Read more about Ellie (The Last of Us) at: Wikipedia

Official Site: Naughty Dog

Ellie is a fictional character of the video game The Last of Us and its sequel, The Last of Us Part II. Born in a post-apocalyptic United States following the outbreak of a mutant Cordyceps fungus, she is orphan from a young age and her entire life she struggled to survive by any means, making her very mature for her age. In the first game, protagonist Joel is tasked with escorting Ellie, as she is immune to the infection and might be the key to developing a cure. Along the way, the two form a bond and Ellie comes to see Joel as a mentor and father figure, which eventually leads Joel to sacrifice humanity's chance at finding a cure to save Ellie from the revolutionary militia group known as the Fireflies. Ellie is playable in several segments of the game, but is otherwise controlled by an artificial intelligence and often assists the player in combat by attacking or identifying enemies. Ellie returns as the sole playable character in the downloadable content prequel campaign, The Last of Us: Left Behind, which depicts her relantionship with her friend Riley, who was ultimately bitten by an Infected, forcing Ellie to abandon her when she turned. Ellie is also the main character in the comic book prequel, The Last of Us: American Dreams, wherein she meets both Riley and the Fireflies for the first time. In The Last of Us Part II, the player assumes the role of a 19-year-old Ellie as she seeks revenge on those responsible for Joel's death.

Ellie was voice by Ashley Johnson, who also provided motion capture for the character, and created by Neil Druckmann, the creative director and writer of The Last of Us. Inspired by a mute character proposed for Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, Druckmann created her as a strong female character with a close relationship with Joel; throughout the game's development, the relationship between Ellie and Joel was the central focus, with all other elements developed around it. Johnson inspired aspects of Ellie's personality, prompting Druckmann to make her more active in fighting hostile enemies. Naughty Dog also redesigned her appearance during the game's development to more closely resemble Johnson.

The character has been well-received by critics, with Ellie's relationship with Joel most frequently the subject of praise. The strength and complexity of her character, and its subversion of the damsel in distress stereotype, have also been commended. Ellie's role in Left Behind s plot has prompted some social commentary within the industry, with coverage focusing on a scene depicting LGBT themes. Both the character and Johnson's performance received numerous awards and nominations, and have regularly been placed favorably in polls and lists.

Creative director Neil Druckmann designed Ellie as a counterpart to Joel, the game's main playable character. She was also intended to demonstrate that a character bond could be created entirely through gameplay. Druckmann described the game as a coming of age story for Ellie, in which she adopts the qualities of a survivor. Ashley Johnson was chosen to portray Ellie in The Last of Us shortly after her auditions; the development team felt that she fit the role, particularly when acting alongside Troy Baker, who portrayed Joel. Johnson made important contributions to Ellie's character development. She convinced Druckmann to give Ellie a more independent personality, and to make her more successful in combat. As Ellie, Johnson's performances were mostly recorded using motion capture technology which produced approximately 85% of the game's animations. The remaining audio elements were recorded later in a studio. When portraying Ellie, Johnson was sometimes uncomfortable while performing "disturbing" scenes. However, she was excited to play a rare example of a strong female video game character.

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