Should I save a little girl, or leave the hope of saving the world?
Many players online were arguing about this non-stop.
After all, if we follow a traditional story, what would most likely happen is Ellie sacrificing herself to save the world.
But in the game, players had no choice, which left some players feeling quite critical after experiencing it.
"Why did Joel have to selfishly save Ellie from the Fireflies in the end, anyway?"
"Exactly, I think it might have been better if they made it so players could choose the ending. After all, from Ellie's perspective, she also wanted to change this hopeless world."
Of course, most players disagreed.
"A bunch of people have nothing better to do. If Joel really let Ellie sacrifice herself, I'd be furious with Lucas!"
"Right, if the ending was like you guys are saying, it would be too messed up. Besides the writer being self-indulgent, I don't see any point."
"+1. You say the ending is too selfish now. If Joel or Ellie had to sacrifice themselves, you'd probably be complaining the other way around then."
Players split into two groups, sharing their opinions, but it was clear the disagreeing players had the upper hand.
The discussions on related forum posts continued without end.
In just one day, nearly ten thousand posts accumulated, with players arguing back and forth.
But just then, something unexpected happened for many players: Lucas actually publicly replied to this question on the official blog.
This surprised not only the players but also the media and game designers in the industry, who all turned their attention to it.
Because on the official blog, Lucas also introduced the unique features of the interactive points in "The Last of Us."
"Some players are discussing why Ellie couldn't sacrifice herself to save the world in the end. Here, I want to say that from the very beginning, the ending of 'The Last of Us' was already set."
"There's no question of players being given a choice at the end, or other reasons, such as whether the doctors at the Fireflies could create a cure with their basic equipment."
"These are just fantasies about the later story. What truly decides everything is Joel's character in the game."
"Once Joel's character profile was established, it meant that 'The Last of Us' only had one possible ending."
"Firstly, Joel's character design in the game, like the prologue with Sarah, was not just to build player emotions and deliver enough emotional impact through Sarah's death. It was also to quickly establish the story's intensity, and more importantly, to show Joel's care for his daughter, as well as his selfishness."
"In the prologue, Tommy was driving Joel and Sarah. They encountered people asking for help, and Tommy wanted to stop, but Joel strongly opposed it. He even asked Tommy to just drive through the crowd. However, Tommy refused. And through dialogue when they reached Pittsburgh, you can learn that Joel used to be a hunter, which was also the main reason he parted ways with Tommy."
"This was to highlight Joel's self-serving and selfish side. Then there's the very important point: Tess's sacrifice."
"So how did Joel end up escorting Ellie? It's because Joel is someone who doesn't care about the world, only about the people he values."
"Sarah in the past and Tess later on were like this. That's why in the small town, when Bill mentioned Tess, Joel got angry."
"And this design also helps players better understand Joel's harshness towards Ellie through Tess's death."
"These personality preparations already determined the later development. Ellie's story is also like this. How to create an emotional connection between Ellie and Joel? It's through mutual reliance."
"Initially, after being saved by Ellie, Joel slowly began to recognize her abilities, and their relationship gradually changed from strangers to trusted people. She slowly overlapped with the image of his deceased daughter."
"Ellie, too, had always been abandoned. From the quarantine zone to the Fireflies, and then being given to the smuggler Joel by Marlene from the Fireflies, the emotional connection built along the way made Ellie see Joel as her father."
"Then Joel got injured, and their relationship changed from protection to being protected, and then to mutual reliance. At this point, the emotional bond between Ellie and Joel was elevated to a new level. So in the end, there could only be an ending that seemingly 'violates justice,' and no other one."
"Unless in some parallel universe, Joel and Ellie's characters completely fell apart, then a so-called just ending might appear."
......
After seeing Lucas's long message, many players were surprised.
This was the first time Lucas had given such a formal answer.
He even analyzed and explained the game's design and purpose.
Industry designers were especially amazed.
Although he didn't go into fine detail, Lucas's words had conveyed the core and special aspects of "The Last of Us."
It was basically telling all the industry designers why "The Last of Us" was so successful!
However, Lucas didn't care about the surprise of the industry designers.
Because knowing some things is useless.
Just like in his previous life, after "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" achieved great success, its director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and Yasuaki Miyamoto detailed its physics, the triangle rule, and the three-measure map design principles at a game development conference. Yet, there was still only one "Breath of the Wild."
But game industry designers focused on what "The Last of Us" relied on for its success.
How its interactive features were designed.
Ordinary players, besides cheering and celebrating Lucas's answer, shifted their attention and focus to another point.
That is, this "knife" was indeed aimed squarely at the players!
On major community forums, not many players were discussing the ending anymore. Their conversation had all shifted to Lucas.
"Holy crap, I knew it! Lucas was definitely doing it on purpose! What do they mean by 'warrior of love'? This is a warrior of love! Look at what he's saying? ['Through Sarah's death to deliver enough emotional impact for players, quickly establishing the story's intensity.']. So this was specifically aimed at us, they were prepared!"
"+1. Tess's death was the same. We were perfectly tricked by Boss Lucas!"
"All I can say is, I can't beat Boss Lucas!"
Following Lucas's official blog post, countless players expressed their feelings.
As for Lucas?
After posting the message, he went completely silent.
After all, it's better to lie low at this point.
If players curse? Let them curse. As long as they buy after cursing.
(End of chapter)
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