Naughty Dog shows unused Uncharted 3 concepts

Naughty Dog has pulled back the curtain on some concepts that didn't make the cut for Uncharted 3. At GDC 2012, the company outlined alternative environments, expanded levels, and gameplay mechanics that were chopped for one reason or another, and now it's making that information public.

A gallery on IGN shows off the concept art. Some areas were intended as part of existing stages; the Drydock and Floating Reservoir, for example, would've made the Ship Graveyard area significantly longer. The area nicknamed "Sandlantis" sports several concepts, including how the city would have been hidden, and what it may have looked like when it was an active, bustling metropolis.

Other areas went through various iterations, from a misty morning forest to different stages of overgrowth in the Chateau. One sketch also hints at a pulley puzzle that was scrapped from the Sandlantis entrance, but an altered version of it made it into the game at a later point.

These are concept sketches, so it's not as if the content completed and then left on the cutting room floor. Still, it's an interesting look at the iterative process of game creation for one of last year's blockbusters.