Ellie from The Last of Us inspired the creature in Bruce Straley's new game

Today, the legendary video game director Bruce Straley co-hosted a daily video game news show, Kinda Funny Games Daily, and talked about his new upcoming game, Coven of the Chicken Foot. Even if you don’t know the name, you certainly know his work. Straley has directed some incredible titles like Uncharted 2, Uncharted 4, and The Last of Us. Now, he’s started his own independent studio, Wildflower Interactive, which debuted the trailer for its first game at the Game Awards last week. This new game might not seem to have much to do with any of those previous titles, but Straley revealed an unexpected inspiration.

Bruce Straley’s Coven of the Chicken Foot was inspired by Ellie from The Last of Us

During the news show, which Straley co-hosted with Greg Miller, they had the chance to talk briefly about what Straley has been up to since leaving Naughty Dog, how Coven of the Chicken Foot came to be, and more. That conversation lasted only the first 15 minutes or so of the hour-long livestream, which then covered today’s video game news. Coven of the Chicken Foot only has one trailer out right now, but it features two main characters: an elderly witch that the player controls and a huge, goofy creature that they have to work with. Neither of these characters is inspired by the actual character Ellie, but the game mechanics that made Ellie work.

In the conversation with Miller, Straley said that he often wondered if there was “a way to tell stories that are more interactive with characters, in a world, rather than a story being told to me that’s more about cutscenes and exposition?” So, the creature from Coven of the Chicken Foot is Straley exploring the concept of a character that has more dynamic reactions in gameplay, not just in cut scenes, as he continues to explain: “I wanted to go like, ‘Okay, it’s like a spiritual successor of Ellie.’… when she got pouty or excited, those were scripted moments, and I wanted to know if I could create those kinds of moments dynamically, like in-game, letting the player drive the story and the relationship with the character…”

Coven of the Chicken Foot already looked like a great adventure. It has a great cel-shaded art style and a hidden sinister darkness behind its charm. But if this was Straley’s goal, it makes me even more excited to see how ambitious it really is and whether the team can pull it off.

Coven of the Chicken Foot

2027

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• Overview

• indie games
• Naughty Dog
• The Last of Us (franchise)
• TGA / The Game Awards