I’m a huge fan of Chernobyl, and to find someone who’s equally a fan of the work we’ve done…"

Now, I’m gonna give Druckmann the benefit of the doubt and assume he didn’t mean that emotions like hate, guilt and shame are literally unique to video games; obviously, a TV show or movie can make you feel things. I felt plenty of those emotions while watching Chernobyl, for example, which explored how a small group of Soviet scientists and government officials tried to uncover the truth behind the infamous nuclear meltdown, all while those in power tried to suppress it.

But I get that viewers will come by those feelings in different ways, which is why I’m happy Mazin is on board to assist. “Craig had ideas about how to adapt the show, it became intriguing to work with another creative who I admire,” Druckmann continued. “It just became a no-brainer — and to do it under the umbrella of HBO and all their content.”

This is the first time HBO has adapted a video game as a TV show, and I think they’ve chosen the right one, although given everything that’s been going on these past few months, I’d understand if people are wary about a story where the world has been decimated by plague. But this could still be a good show, with The Last of Us Part 2 providing material for a second season if HBO wanted to go there. “We made a game that, at times, has really lighthearted moments and full sequences that are emotionally challenging to play,” Druckmann said of the sequel, “and we believe [it] will provoke interesting philosophical conversations about the cycle of violence and justice and tribalism and trauma, things that are very relevant to the world that we live in.”

Working on the new game also helped Druckmann prepare for the TV show, because the more advanced technology of the PlayStation 4 allowed him and his team to “better capture the nuances of the actors, which means we don’t have to rely on dialogue as much.” TV acting is all about nuance, what with the camera right in people’s faces, so this is good groundwork. “So much can be said with a look or a squint in a way that is pretty new for video games, even for us. You just get more confidence in writing less of what might not be seen on the page.”

The Last of Us Part II comes out on June 19. As for the show, there’s no release date set — I doubt they’ve even begun casting or anything — but I’m already looking forward to it.

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h/t SyFy Wire