Uncharted 2: Among Thieves deserves it’s accolades. It is a magnificent game. Where Uncharted 2 strikes me as unique, however, is not in it’s high production value and Hollywood sheen but rather in it’s use of player conditioning — the way in which the developer, Naughty Dog, is able to aid the player in moving through the game at a consistent pace by teaching them early on exactly how the game is designed. This is, in some ways, similar to the way in which Left 4 Dead’s opening cinematic and trailer teaches players of the various game mechanics. (Warning: plenty of spoilers.)

Naughty Dog are aware of the reward of being allowed to simply “play” a game, with no further hints and tutorial. This is demonstrated by the introductory sequence, and it’s repetition later down the road. In the beginning, Drake wakes to find himself bleeding, sitting in a chair mounted in a train car precariously dangling over a cliff-edge. He falls and must climb his way to the top and to safety. Here, the player is taught the basics of vertical scrambling, as prompts inform how to climb, shimmy and jump. It is a slow and perilous adventure, and one wrought with falling obstacles, unexpected lurches and other Hollywood-esque sequences but one which is stunted by the virgin player’s own inadequacy. Then, mid-way through the game, after the player has built a rudimentary climbing skillset and learned how Drake has wound up in this mess, we are allowed to replay this same train-climbing experience again. This time, however, the player is free to simply climb and to enjoy the nature of the event through a more condensed, movie-stylised, perspective. We climb, we get knocked back, we climb into a car and the camera rolls to the side to show Drake tumble out of the car (skipping the awkward clambering that we performed on the inside in the opening sequence). The climb continues from this external perspective until, finally, we are at the top of the car. This is a most enjoyable rarity, a time when our own skill is put on display for us as a viewing spectacle.

Yet, it is only because Naughty Dog has conditioned us to how to navigate their environments effectively that allows them the to pull the camera back for us. Like many games, Uncharted 2 relies on forward momentum. If you begin to run from the direction you’re facing, and you see a ledge or roof top in front of you, then chances are you’re supposed to continue traveling in that direction. Adjust the control left, or right when you come to a path, and you’ll continue along the intended route. If you’re forced to stop, you are usually expected to traverse vertically, and so you look up and find some bricks to grab a hold of and continue on your way. And, if you take too long to come to this realisation, the game will prompt you to look up through a hint system. On the occasions when you are not expected to move forward, you’re taught how to back track. If you see a destination, such as the chain above an arch, then you’ll notice a gold ledge below it, contrasting with the green foliage. Following this ledge back, you’ll find a series of stones covered in heavy moss and set out from the wall, which are climbable. After playing for a number of hours, this back tracking becomes second nature. This isn’t so much a reflection of the player than it is on Naughty Dog’s careful instruction, you’re taught this skill in the opening levels. In Chapter 2, ‘Breaking and Entering’, Drake needs to cut the power to the alarm systems in a heavily guarded museum. We, the player, are told to follow the power cable from the alarm to the junction box. You trace the red cable back through the room to the junction box at its entrance. In the second instance, you trace the red cable up a climbable gate, then along yellow ledges. After you’re first taught to trace back, you’re conditioned to continue using this method whenever you get stuck. When you reach the monastery in Chapter 21, a hint lets you know you need to clamber through an open window. Looking to the right, you see a ledge that would be perfect to accomplish the jump, so you follow the ledge back to a ladder at the far end of the corridor. Climb the ladder, navigate the ledge and climb through the window.

In the war-torn streets of Nepal, a truck explodes blocking your exit and you need to find another way to move forward. After wandering for a while without much clue as to where to head next, the intuitive hint system prompts you to climb the vibrant red, yellow and white signage a little way back down the street. From this moment onwards, you understand that this kind of signage is climbable. And, in fact, these are the ultimate embodiment of the colour conditioning Naughty Dog have woven. Climbable ledges and protruding bricks are almost always yellow, red, or white. (Actually, DICE also used red and yellow to delineate interactive objects in their first-person platformer, Mirror’s Edge. Maybe gamers already knew to look for these colours? Red barrel bad!)

Then, Naughty Dog intentionally pull the rug on the player to subtle, but great, effect. Roughly two thirds through the game, Drake awakes in a gorgeous village (the chapter suitably titled “Where Am I?”). Injured, though safe, he follows a non-English speaking Sherpa through the streets and at a forced walking pace. This break in the gunplay and monkey-play provides a moment of serenity rarely found in action games. Following a short expedition through icy ruins with this Sherpa, Tenzin, whom Drake has come to trust, he returns to the village to find it under attack. Adding to the drama, a tank decides to make Drake it’s prey, which leaves him with no alternative but to run.

Drake tails Tenzin through the streets. Suddenly, Tenzin vanishes around a corner. Drake calls out “Tenzin, where are you?” With wreckage blocking the entrance to a little maze of buildings, and a tank blocking the only visible exit, it is not immediately obvious where to go next. After defeating some enemies, there is a brief pause for reflection. In direct contrast with the last time Drake found himself in the village, where he casually walks, enjoying the beauty, sociality and companionship, here he finds himself alone, lost and under high pressure in a disparate version of the community. The player is abandoned, too, as no hint dialogue appears to indicate the intended direction. The player, and Drake, are both lost together. After wandering back and forth along the short path, jumping randomly into walls, I, the player, suddenly realise something is wrong. For the first time, I look down. A small path appears below the snowy outcrop on which I stand, so I drop to it, shuffle along a narrow ledge, narrowly avoid falling due to tank-induced catastrophe, and find Tenzin patiently waiting my arrival. Drake is relieved, as am I.

Many have stated that the pacing in Uncharted 2 is phenomenal, though few have managed to pin down why. Mitch Krapta believes that it is because Uncharted 2 is so lean, forfeiting features as simple as crouching, that keeps the action focused and “elegant”. It maintains the stimulation, the forward momentum and the downtime necessary to narrative and character development only. Probably as an extension of this considered and conscious game design, Naughty Dog effectively teach the player how to navigate their environments before joyously relinquishing control of the more exciting moments in Drake’s experience to the player, such as continuing a battle while the building you’re in collapses, or playing havoc on a speeding train. It’s true that Uncharted 2 isn’t perfect, I in particular found the final boss fight to be surprisingly uninspired, but it has such a sense of momentum and progression that it’s hard to put down the controller and, yes, to figure out why exactly it works so well.

Digg, Face, Hit, Spread me!

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