Post
The Uncharted creator who shaped modern AAA cinematic narrative — and whose departure from Naughty Dog reshaped two decades of studios.
Started in games at Electronic Arts in 1989, then ATARI, then Crystal Dynamics where she worked on the Legacy of Kain series. Joined Naughty Dog in 2003 as creative director and co-wrote/directed Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007), Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009), and Uncharted 3 (2011) — the trilogy that defined the modern third-person cinematic action game. Left Naughty Dog under contested circumstances in 2014, joined the cancelled Star Wars project at Visceral Games (cancelled with the studio in 2017), then founded Skydance New Media in 2019 to develop a Marvel narrative game (currently in development).
Example
Uncharted 2's collapsing-building set piece (2009) — a mid-game level where the environment collapses around the player in real time as they fight — became a permanent reference for AAA action design and is still cited in modern Naughty Dog and Sony first-party design discussions.
Why it matters
Hennig is one of the most influential narrative directors in AAA history. Her departure from Naughty Dog and subsequent project cancellations are also a vivid case study in how AAA narrative talent gets churned through publisher restructurings.
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