Neil Druckmann Revealed the BBC Show He ‘Ripped Off’ for The Last of Us That Gave Us Terrifying Nightmares

The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann, while talking about the inspirations for his widely celebrated game, shed light upon a BBC show that inspired him the most, to an extent where he claims to have ripped it off.

The Last of Us was released back in 2013. The game received a lot of acclaim as it redefined the way stories could be told through the medium games. Druckmann managed to create a highly emotional and indulgent universe by ripping off this BBC show.

Neil Druckmann And His Biggest Inspiration For The Last of Us

While reflecting on his inspirations for The Last of Us, Druckmann reflected on all the things that he went through during the development of the game. A book called City of Thieves was one of the biggest inspirations for him.

The book revolves around two survivors navigating their way through Leningrad during World War II while the city is under siege and how then they grow to like one another despite having a lot of hatred at the start of their journey. Another book that inspired the creators was The Road.

While the BBC show that Druckmann feels he ripped off is none other than the widely celebrated Planet Earth that delves into nature’s most intriguing mysteries and presents themselves with a tight narrative. The show was among the first ones to introduce wildlife to animals in such a detail. Talking about the same in detail, Druckmann said:

No, the BBC show we were ripping off is Planet Earth, where they talked about the cordiceps fungus and how it affects insects.

Bruce Straley, the co-director of The Last of Us, further reiterated the point and shed further light on the impact Planet Earth had on them during the development of the game.

Neil and I would watch these videos where they literally use the term “zombie ants.” That was our jumping-off point. When we had a concept artist do the first preliminary sketches of what it would look like, again, it was a fate worse than death.

There’s something beautiful and intriguing about the pictures of the fungus and how colorful and delicate it was, but then you know that this is growing through every pore of that insect

Planet Earth has a huge influence on the world-building of The Last of Us as it gave deeper insights into parasite infestation, which was a central conflict in the game.

The Last of Us Creators Are Comfortable With Their Inspirations

The development process of the game was long, and the creators were also attempting something fresh that no one had ever experienced while playing games.

To do the same, heavy research was done in order to stay true to the theme of the game without straying away into unnecessary details to fasten the developement of the game.

The inspirations upon which the creators drew turned it into a timeless masterpiece that will be remembered for years to come as one of the best games to have come out in the last couple decades.

What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.