Key Takeaways
- Former Naughty Dog developer Josh Scherr revealed that Jak 2 overhauled the model after the team saw early screenshots of Kingdom Hearts.
- According to Scherr, Jak & Daxter used the same model for cutscenes and gameplay, meaning characters like Daxter didn't have fully articulated fingers.
- However, this changed in Jak 2 development as Naughty Dog implemented higher resolution models.
The former Naughty Dog developer revealed that Jak 2 underwent a major overhaul after the team saw early screenshots of Kingdom Hearts.
“True Story: [Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy]”We used the same character model for both gameplay and cutscenes (Daxter's fingers are completely disjointed),” explained Josh Scherr, lead film animator on the series (thank you). game radar).
“For [Jak 2]“We looked at some early screenshots from Kingdom Hearts and said, ‘Oh shit,’ and created high-resolution models for the cutscenes.”
Scherr did a side-by-side comparison of Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy and Jak 2, highlighting how low-poly the models were in the original game. I've never seen them side by side before but it major Even if you still miss that bright blue tunic, upgrade.
So we have Sora and his Disney friends to thank for making the residents of Haven City look so awesome.
Scherr says that during the PS2 era, graphical fidelity was a bigger selling point.
An interesting point that Scherr noted in a follow-up tweet is that “in the PS2 era, graphical fidelity was a much bigger selling point than it is now.” Just look at the massive leap forward for Grand Theft Auto 3, Silent Hill 2, God of War 3, and Metal Gear Solid 2.
We've long since stagnated how far graphics can go, but there's still pressure to go further. Just look at how this announcement was criticized by fans for looking too similar to the first game, despite Marvel's Spider-Man 2 not having any room for a similar leap forward from what we saw a few generations ago.
Still, it's an interesting insight and a big reason why Kingdom Hearts has been so influential to Naughty Dog. There was clearly a move to push the PS2 as far as it could go, and with Kingdom Hearts setting a new precedent before it was even released, Naughty Dogs was racing to catch up.
