It turns out Nathan Drake’s signature half-tuck style was a part of the original character and game pitch from Naughty Dog for 2007’s Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Sony Worldwide Studios senior vice president of product development Scott Rohde said in the latest PlayStation Blogcast.
"They talked a ton about Nathan Drake himself," Rohde said. "And there was a big deal about the un-tuck; the half-tuck. Back then, when [the Uncharted franchise] was just an idea, the half-tuck was a part of it all the time."
When asked if Rohde thought the half-tuck was integral to the character of Nathan Drake, he said, “It totally is.”
[THE FOLLOWING THREE PARAGRAPHS HAVE MINOR SPOILERS FOR UNCHARTED 3: DRAKE’S DECEPTION].
Those that have played Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception will recall a segment where you play as a young Nathan Drake, in which Nathan is seen wearing a half-tucked three-quarter style baseball shirt with maroon-colored sleeves. It turns out there was actually some sentimental meaning behind that clothing choice for the developers.
"There's a reason he's wearing that," Rohde said. "It's because, in the original prototype demos of Nathan Drake, he was wearing that shirt. That was going to be his main outfit–that three-quarter baseball tee…with the half-tuck."
The three-quarter baseball shirt was scrapped for a different look for Nathan’s adult-aged look.
Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection, a remastering of the Uncharted console trilogy, is set to be released on PlayStation 4 on October 7, 2015. Those that purchase The Nathan Drake Collection will get access to the Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End multiplayer beta. Uncharted 4 is set for release in early 2016.