Learn all about the design goals, challenges, and lessons from designing the interactive guitar mechanic in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us: Part II, both from a musical and technical perspective at the all-virtual GDC 2021, taking place July 19-23, 2021.

The system's designers, Grant Hoechst and Mark Burroughs, will discuss developing a flexible but approachable guitar minigame that allows any player to sound good but also allows experienced musicians to express themselves.

In the session "Swiping on the Six Strings': Crafting an Interactive Guitar in 'The Last of Us: Part II," you'll learn specific lessons in balancing creative systems to be flexible and high-fidelity without being inscrutable to novice players. You will gain insight into a slice of Naughty Dog's design process, and how the studio's system design reinforces narrative and emotional goals each step of the way.

If you tune in to this talk at the all-virtual GDC 2021, you’ll also have the opportunity to ask Hoechst and Burroughs questions in Swapcard’s chat feature while watching the presentation. You’ll also be able to view their talk on-demand during the entire week of GDC 2021.

Now’s the best time to register for GDC 2021. Act now, and you’ll get the best price for this year’s online show!

For more details on GDC 2021 visit the show's official website, or subscribe to regular updates via Facebook, Twitter, or RSS.

Gamasutra and GDC are sibling organizations under parent Informa Tech.