Current Events > about Bruce Straley (TLoU game director) being left off of HBO credits

(+) Yeah! (+)

(Neil Druckmann was the creative director and writer):

https://twitter.com/PSLifeStyle/status/1615807276627136513

Bruce Straley, the game director for The Last of Us, has revealed his concern about a lack of credit for his work on the games world that was adapted for the HBO show. In an interview, he says that theres an argument for unionization [for] someone who was part of the co-creation of that world. Straley is not included in the credits for The Last of Us HBO show, with the official writing credits going to Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin.

In an in-depth piece by the Los Angeles Times, Straley suggests that unions in the video game industry might help in giving creators the credit they deserve:

"Its an argument for unionization that someone who was part of the co-creation of that world and those characters isnt getting a credit or a nickel for the work they put into it. Maybe we need unions in the video game industry to be able to protect creators."

Per the LA Times, both HBO and Sony have declined to comment on his statement.

While Straley is only credited as the game director for The Last of Us, the article points out that he is one of its key world builders and that Druckmann gives credit to Straley for fleshing out the character for Bill (who actor Nick Offerman will play in the show). Straley also joined Druckmann to accept the award for Best Narrative at GDC 2014, so it looks like the story for the original game would not be possible without Straleys work.

While accreditation and compensation are two separate issues, his statement continues what the piece calls a strained relationship between Straley and Druckmann. Straley surprisingly left Naughty Dog in 2017 in part due to burnout and, after a nearly five-year hiatus, has started a new studio called Wildflower Interactive. In September 2022, he responded to a user suggesting that Druckmann changed the credits for The Last of Us Part 1 due to his hubris.

I kinda feels like that falls under the "Based on The Last of Us video game" or whatever it says in the credits. I know it's probably a bit galling, but he didn't actually work on the show.

I'm not sure how I feel on the subject, but you make a good point.

They probably used a lot of his stuff, if that so I should give him some credit.

boxoto posted...

lack of credit

boxoto posted...

only credited as the game director for The Last of Us

huh?
ok but did he involved on the TV series creation?

If he didn't work directly on the show why should he get a credit?

"Based on the characters created by Naughty Dog" covers this. Neither he nor Druckmann actually owns the franchise or the characters.

Druckmann gets credit because he writes and is a co-showrunner with Craig Mazin on the show.

And the fact that he uses unionization to cover for this kinda rubs me the wrong way.

Doom_Art posted...

"Based on the characters created by Naughty Dog" covers this. Neither he nor Druckmann actually owns the franchise or the characters.

Druckmann gets credit because he writes and is a co-showrunner with Craig Mazin on the show.

Yeah, you said it better than I did.

So he's the owner of the IP, then?

This is kind of the same thing as the crediting issues comic book movies have.

Deadpool was created by Rob Leifeld. He gets credit for doing so whenever Deadpool appears. But the things for which Deadpool is actually known for, his insanity and constant 4th wall breaking, was added later on by other writers and artists. None of them receive credit on adaptations and in DP's case it's actually easy to do so because we're talking about 2-4 people compared to the several dozen that made Batman and Superman what they are today.

He doesn't really care about the credit, he cares about the money he isn't getting. But that is a problem he should have had when he signed on to do the game in the first place, get ownership or don't whine.

realnifty1 posted...

He doesn't really care about the credit, he cares about the money he isn't getting. But that is a problem he should have had when he signed on to do the game in the first place, get ownership or don't whine.

He doesn't deserve any of the money if he isn't working on the show.