Last of Us II Voice Actor Troy Baker Responds To Recent Story Leaks

Spencer Baculi |

May 22, 2020

Troy Baker, the veteran voice actor who plays the role of Joel in the Last of Us franchise, recently commented on the massive leak of The Last of Us II story content.

He asked fans if they truly believed “six years of development” would be negatively affected by the spoilers and compared individuals who spread the spoilers to chain smokers searching for “a dopamine hit.”

During an Instagram Live Q&A session hosted by the voice and motion-capture actor on May 9^th, Baker responded to a fan’s inquiry about the leaks by sharing his disbelief that anyone would “think that game could be spoiled by a couple screenshots.”

He also asserted that developer Naughty Dog has “a more established pedigree than any other studio I can possibly think of.”

Baker states:

“Look, if you think that game could be spoiled by a couple screenshots…really? A studio with thirty years, thirty plus years of development, with so many awards under their belt they can’t even put them into one trophy closet. They have a more established pedigree than any other studio I can possibly think of. They’ve been around and producing award-winning blockbusters, crazy games, for three decades. This is the biggest game they’ve ever done. You really think that that experience could be undone by a couple screenshots? You think six years of development could be undone by that? It’s a game. It’s a game. You have to experience it.”

The Last of Us Part 2

Baker’s claim that the game could not be undone so easily contradicts Last of Us II director Neil Druckmann’s own directions cautioning fans to “avoid comments if you don’t want spoilers” after announcing that the leakers had allegedly been identified.

In a later Instagram Livestream hosted on May 16^th, Baker would turn his attention to the users across social media posting and spreading awareness of the spoilers, questioning “why there are people that exist whose sole purpose seemingly is to destroy the art of others” and if it brought the users “any joy.”

https://youtu.be/pxrehlIZvEM

Baker stated:

“I don’t know why there are people that exist whose sole purpose seemingly is to destroy the art of others. I dunno what that is. I can’t comprehend that. Like, I literally don’t understand the mind that goes “What I’m going to do in this moment of my fleeting life is this.” I don’t get that. I don’t understand. The mind that says “This could be my last breath, my last moment on this planet, and I’m going to spend it f***ing with someone.” I don’t understand you. I don’t understand you. Is it to get a rise? Good, great. What does that do for you? How does that solve any problem in your life? How does it give you any joy?”

As Baker continued, he offered his opinion that said users “are addicted to that dopamine hit of ‘bullshit.’” He then compared them to chain smokers who were “finishing cigarettes faster then they can f***ing smoke em.”

“I smoked for 20 years, or whatever, and if you smoke, you’ll understand what I’m about to say. You ever get the point where you get that smoke break, and you finish the cigarette, and before the thing is done, you already want another one? Just chasing that…it’s called motivational salience. It’s a dopamine hit. It’s the same reason we scroll through Twitter or Instagram. It’s because there is, what that dopamine does is hit our neurotransmitters and gives us a sense of accomplishment. A lot of people says that it makes you happy. No, it doesn’t. It just makes you feel like you did something. So the people that are addicted to that dopamine hit of ‘bullshit’, it combats motivational salience. It makes them feel like they’re doing something. But what are you doing? Nothing. Look how fast the chat moves. You ever wonder why they have to constantly do it and they’re spamming? They’re finishing cigarettes faster then they can f***ing smoke em.

Concluding his thoughts, Baker clarified that he was addressing the viewer “in a very non-gender specific way” and congratulated them on “winning a race nobody else was running.”

“I don’t get you man. Or girl. I say man in a very non-gender-specific way. So congratulations if you did this. Congratulations for winning a race nobody else was running. There you go man.”

What do you make of Baker’s comments?