Unsynced: The Last of Us Melee System

In this 2014 GDC session, Naughty Dog's Anthony Newman shares an overview of the design and implementation of the melee system for The Last of Us.
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[@gusmcbean9474]

It's so great being taken indepth through the design choices made by a prolific company like naughty dog.

[@DylanTrisko]

I was surprised to learn that there was originally an evade mechanic in the game until they dropped it, and now it is a full mechanic in the sequel!!!

[@HarryBillyBobGeorge]

24:03 is probably my favorite quote from this talk.

[@SaniveK_]

Couldn't program a bit of this, but I watched the entire lecture actually understanding what Anthony was talking about. I could even read and follow the Scripting portion. Awesome job with this Melee System Naughty Dog

[@QuietSnake-xs5vx]

this is gold

[@KidAstronaut]

Thank you so much for this BTS and making of content. I want to develop my own games one day and as TLOU is my current favorite IP this is great to see.

[@LongmireLocomotion]

Ill be honest that pre-alpha stuff looks pretty fun.

[@dododestroyer5480]

Only issue is that it isn’t challenging :/

[@denzelromero4796]

dodo destroyer The melee combat in the final game isn’t challenging either once you have a brick or bottle to stun them then doing a running melee attack .

[@MattNStudios]

Funny seeing you here

[@fxg4merr]

It's the signature Naughty Dog action game melee system, also used in Uncharted. The camera zooms in with strikes, adding weight, and also follows the action in a cinematic manner. The game also simulates random struggles, and the strikes dynamically change when the enemy is in contact with environmental objects like walls or tables. There is literally no other game studio that has ever managed to pull off this kind of cinematic melee experience.

[@TLOUStrategist]

47:53 "Sorry, Mom!" 😂🤣😂👍

[@AkumuSupekuta]

Wow I was scrolling in the comments and saw you bro. Im your biggest fan!! Keep up man👍🤘

[@federicostoppo1117]

Such a shame that the GranadeThrower isn´t in the Multiplayer.. I love your channel!!!

[@GodWarsX]

I love to see a GDC covering melee in Tlou pt II

[@shuteye2702]

I'm glad they brought back the evade moves for The Last of Us 2.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

Ik, it fits better in that game for so many reasons. 1: harder to implement, having a bigger team helps with that 2: it fits the story and vibe of the game: chaotic. The first game is super super grounded in its combat, everything is cement. The second game is more sweat and elastic, which fits the overall vibe. 3: the second game’s more focused on gore, and getting up close can focus on that a bit more.

[@meialua7124]

I agree man jsut wanted to ask what sweet and elastic means😅

[@hex9318]

In terms of gameplay the melee was easily the best part. It's the most brutal and intense melee system I've found in a game.

[@hex9318]

@@wallacesousuke1433 why are you watching an hour long dissection of it then? seems like a waste of time for something that's garbage

[@hex9318]

@@wallacesousuke1433 I understand frustration with a homogenized industry with which I share, it'd be great to see more innovation from the AAA space. Although, I'd recommend trying looking for value in flawed objects. Since you come from r/gamedev I assume your either a game dev or aspiring to be one. Even if the gameplay is simplistic you could start by asking yourself why it was designed in such a way, perhaps think of what you would do differently if you were in the designers shoes, and then try to find what aspects you can still enjoy such as the animation and graphics if that's what the game focusses on. When I was describing the visceral nature of the game's combat I was mostly talking about the animation and world interactivity (how characters crash and lean into walls with things such as environmental kills), which the video mostly focusses on, and since your here to learn from it that proves that there was something worth while in the game, and if it focusses on its story then what truly matters is who the gameplay serves the story. And if you truly think the combat system was bad, then a developer or team which does a good idea poorly, whoever succeeds with said idea could earn a lot of money or at least have a good game on their hands, which is why the ability to find "diamonds in the rough" is one of the best skills you can have as a developer. Anyways, I understand where your coming from, from purely a player input perspective. Good luck learning!

[@LE0NSKA]

failsafe camera... you'd never think of that unless you have to. thats some clever shit 30:30

[@saintmuerte13]

The last of us melee always shakes me when playing Multiplayer executions shocked me when a allies got killed, executing enemies gave me a sadistic grin.

[@Zack-bl2gg]

This REALLY makes sense why they didn’t add dodge in the remake of the last of us part 1. They already planned it in the original game, but cut it for a bunch of reasons. Then, when going into the sequel, they made that a main focus, and planned the format of the game all around that(more enemies, focusing the complexity on dodging one enemy vs attacking another, level layout, etc)

[@drdrugs-lo6lq]

Wow they did implement the dodge mechanic in part 2

[@DeadEyedTye]

Here’s all the characters in this game (some were only seen or mentioned one time) 1. Joel 2. Ellie 3. Tommy 4. Bill 5. Tess 6. Buckley (Tommy’s dog) 7. Callas (Tommy’s horse) 8. Earl (One of Tommy’s town workers) 9. David 10. Ethan (first firefly that Joel kills at the hospital) 11. Frank (Bill’s partner) 12. Jimmy cooper (first runner that we see) 13. James (David’s friend) 14. Kari (one of the doctors at the hospital) 15. Malick (Possibly Tess’s former boyfriend) 16. Terrence (One of Tess’s workers) 17. Maria (Tommy’s wife) 18. Sarah 19. Henry 20. Sam 21. Riley abel (Ellie’s best friend) 22. Robert (Joel and Tess’s former enemy) 23. Winston (Solider at the Boston QZ) 24. Anna (Ellie’s mom) 25. Ish (unknown person) 26. John (One of the hunters) 27. Ramirez (One of the Boston QZ soilders that Tess killed)

[@AkumuSupekuta]

Guy Named Max Or Tye Wait who is John and where can you see him in the game?

[@federicostoppo1117]

When is Malick (Possibly Tess’s former boyfriend) mentioned or seen?

[@1ahksama]

I fw Anthony Newman

[@Awesomedude-mk4oj]

On grounded mode, all that melee stuff would've been fun 😩

[@2PeteShakur]

gamasutra took me here, thx! :D

[@denzelromero4796]

Weird that they removed a lot of mechanics , the Rock Paper Scissors system is really cool and should have had a focus in the early game.

[@TheRubberMatch]

I agree .. when he was saying they removed block because it was too easy I was like “yeah because mashing square is much harder” ... I can’t believe they had the dodge mechanic from 2 for so long and didn’t implement it

[@federicostoppo1117]

@@TheRubberMatch Well with block mecanic it´ll be easier I think..

[@johnx140]

Simply amazing!

[@fernanps9826]

one doubt, when he talks about animation streaming, i suppose that he refers to the techniched used right? no in memory i mean

[@DetectivePoofPoof]

So if he had the power of 10 programmers, but you only used 1/3 of him, does that mean you had 3.33333333... programmers working on the system?

[@convolution223]

Don't be ridiculous. They clamped the programmer value to 3.33

[@SaniveK_]

Novice programmer here and I thoroughly LOVED your reply! =)

[@convolution223]

Thank you, thank you. I'll be here till this for loop ends.

[@kevinfromsales6842]

It's so disappointing that none of those scrapped systems like grab and throw or headbutt to stun or even evade were revisited and implemented into the full priced remake. The gameplay opportunities that those systems could've opened up for players would have been incredible and buying the remake would be a complete no-brainer.

[@aznsorawarrior]

Lisp? I did not see that coming.

[@lockywolf__2181]

Search "clojure" on LinkedIn.

[@lockywolf__2181]

@Didac Cerver that I don't know

[@erheetrherh2659]

more with less = crunch

[@gamenetic6426]

hearing "pandemic" in 2021 from a 2017 video is kinda weird, tho

[@justinspearlord]

How do you link two character's animations to make a synced take down move?

[@urosstemberger2098]

You link the animations from both characters, when the call is executed.

[@justinspearlord]

Uroš Štemberger I know but the linking animations I can't get right.

[@federicostoppo1117]

You work or know Lisp?

[@jakobryden]

4 months before ship... brr

[@jiaweimo5602]

I noticed that they were still working on enemy AI liek clickers movement to make it grounded when it's few months before ship. they just had many ways of playing and before ship, they just put them together. absolutely not good example for an indie studio. lol. but make module dev is an good example. you just cannot hire many designer to make many playable module, and choose in the end.

[@sirmustard5337]

Kinda pissed that you cant block

[@gumbowumbo6784]

Playing multiplayer downed seeing your ally get decap or beat to death

[@coaxialsynapse]

That is a very suggestive thumbnail there.

[@coaxialsynapse]

imgur.com/lvmEOT0 - This is how

[@MeatBunFul]

Taylor Port That was beautiful

[@MforMovesets]

After The Last of Us, all action games somehow ended up with stealth in them, and most did it terribly and it killed the pacing they usually had/ should have. Examples are The Evil Within (the DLC did it right though), Uncharted 4 and especially Killzone Shadow Fall. Horizon redeemed stealth for me though.

[@felisasininus1784]

MforZorro | Movesets Uncharted had stealth since 2007. Splinter Cell was a thing since 2002. Metal Gear was a thing since 1988. Wolfenstein was a thing since 1982. Yet every game after 2013 has stealth because of one good game that isn’t even good for its gameplay.

[@kalkampanaros]

Rectus Rectumius Fuck of the last of us gameplay is awesome.

[@yinyangmemory]

All Uncharteds, even the 1st one, had an element of stealth in them.

[@elogamer]

If anything, Uncharted 4 and Lost Legacy improved the stealth system in the series.

[@godzillazfriction]

​@@felisasininus1784horrible original post and a horrible point at the end there from you...

[@Tumoxa89]

The Last of Us Melee System: square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square, square. This is cool, i guess, but this talk is not about the actual system, which is barely there.

[@TheRubberMatch]

True ... as great as it feels I wish they at least added a dodge button as they did in 2

[@TheMrTape]

Errr

[@damianreed8571]

Since when ellie got stabbed?

[@SaniveK_]

7:50 Those were death-state animations I believe.

[@ryanwilliams9466]

@@cabreram.4734 lol imagine replying to comments on a video from 2 years ago xd

[@loremipsum3147]

@@ryanwilliams9466 imagine replying to comments on a video from 5 years ago

[@yizhang7027]

I hate cameras that shake or move unexpectedly.

[@cabreram.4734]

That's because you're a noob.

[@TwoBrothers005]

Without it , it would be lame

[@TwoBrothers005]

It would be like , U attacking with paper and the enemy acting like they hit by rock

[@DavidM_GA]

Sold on exactly one system , and no PC port. boo!

[@Shiffo]

This aged like milk

[@DavidM_GA]

@@Shiffo Its 12 pm. Wow, one minute later it "aged like milk".

[@Shiffo]

@@DavidM_GA it sold on 4 systems

[@MrLew1965]

The Last of Us ReMastered SUCKS at combat & Shooting !! Please come out wit #2 Quick !!

[@sirmustard5337]

You have a Bad taste son

[@MrLew1965]

@@sirmustard5337 Controls in the modern shooter games have got a better then this old relic ! I like the game better then then Part 2 !

[@sirmustard5337]

@@MrLew1965 the combat in part 1 is amazing and PERFECT in part 2. But i like part 1 better

[@DYLOGaming]

Lol there’s a lot of reading into shit that really isn’t here. “Look at the expressions on the AI’s face, look at how there’s no heads bouncing off walls.” Really? Seems more like there was literally just less animation being put into melee. Not a bad thing but bro, no one is reading into shit this much “A camera cut is disorienting” nah bro, y’all lazy as shit and just cut the death rather than playing it out. You know what’s “shocking?” Tomb raider showing Lara literally having the life leave her as she dies. You know what’s “shocking?” Resident Evil 4, seeing Leon die and a few seconds after where zombies tear you apart. Or State of Decay LITERALLY ripping your body apart. This talk is a joke lmao. This game is “deep” for being “shocking” by working the dad slowly growing attached to new girl who resembles his daughter gimme a break lol