Something I often think about during movies and games is how it’s actually plausible for the main character to take so much damage, yet stay alive.
Well, Naughty Dog has provided a bit of clarity around it. Naughty Dog Animator, Jonathan Cooper has revealed that the black and white effect that happens when Nathan Drake is almost about to die doesn’t actually represent him losing health or him taking shots. It just represents his luck running out. Eventually, enemies will obviously get a clear shot and you’ll die a painful death.
That’s a mega-swing! Sidenote I learned on joining the team: Drake doesn’t ever take bullet damage. The red UI that shows ‘hits’ is to represent his ‘luck’ running out. Eventually enemies will get a clear shot and kill him if he takes enough near-misses. https://t.co/byzVKYXVe7
— Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) July 8, 2018
Here’s exactly what he had to say:
“That’s a mega-swing! Sidenote I learned on joining the team: Drake doesn’t ever take bullet damage. The red UI that shows ‘hits’ is to represent his ‘luck’ running out. Eventually enemies will get a clear shot and kill him if he takes enough near-misses.”
Amy Hennig has also confirmed that this was a design decision made to closely mimic films.
True! That was the original intention (to stay more aligned with the spirit and tone of the films we were homaging).
— Amy Hennig (@amy_hennig) July 8, 2018