Developer Naughty Dog has recently turned 30 years old! To celebrate, last Saturday September 27th was opening night for their Anniversary Show at Gallery Nucleus.
Fans of Naughty Dog are invited to the open gallery or join in the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #NDMemories or #ND30. "PlayStation MVP" (how do I become one?) @SanchoWest summed up the experience quite nicely on the Playstation Blog.
“Art meets Art. In many ways, this sentence totally nails what Naughty Dog’s 30 Year Anniversary Art Show at Gallery Nucleus is all about. The video games we experience everyday are, in fact, interactive, artistic expressions. The visual concept art from these games hanging next to fan art within an art gallery just made a lot of sense. I wondered – why don’t other developers do this? Naughty Dog is constantly showing us that the root of great games is art.
When I was at the exhibit, it was like seeing old friends again. Remembering the time spent with Nathan Drake, going through the jungles, trekking across the desert and scaling the mountains for lost loot to remembering the pain, anguish and despair I felt with Ellie in The Last of Us. A particular art piece stood out to me called “A Portrait of a Happy-Go-Lucky Girl” and it featured a woman infected by the Cordyceps virus. The artist, Matthew Woodson, captured her last human moments before turning into a “Clicker”. It was haunting and sorrowful. While a very powerful image, I never thought a game could inspire such wonderful art. But, give credit to Naughty Dog for welcoming this medium and championing it.
I assumed that I was going to see impactful pieces and relive gaming memories. One thing I did not expect came from a The Last of Us installation. It was very simple. It was a looping video of various The Last of Us Game environments, similar to a screensaver. This is where I found myself lost; lost in the attention to detail. I was entranced with a post-apocalyptic world filled with empty buildings. Vegetation invaded concrete jungles. Buildings looked worn and tired. It was surreal and very unexpected because these feelings came from taking a brief moment to stop and reflect on images I had seen a million times while playing The Last of Us.
Overall, the event was very inspiring and showed, in the abundance of fans pouring into Gallery Nucleus, and in the elated faces of the Dogs, 30 years well spent. I’m really looking forward to Naughty Dog’s future. Their recent events, like One Night Live and 30 Year Art Gallery, along with the new Naughty Dog Online store, are creating a stronger bond between us fans and the Dogs. Do yourself a favor and visit this exhibit, and experience some lasting, memorable art.”
The event runs until October 12th. Today, Naughty Dog artists will hold a Concept Art Workshop , and next weekend a 3D Character Modeling Workshop, and a 3D Printing Demo.
Over the last 30 years what has been your favorite Naughty Dog game? *cough* Uncharted 2: Among Thieves *cough*