Treasure hunter Nathan Drake, the protagonist for most of the Uncharted series, never takes bullet damage, according to a mind-blowing revelation by Naughty Dog animator Jonathan Cooper.
Drake was last seen in Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, which is said to be his final appearance for the franchise as Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross take over in Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Over the games of the series, Drake gets shot at a lot, but apparently, he has never walked away from his adventures with a bullet wound.
Nathan Drake Never Takes Bullet Damage
Most action-adventure video games use some form of health system, with an unrealistic health bar that supposedly means that the characters are able to survive far more punishment than a person would in real life. Taking damage in games is often accompanied by a visual cue, such as a splash of blood or a red flash on the screen.
Gamers believed that it was more of the same thing for Nathan Drake over the course of his appearances in Uncharted games. When getting shot by enemies, red indicators appear on the screen, which gamers thought that the treasure hunter was taking bullet damage.
Gamers, apparently, were all wrong. In a tweet, Naughty Dog animator Jonathan Cooper revealed that Drake does not take bullet damage at all, with the red indicators meaning something else.
That’s a mega-swing! Sidenote I learned on joining the team: Drake doesn’t ever take bullet damage. The red UI that shows ‘hits’ is to represent his ‘luck’ running out. Eventually enemies will get a clear shot and kill him if he takes enough near-misses. https://t.co/byzVKYXVe7 — Jonathan Cooper (@GameAnim) July 8, 2018
Drake is not physically getting hit with bullets, as he is apparently lucky enough to avoid them. However, as more bullets go his way, Drake's luck starts running out. Eventually, a bullet will hit Drake, killing him and sending players to the Game Over screen. The explanation sounds realistic enough, especially compared to Drake taking 20 bullets to his body before getting killed. The red ring on the screen does not represent bullets hitting Drake, it represents bullets missing him.
Uncharted 4 Pays Homage To Indiana Jones
Confirming Cooper's revelation was Amy Hennig, original writer and creative director for the Uncharted franchise.
True! That was the original intention (to stay more aligned with the spirit and tone of the films we were homaging). — Amy Hennig (@amy_hennig) July 8, 2018
The films that Hennig refers to in her tweet include the Indiana Jones movies, the connection to which is obvious from the opening credits of the Uncharted games.
Nathan Drake, just like Indiana Jones, is apparently just very lucky, until he is not. We may never see the iconic treasure hunter again though, so it might be time to re-play Uncharted 4: A Thief's End.
