The creator of God of War is an inspiration to all of us.
April 2018 saw the release of Santa Monica Studio’s highly-anticipated God of War, which received myriad accolades and 10s across the board. However, behind the game’s success is a tale that deserves to be told, as its lead developer, Cory Barlog, is nothing short of an inspiration to aspiring creatives of every discipline.
Speaking at Devcom 2018, Barlog revealed the trials and tribulations involved in the five-year production cycle of God of War to the world. Although many people would assume that developing a game as well-received as this was all sunshine and rainbows, Barlog articulated the harsh realities that are inherent to producing something that you believe in while nobody else does. Barlog wanted to do something new and innovative with God of War. Inspired by the continuous camera roll used in films such as Rope, and Birdman, he believed that he could make an engaging game in which gameplay never ceased. This meant that there would be no cutscenes, and that elements of the story would need to be displayed from the same third-person perspective as the active gameplay camera angle. Narrative and gameplay needed to be intertwined at every point along the way. Barlog couldn’t get anybody else on board with this idea initially, but he eventually found what he was looking for in the John Woo film, Hard Boiled. Woo’s film managed to balance action and story without ever needing to ...