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GP: What was the biggest challenge that came up during the development of God of War 3? Stig: Well, the biggest challenge is the complexity of everything. Many things that we\'re trying to do in the game crosses multiple departments. What we used to be able to do was get three or four guys in a room, saying "This is what we\'re trying to achieve here," and pretty much rest assured that those guys would be able to go off and make that happen. Now, the technology is so complicated, and the level of detail that\'s expected is so high and intricate, it crosses multiple departments. So, something that used to take three to four months takes twenty, twenty-five, forty, or even fifty, and requires a level of communication and management that is incredibly complicated. It could be incredibly small, something you see in the game, like the "Helios Head Rip" for example. That probably involved 15 people to get that one thing done. It took multiple iterations. A lot of that was the process of just learning how to do that, and getting the technology right. And a lot of that process was making sure that the proper communication happened between all those teams of people. GP: Do you feel pressure to show some restraint when determining the amount of gore to put in God of War 3? How do you know how far to push the overall level of violence? Stig: Well, I think that with the lightning quick kills, that\'s something that\'s part of Kratos\'s character. We have an opportunity on the PlayStation 3 to make those things really come across. But we\'ve got to be careful because we\'re treading a fine line, and we want to keep falling into that canonical realm. We always have to make sure that we keep it real personal and in the fiction of the game. When we have these discussions in these meetings about how we execute some of these gory moments, it tends to always get to the point when we\'re laughing about stuff, and I think once we\'re laughing, we\'ve probably pushed it too far. [Laughs] GP: The demand for providing some sort of multiplayer in games has grown tremendously over the years. Even franchises like Resident Evil, known predominantly for their single-player content, have integrated multiplayer support to satisfy this demand. Have you guys played at all with the possibility of including a multiplayer mode in God of War 3, maybe with co-op? Or is that something that just doesn\'t fit? Stig: Well, why don\'t I ask you a question? How did it work in Resident Evil 5? Do you think it was better, or do you think they should have stuck to a single-player game? GP: Well, I thought it took away from the terror, because it\'s a survival-horror game, and you\'re supposed to have this overwhelming feeling that your life is on the line. When you have another player who\'s able to assist you every time you run out of health; that takes away from how scary the game is. Stig: Hmm, that kind of sets me up for my response, then. I\'m a huge Resident Evil fan, but I got two hours into Resident Evil 5, and I wasn\'t playing multiplayer, either. I stopped playing, which I\'ve never done before. Previously, I\'ve beaten them all. With God of War 3, there\'s a story we want to tell and an experience we want to deliver, and multiplayer doesn\'t fit into that. Does that mean we don\'t have conversations about multiplayer? No. Of course we have conversations about multiplayer, and there\'s a lot of things we think about. Imagine two Kratos characters running around at the same time. Once you do that, the story becomes something more about an experience between two players and less about something that we\'re scripting. So, you have something like Left 4 Dead, which is sweet, but we just decided with this game, there\'s a certain way that we want to tell it. And staying with what we\'ve done in the past, we want to complete the story in a way that was familiar to everybody. ...
Sony has a great post-holiday present for PlayStation 3 owners in the works. If you pick up the Blu-ray release of District 9 on December 29, you’ll have access to an exclusive God of War III demo that’s built into the disc. Once you beat that demo, you’ll also be able to check out a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the game. “Blu-ray functionality has long been a differentiator that separates the PS3 from other home entertainment systems,” says Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and PlayStation Network, SCEA. “Through this collaboration with Sony Pictures Home Entertainment we\'re able to create a unique experience only available on the PS3 system that blends two of the most popular entertainment options available, watching District 9 and playing God of War III off the same disc.”The Blu-ray edition of Neill Blomkamp’s movie also includes a digital copy, an interactive map and other special features. It will be available for $39.95. Its’ rated R, which should make Kratos feel right at home.
Sony Santa Monica fills us in on its progress with Kratos\' latest, and maybe final, battle against the gods. December 8, 2009 - The end is beginning. Kratos\' god-killing adventure is set to receive its third and final installment (for now) this coming March in God of War III, exclusively for the PlayStation 3. Sony\'s Santa Monica studio is hard at work on finishing up development on the game, and though we haven\'t seen anything new from it in some time, that doesn\'t mean the excitement for Kratos\' finale isn\'t still sky-high. We\'re just as eager as anyone to know more about the game, so we spoke with the director on the title, Sony Santa Monica\'s Stig Asmussen, to find out where it is in development, when we\'ll get our next tease at the game and more. IGN: How far along is the game? Stig Asmussen: We are currently in the final stages of development. The entire game is together from start to finish and we\'re working our butts off putting on the finishing touches. We\'ve been conducting external playtests and evaluating and addressing the feedback we\'ve received, doing our best to incorporate it into the game. However, there are a couple of parts that still have pretty big question marks left. We have to do our best to work these out. But that is par for the course on God of War. Things always seem to come together at the end.
