The Last of Us Ellie Will Be a Smart and Resourceful Companion, Dev Says

The Last of Us, the upcoming survival game from Naughty Dog, will focus on two characters, Joel and Ellie, the latter of which is controlled by the game throughout its story. According to the studio, Ellie will play a big role in the game and show players just how smart an artificial intelligence can be.

The Last of Us was revealed late last year and, since then, Naughty Dog has been sharing all sorts of details with fans, while presenting different gameplay videos, like the impressive one we saw at E3 2012 last month.

Now, the studio’s Creative Director, Neil Druckmann, has talked about the game and emphasized just how smart and helpful Ellie will be.

“Strong AI is an important focus for The Last of Us. Similar to how we’ve designed the enemy AI to feature dynamic, realistic opponents, we’ve also designed Ellie to be a very capable ally who provides vital mutual aid to Joel in overcoming obstacles,” he told Gaming Examiner.

Besides aiding Joel and the player in combat, Ellie will help out in all sorts of ways while solving puzzles and exploring the environment.

“In and out of combat situations, Ellie will be a valuable resource throughout the game. She’ll not only throw bricks at assailants but she’ll also be critical for scavenging, solving puzzles and tipping the balance of power in their favor as Joel and Ellie struggle to survive the harsh realities of the post pandemic world,” Druckmann added.

The relationship between the two characters will also evolve as they’ll interact while exploring the world.

“As we demonstrated in our behind closed doors demo at E3, aspects of Joel and Ellie’s relationship and their personalities can be revealed by interaction with various elements, such as an old movie poster, throughout the game world. You’ll find out more about Ellie and Joel’s journey as the story and their relationship evolves throughout the game. If you choose to fully explore the game world you’ll be able to dive more deeply into their stories and personality quirks,” the Naughty Dog director added.

The Last of Us is looking to be quite an interesting experience but, until its 2013 release, players still have a lot of waiting to do.

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