Thanks to the Internet, information can now be shared that was previously archived forever or only a privileged few had the right to access. Discarded designs are part of this data type; However, today the creative teams are more open to publishing it due to the growing interest of the public to know the steps they took from franchises as beloved as The last of us the industry giants that they are today.
In previous articles we were able to learn about the creative process behind the leading couple of the Naughty Dog title: Joel Miller and Ellie Williams. Now it is the turn of the character who has caused a sensation this week thanks to his important role in the HBO Max series. We are talking about TessJoel’s friend and partner both in the video game and in the series.
The first thing we can see is that His physical features did not undergo major changes throughout his development.. Her hairstyles did vary a bit: whether she was wearing a headband or a bandana, she always kept her hair tied up. The main variant comes when we read Tess’s presentation, where it is said that it was thought to be the antagonist of the game before the final narrative of the The last of us from PS3.
Tess went from being the villain of the story to Joel’s partner when the game’s final narrative was established.
As for her clothing, she did not have major changes either: it was always contemplated that she would wear a blouse of different colors and designs or a black T-shirt. She would top off his outfit with jeans and boots, very guerilla-esque. The assault rifle was always his faithful companion since the original sketches of him.
The assault rifle was always with Tess during her development process
His personality was always going to be aggressive and defiant.as we can see in these two images: in the first we can feel him with the rage with which he interrogates a man similar to Joel and in the second, where he looks arrogantly while he has a gun in his right hand.
Tess proves she has what it takes to survive the post-apocalyptic world of The Last of Us
Finally, it was always contemplated that Tess would become infected with cordyceps at some point in the plot. Proof of this are these sketches where it is shown how the infection is advancing throughout his body from his neck. The damaged area is shown with a red stain.
Whether on the right or left side of the neck, it was thought that Tess would be attacked by an infected yes or yes during the game’s story
Although Tess did not have such marked changes during her creation process as Joel and Ellie, she ended up being a key character for the development of the story and very loved by at least fanaticism of the franchise. Fortunately for them, the series The Last of Us on HBO Max is being faithful to the canon of the games and put it in its rightful place.
