The Last of Us, a 2013 action-adventure survival horror video game developed by Naughty Dog, deals with the relationship between smuggler Joel, and Ellie. Joel is tasked with escorting Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States in an attempt to create a potential cure against an infection to which Ellie is immune. The relationship between the two characters became the basis of the game's development.
Joel is the primary playable character of the game, though players assume control of Ellie for a short portion. Throughout their journey, Joel and Ellie meet various characters: Tess, a survivor who is closely acquainted with Joel; Marlene, leader of the militia group the Fireflies; Bill, a survivor who fortified his own town; Henry and Sam, brothers from Hartford; Joel's brother, Tommy, and his wife, Maria, who have built their own settlement; and David, the leader of a group of cannibals. In addition, Joel's daughter Sarah appears in the game's prologue, and Ellie's friend Riley Abel is featured in the downloadable content pack The Last of Us: Left Behind.
A team at Naughty Dog designed the character appearances, and creative director Neil Druckmann was the main writer of their personalities and mannerisms. The actors were given considerable license to improvise the lines and influence character personality, simultaneously performing the motion capture work for their characters. Various characters were influenced by the story progression, ultimately becoming completely different from the initial vision. The relationship of the characters received praise from several gaming publications, and the acting has resulted in multiple awards, including two BAFTAs and a D.I.C.E. Award.
Creation and conception
The relationship between the characters of Joel and Ellie, portrayed by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, respectively, was the central focus of the game's development. Creative director Neil Druckmann wrote the game's script, particularly focusing on the characters. Though the development team quickly felt that Johnson fit the role of Ellie, they spent more time selecting the actor of Joel, as the chemistry between the two characters was imperative to the game. After Baker and Johnson played alongside each other, the team realized that the former perfectly fit the role of Joel, despite the actor's young age. Baker and Johnson contributed greatly to the development of the characters. For example, Baker convinced Druckmann that Joel would care for Tess due to his loneliness, and Johnson convinced Druckmann to rewrite the character of Ellie in a stronger and more defensive manner. Some of the dialogue between the duo was improvised by the actors; Druckmann attributed this to the fact that the script included an unnecessary number of lines during gameplay sections, and he allowed the actors to choose what they felt was necessary.
From the beginning of development, the team intended for The Last of Us to feature dual protagonists with strong individual story arcs. The character interactions were inspired by the relationship between Nathan Drake and Tenzin in Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), in turn inspired by the video game Ico (2001). The game's protagonists represent the two eras that are shown in the game; Joel represents the world before the outbreak, having spent most of his life during this period, while Ellie represents the world after the outbreak, as she was born in the post-apocalyptic world. While the former is emotionally damaged due to the loss that he has experienced, the latter maintains an optimistic view of life, having become familiar to the damaged world; spending time with each other saw these qualities overlapping, with Joel become more lively, and Ellie learning more survival skills.
The character's performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology; approximately 85% of the game's animations were recorded using motion capture, with remaining audio elements recorded later in a studio. The development team felt that the post-apocalyptic world and the survival horror genre gave them the opportunity to better develop the characters. Taking inspiration from their work on the Uncharted games, the team used their knowledge of paralleling characters with the conflict in both gameplay and stories when developing The Last of Us. They took inspiration from the books The Road (2006) and City of Thieves (2008), and the film No Country for Old Men (2007), noting that they all include memorable characters and using this as a point of inspiration. "[W]e can make you as a player feel more of what it's truly like to exist inside of a world where every bullet counts and each step you take is a conscious choice that's going to make or break your existence," said Bruce Straley, the game director. The team felt the "pressures of the world" allowed them to better develop their characters. They felt that the pressure forced the characters to make interesting decisions, allowing better development.
Lead characters Joel
Joel Miller (Troy Baker) is the protagonist of The Last of Us. From Texas, Joel was a single father in his late 20s or early 30s when the initial Cordyceps outbreak occurred. Fleeing with his brother Tommy and his twelve-year-old daughter Sarah, they got involved in a firefight with a soldier, and Sarah was mortally wounded and died in his arms, leaving him traumatized. In the 20 years that follow, Joel did whatever he had to do to survive.
Twenty years after Sarah's death, Joel works as a smuggler in the Boston quarantine zone with his friend and partner Tess. While out searching for a former accomplice who stole some of their merchandise, Joel and Tess are tasked by Marlene, an acquaintance and the leader of a rebel militia called the Fireflies, to smuggle Ellie to a rendezvous point. En route to deliver Ellie, Joel discovers she is immune to the infection. Upon their arrival, Tess reveals she has sustained a bite on the journey and insists Joel find Tommy, a former Firefly, in order to continue the mission. Joel is initially surly and short tempered towards Ellie, though he begins to warm up to her as their journey continues. This is compounded when Joel, having initially asked Tommy to carry on in his place after meeting up with him, changes his mind and carries on as planned. Their bond deepens when Ellie nearly loses Joel to a severe injury, and when he comes to her aid after she is nearly killed by a band of cannibals. Ultimately, Joel shows his devotion to Ellie when he chooses to rescue her from the doctors who plan to remove and examine her brain, as opposed to allowing her to die. To ensure they are not pursued, Joel kills Marlene. Driving away, Ellie wakes up, after which Joel tells her the doctors gave up on discovering a cure. Ellie later confronts him about the events, and Joel swears to her he was telling the truth.
When designing Joel's physical appearance, the team tried to make him look "flexible enough" to allow for him to appear as both a "ruthless operator in the underground of a quarantined city" as well as a "caring father figure to Ellie". When writing the character of Joel, Druckmann initially took inspiration from Josh Brolin's portrayal of Llewelyn Moss in No Country for Old Men, which he saw as "very quiet, very cool under pressure". However, Baker's interpretation of Joel as a more emotional person evolved the character in a different way. Druckmann felt players, specifically parents, would be able to relate to Joel's character and his bonding with Ellie. Druckmann became intrigued by players who discussed Joel's morality, distinguishing him as a hero or villain; Druckmann felt Joel was only "a complex person who's made good and bad decisions", but allowed it to be open to interpretation. When auditioning for the role, Baker read a phrase on the character sheet that stated Joel had "few moral lines left to cross", which became the "anchor point" to the character for him.
Baker returned to play Joel in The Last of Us Part II (2020), and portrays James in the HBO television adaptation; Pedro Pascal plays Joel in the show.
Ellie
Ellie (Ashley Johnson) is a fourteen-year-old orphan and the other main playable character in the game, and one of the few characters to have never known life before the infection. Much of her backstory is revealed in the additional content The Last of Us: Left Behind and the comic book miniseries The Last of Us: American Dreams.
After surviving a bite from the Infected, Ellie is tasked to Joel to be escorted to the Fireflies. Initially annoyed by Joel's surliness, Ellie starts to feel a strong attachment to him. After experiencing a traumatizing encounter in the Winter, in which Ellie is nearly raped and murdered by a band of cannibals, she becomes withdrawn and introverted. When Joel finally gets her to the Fireflies, it is discovered she has a mutant strain of the Cordyceps fungus growing on her brain, which may be used to create a vaccine; in order to extract the fungi, an operation on Ellie's brain is required that will likely kill her. While she is being prepared for surgery, Joel makes his way to the operating room and carries her to safety. When Ellie awakens from unconsciousness, Joel lies by telling her the Fireflies found many other subjects, and had stopped looking for a cure. Ellie later confronts him about it, demanding to know the truth. When he reassures her he is telling the truth, she replies with "Okay".
The team felt establishing Ellie's physical appearance was "critical"; they felt she needed to appear young enough to make her relationship with Joel believable, but old enough to be credible as a resourceful teenager capable of surviving. When questioned about the inspiration for Ellie as a gameplay feature, Druckmann recalled when he and Straley were brainstorming ideas for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and created a mute character who would summon the player to follow them, creating a "beautiful" relationship through gameplay alone. Though this concept was never included in the final game, the idea was raised when the team were discussing a new project, ultimately inspiring Ellie. Following the release of Left Behind, in which Ellie is seen kissing her friend Riley, Druckmann confirmed she is gay.
Johnson returned to play Ellie in The Last of Us Part II, and portrays Ellie's mother Anna in the HBO television adaptation; Bella Ramsey plays Ellie in the show.
Secondary characters Tommy
Tommy (Jeffrey Pierce) is Joel's brother. At the initial outbreak, he picked Joel and Sarah up in his car to take them to safety. When the car is hit by a truck, he defends Joel as he carries Sarah, whose leg is badly hurt. After Sarah's death, Joel and Tommy initially survive together, but differing outlooks and Joel's hardened ways led to their estrangement, and Tommy left to join the Fireflies. After becoming disillusioned, he subsequently left them as well, and built a settlement around a working power plant in Wyoming with his wife, Maria. Many years later, Joel arrives at Tommy's settlement, and the brothers are reunited. Tommy initially refuses to take Ellie off Joel's hands, but upon seeing their close bond and realizing Joel does not trust himself to protect Ellie, he agrees to take her to Marlene himself. However, Ellie confronts Joel about Sarah and, after having a change of heart, Joel and Ellie continue their journey after Tommy promises them sanctuary should they need it.