The director of The Last of Us 2 Neil Druckmann states that hatred towards a creation comes in itself, as once you create something, some people just won’t like it; and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
The Last of Us 2 was released on PS4 seven years after the original game and finally hit PlayStation 4 on June 19. Even before its release, its director Neil Druckmann already knew that some players who loved the first part, would not like its sequel. Now that the game is already on the market, he has responded to the hatred generated on the internet.
Neil Druckmann appeared on the podcast show of former Nintendo boss Reggie Fils-Aime where he commented that it is useless to fight these people when they share their opinions on a game, whether good or bad. However, he also claims that he cannot understand how these same people can get so excited and angry with fictional characters.
“I think you have to create some separation to say, we made this game, we believe in this game, we’re proud of this game, now it’s out there and it’s like whatever reaction people have, whether they like it or not, that’s fair,” Druckmann says. “That’s their reaction and you don’t fight that. The other thing with the more hateful stuff, the more vile stuff, that’s a little harder. It’s especially harder when I see it happening to team members or cast members who play a particular character in the game.”
“We have an actor, she’s been getting really awful, vile stuff because of a fictional character she’s playing in the game,” the director stated. “I just have a hard time wrapping my mind around that. The thing I try to do is just ignore it as much as I can. When things escalate to being serious, there are certain security protocols that we take and I report it to the proper authorities. Then you just try to focus on the positives and focus on distracting yourself with other stuff. But it’s kind of just the reality.”
In the same interview, he also said that he has been talking with the screenwriter of Chernobyl, Craig Mazin, about this topic. Remember they are working together on an HBO series for The Last of Us.
“I’ve had a lot of conversations with him about this stuff. He articulated it pretty well, it’s like people have to get educated. This is kind of the cost. When you’re doing something big, and you might disappoint fans, there is a cost to it now,” he said. “Which is, you’re going to get a certain level of hate, a certain level of vitriol that you just have to deal with. There is no other way to make it go away.”
The Last of Us 2 is now available on PS4.
