One of the best things about Uncharted 4’s multiplayer mode (if not the best) are the incredibly detailed dances that the characters do as taunts.
Seriously, if you haven’t seen them, take a look in the video below before we go any further – they’re stupid, but the actual animation work is sublime.
Amazing, right? Well, now Sony has released a behind the scenes video that shows us exactly how this particularly groovy sausage got made.
As with all Uncharted performances, developer Naughty Dog used motion capture to bring these moves to life. Lead animator Jeremy Yates actually sought out professional choreographer Matt Steffanina on his daughter’s recommendation.
Together with another pro choreographer by the name of Dana Alexa, they donned the mo-cap suits and went to work.
Alexa noted that performing her usual moves in such a tight suit was something of a challenge, as dancing in a mo-cap suit just wasn’t as ‘swag’ as her usual baggy clothes – can’t imagine why.
Meanwhile, Steffanina remarked that it was a pretty mind-blowing experience seeing his dances transformed in the virtual world.
Yates said that the multiplayer mode was always intended as a fun alternative to the relatively serious campaign, and it definitely shows in the behind the scenes clip, which you can see below.
Naughty Dog recently released a free expansion for Uncharted 4’s multiplayer. It’s called Lost Treasures, and features new maps, guns, and most importantly, some sweet new moves.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.