Uncharted 3 is a work of art that is composed of beautiful set pieces like the picturesque dunes, capsized cruise ship, burning chateau. These began as paintings and sketches by art director Robh Ruppel and his team. At GDC 2012 Ruppel showed off some Uncharted 3 art, and some of the coolest slides revealed lost levels and ideas that never came to fruition. Sony and Naughty Dog were kind enough to provide us with never-before-seen mockups of unused levels and early versions of some of Uncharted 3's most memorable experiences.

The Drydock

The Floating Reservoir

Foggy Forest

Chateau Sketches

Overgrown Chateau

Pulley Ideas

Sandlantis Cave

The Sand Pit

Drowned in Sand

Sandlantis Dome

Sandlantis in Its Heyday

Petra Inspiration

Some IGN editors think Uncharted 3 is perfect just the way it is, and it was a no-brainer for IGN's Best Graphics award in 2011, but we were still thrilled to get a glimpse at what could have been. What do you think of the unreleased levels? Give the artists some love in the comments below and maybe we can get more cool stuff from them down the road!

Samuel Claiborn is an IGN editor and professional video game cheater. TCELES B HSUP to follow him on Twitter and on IGN.