God of War II Q&A Feature

Despite the promise of AAA titles from every game announcement we see, very few actually merit that accolade. One title deserving of such claim, however, was Sony Computer Entertainment's 2005 release of God of War. Emerging from nowhere and with relatively little hype, God of War changed the landscape for action based titles, with a refined combat system, stunning presentation and a gripping central plot.

As development on the sequel moves closer to the Alpha milestone, TVG recently had the opportunity to discuss the sequel with Cory Barlog, heading up development on the sequel as Game Director this time around.

Was Sony surprised with the fact that this game was such a big hit and appeared to come from nowhere; what do you put that success down to?

To us, and this sounds really cheesy, but I swear I totally mean this, there's a lot of love that goes into this game, so I had a mixed response. Part of me was like "Yeah...of course they like it...we worked our collective a$$es off to make that game." But then there is another part of me that remembers thinking "Man I really hope people get this." We loved the game but there was always that possibility that it would end up not connecting with people. So many great games go unnoticed by the masses and the possibility that our game could suffer the same fate was never all that far from my mind. I mean Beyond Good and Evil was a great game that just never seem to resonate with the US consumers. These guys worked hard, and produced a stellar title and the sales were not that good. So there really is no guarantee in this business...or any entertainment related business for that matter. One great thing about Sony though...they really stand behind their games. So we had a lot of people backing us and pushing for the games success so that made a huge difference as well.

"We wanted to make a game that literally just sucked people in and made them forget they were playing a game."

How do you see the sequel expanding upon the first game; what have been some of your goals and objectives in terms of building Kratos' character?

The main goals have always been to maintain and surpass the level of quality we set for ourselves in everything we do. We want to take players back into the mythological world we created and continue telling the story of Kratos and his struggles with the gods. I also love the idea of conveying the story and character growth through the gameplay. So we are not just telling the story, you are living it.

God of War featured three cut-scenes providing hints to possible future plotlines, one of which centred on the possible relation between Kratos and Zeus; why have you decided to focus on a different story-arc for God of War II and do you believe any of these concepts will be realized with future titles?

The ideas presented in the bonus movies were possible directions for the series but were never considered to be the final selections for the story of a sequel. After writing several drafts of stories that followed the bonus materials, and several drafts of my own story concepts, we finally decided on a draft that incorporated elements of the bonus materials along with many new elements to keep the story fresh. As we have talked about before, the overarching story of Kratos has always played out in a trilogy for us, so this is still only a portion of the overall story of the life of Kratos.

The third-person action genre is fiercely competitive, so what do you feel has given this game such a big advantage over the others; how did you manage to create such a commanding sense of atmosphere in the game and what games do the team admire and take inspiration from?

There are so many things that fell into place correctly to make the game that people played and enjoyed. I think the heart of the games success lies in the idea that we were not trying to appeal to just one group of gamers. This was not a game just for the hardcore, or just for the casual gamer. We wanted to make a game that literally just sucked people in and made them forget they were playing a game. That sense of atmosphere not only comes from having one of the best freaking art teams I have ever worked with, but also one of the most dedicated team of programmers, designers, composers and animators. The team worked tirelessly to perfect every aspect, from the controls to the animation, to the level art, to the story, to the puzzles.

We made every aspect of the game the most important aspect to ensure the entire experience was as seamless as it could be. Accessibility is an extremely important aspect of why I think God of War made such a lasting impression on people. The game can be picked up and enjoyed by gamers of any skill level. My brother-in-law only plays Golf and Soccer games... he really doesn't enjoy any other type of game. But I gave him a copy of God of War and the first night he had it he stayed up all night playing it. I think that really sums up the idea of making a game that can appeal to just about anyone who enjoys being taken on an adventure. Anyone who wants to recapture that sense of wonder we all had the first time we played Zelda, or the first time we saw Indiana Jones or Star Wars. For me, telling stories, suspending a players disbelief and making them care about the characters they are interacting with...well there is just nothing better.

"Right now we are able to put more higher resolution characters onscreen than the original God of War."

God of War II continues to impress visually, eclipsing some early efforts on the PlayStation3; how have you managed to achieve such an accomplished look and can you elaborate?

I think that there is still some power left under the hood of the PS2. The programming team here has been able to find some news tricks to really push the PS2 even further and our art team has found even more optimizations with characters and levels that allow us to push things further. Right now we are able to put more higher resolution characters onscreen than the original God of War. I am confident there will be other developers that manage to squeeze even more power out of the system, but I think with God of War II we are reaching the ceiling graphically. Of course every time I say something like that, we find a new trick. So who knows?

The scant selection of puzzles within God of War appeared to be there just to splice up the action; will there be a greater emphasis on them this time around and what other possible areas are you looking to bring diversity to the gameplay?

God of War has a pretty solid mixture of puzzle solving, exploration, and combat. With God of War II, I am working to maintain a very similar balance. Of course that will mean bringing back, possibly even increasing the vertical spinning blades in Hades. Those ROCKED!!! Not really... but I do know what worked with the first game and what felt fun so I will be using that as a base for the overall balance of elements in God of War II. Basically...the game will not turn into a puzzle heavy game nor will it turn into a pure action game. We are bringing in new functionality and incorporating it into the puzzle solving to keep things fresh. So in essence we will be keeping it real'er (if that's a word).

Can you tell us about some of the new techniques available to Kratos this time around, such as the rumoured appearance of the Icarus Wings?

There are so many different things we are adding to the players' arsenal like new weapons that switch in mid-combo. You will also acquire these weapons by killing the characters who are using those weapons against you so that is pretty cool. It really pulls the player into the experience that much more when they don't just go up and find a weapon lying on the ground. We are also adding new magic with the ability to navigate while in a magic mode to really smooth out the switching between the Blades of Athena, other weapons, and magic. So when you have a Medusa Head equipped you will no longer have to stand still to use it. It's a small simple thing but it really opens up the combat. The overall combat experience will be even more fluid than God of War.

One of the original's most notable features was the playable cut-scenes/mini-games that dramatized the action; what can we expect from the sequel and how do you maintain a balance that's dynamic and exciting without growing repetitive?

The mini-games are still present in God of War II. We are amping up the players' interactivity and brutality a bit while still making sure the experience does not become boring and repetitive. We are also enhancing the risk vs. reward system for a number of the mini-games to really make the usage of the mini-game a strategic element of the combat.

"Put in the shadows by PS3? Nah, not really."

How closely do you stick to Greek mythology when it comes to story-lines and characters; what other areas of the subject interest you most for possible future titles?

I studied a ton of the mythology while working on the first few drafts of the script for the game. There really is a never ending well of ideas to pull from in mythology, and the real difficulty is picking things that really fit within the story of Kratos as well as being easy to swallow for audiences. I was often told by people that "this is not a history lesson." This was a pretty valuable piece of criticism. I mean I love teaching new things through the storytelling of the game...I really believe that helps to elevate the medium...but you can't let your story get bogged down by that. Because in reality it's an action adventure game that at its heart is about having fun and losing yourself in the world of mythology. It should never feel like you are forced to stop every 5 minutes and say "Wait...who was that? He was related who? What was his name again?" That is how I felt when I was researching a lot of this stuff. If that happens then you have pretty much lost your audience, which I have heard is a bad thing.

As far as future titles...I am so bogged down with God of War II I can't even think about that. I know that whatever I do I want to tell stories and emotionally engage players. I know that there is still so much more we can do with the medium to really elicit emotional responses from people and I am looking forward to exploring that more. I hope to be making epic games like this for a long time!

So what's up next? A Small Wonder RPG that has you playing as Vicki the loveable robot gaining upgrades to your hardware and battling the characters of the neighbourhood like Mr. T, the cast of Riptide (with their robot who is Vicki's arch nemesis), Ernest Borgnine (In his Airwolf days) and Mr. Belvedere as the Evil villain bent on taking over the world. I'm joking of course - but It'd be pretty sweet.

With a release slated for March 2007 it's surprising to find such a high-profile title for the PlayStation 2; are you concerned that the title may be put into the shadows by the arrival of the PlayStation3 and what were some of the decisions to stick with the PS2 instead of switching to the next-gen - how long before Kratos makes his next-gen debut?

Put in the shadows by PS3? Nah, not really. I mean I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little worried... but when it comes down to it... we believe in this game no matter what platform it is on. For us, when you look at the PlayStation 2 - there's a 100 million people out there that will be able to play God of War II as soon as it launches. As a game maker that is the best possible situation you can be in, you want the largest possible audience of people to have the opportunity to play your game. Plus, it's going to be playable on the PS3 with PS2 backwards-compatible functionality.

As for PS3 and a third God of War for the franchise... We'll have to wait and see. I would love to see a trilogy happen. Dave and I have a pretty similar view as to where the story of Kratos should go and it does play itself out in a trilogy, but there are no trilogy plans as of right now. We are telling the continuation of Kratos life as we left off from the first game. The story in God of War II will begin to show a larger view of Kratos' role within the mythological world.

TVG would like to thank Cory Barlog from taking some time out of his hectic schedule to answer our questions. God of War II is still some way off, so expect a lot more on the title in the coming months...