Innovation is key when it comes to video games, especially when it comes to reinventing a beloved franchise. Developers face the challenge of balancing what fans loved about the series’ origins while modernizing the experience and delivering amazing gameplay enhancements players didn’t even know they wanted. . Few developers understand this task better than Santa Monica Studio, who reimagined his Kratos mythical brawl in 2018.
A sequel, God of War Ragnarok, will be released on November 9th. This new entry builds on the satisfying combat introduced in God of War (2018) with Kratos’ trusty Leviathan Ax and Blades of Chaos, increased verticality in combat, and versatile shields. We are ready to provide. Options to customize your play, a host of new mythical beasts to battle, and more.
Ahead of God of War Ragnarok’s release, we invited talented game developers from PlayStation Studios and third-party studios to explore the impactful battles of God of War (2018). These creators dive into everything from Kratos’ crispy and boomeranging Leviathan Ax to intimate camera perspectives, and also share their personal perspectives on what makes for satisfying melee combat.
“God of War 2018 was extremely inspiring. It took many aspects of action-focused games and integrated them to directly influence how we approached combat in creating Ghost of Tsushima. established a new standard.
For example, God of War’s yellow and red “rings” indicate that player action is required and are very influential, while Ghost of Tsushima’s blue and red “glitters” are unblockable/parryable. Influenced possible attacks.
Valkyrie’s boss design was also a big inspiration for us and heavily influenced Ghost of Tsushima’s mission “Kojiro’s Six Swords” to track down and fight duelists across the island. Each Duelist had their own unique moves, but the final Duel incorporated all the different moves of the previous Duelists, much like Valkyrie. Having said that, my secret hope is that Kojiro from Ghost of Tsushima defeats many players in the same way!”
– Ted Fishman, Lead Combat Designer, Sucker Punch
“When players use heavier weapons [in Monster Hunter World] The slower the movement speed and attack speed, the more difficult it is to hit the monster. An important part of designing combat for us is creating mechanics that translate the stress of slow movement into a sense of accomplishment when a player hits a target.
There are many ways to do this, but it goes without saying that the special move that gives you a sense of satisfaction when you hit it is important because of its weight. But more importantly, it gives players the movement options they need to accurately position and hit. These are even small things like taking a few steps closer to an attack/taking a step back after an attack.
Combat in God of War (2018) is simple yet deep. The basics of action games are carefully implemented, such as responding appropriately to the opponent’s attacks to make them more effective.You can aim projectiles and arrows even at long distances, [Spartan] rage mode.
Also, you can switch to a powerful attack depending on the opponent’s state, such as when you faint. The amount of operation does not increase, but since the reactions are different, the player will not get bored. The amount of care put into the game is amazing. “
– Capcom Director Yuya Tokuda
“The Last of Us Part II had the unique challenge of maintaining the heaviness and impact that Joel brought to combat in Part I, but replaced it with Ellie, now 19, while bringing the action to life. To get this right, we used techniques like tight camerawork, camera shake, controller shake, and geometric blood effects.The Last of Us It takes this holistic set of feedback to achieve the weight, impact, and general brutality it demands.
God of War (2018) takes different approaches, but they are equally accounted for by all of these feedback vectors. One of the biggest differences is the different approach to camera work. God of War utilizes a further pulled back camera to allow for a wider view of the battle space. This allows players to better track multiple targets. Camera shake is also greatly reduced. While this may impair impact perception, it greatly improves target visibility and aids gameplay. What these camera choices cut out is made up for in audio and animation. The impact sound of hitting the ball is loud. Rather than simply sounding slashing, Kratos’ Ax features Brute His Force His Slam with a low-end effort ending in a high-frequency slash. This is enhanced by animation styles. The swing has a very large arc and a strong follow through. Enemy reactions can break reality with big pose changes, flips, and even air juggling, all used to pitch power fantasies. It employs a rather subtle but powerful technique. This actually pops the target into the hit pose on hit, holding both Kratos and the target in the first frame for a short time. You can also simulate a kind of resistance to slew. And honestly, when you’re chasing weight and impact in your game, sometimes it really helps when your protagonist is a Greek god of strength. “
– Christian Wohlwend, Principal Game Designer, Naughty Dog
“What God of War (2018) has achieved is spectacular, and much has already been said about Kratos’ Ax and how it came to be. Mainly Cory Barlog and Santa It’s all thanks to Monica Studio’s exemplary openness to the design process, but aside from some clever tricks inspired by Street Fighter and other side-scrolling action games, God of War’s secret lies in hard work and constant It’s all about iterations: it’s a loop of action and reaction that’s been ruthlessly honed to gold, and Kratos deserves it, and I’m sure God of War Ragnarök delivers.
Creating a good combat system is always a long battle against time and resources, but unless you put all your focus and attention into the enemy’s feedback loop of attacking an enemy and reacting to that powerful attack, you’ll be victorious. You can’t deliver the last blow to fit. [Similarly to God of War] Spent a lot of time fine-tuning all hit animations [in Dying Light 2], tweak the parameters of every weapon to make it feel just right. “
– Tymon Smektała, Lead Game Designer, Techland
“God of War has always been a franchise that gives players a sense of spectacle and power like no other. While we were able to change the formula, shoving the camera in brought a new perspective on the carnage Kratos dealt with, along with new weapons, abilities, and partners to help you along the way. New and innovative ways to string together combos between different parts of the Arsenal will make you feel like a god of war by mastering the game over time, making combat even better and making Kratos Showed the gods of Asgard that he hadn’t missed a step, his time is away.
– Adam Coriglione, Senior Combat Designer, Insomniac Games
“I believe the key to designing melee combat is tension and release. Players should feel tension while executing attacks, feel a sense of balance, and feel a hunch from on-screen movement. is needed. [In Resident Evil Village] We aim to release that tension and create a sense of release through animations and special effects when attacks are successfully connected. This may be a generic answer, but when I develop games, I value simple, clean design.
I thought the melee and long range combat elements were great [in God of War (2018)] Mixed with the new Leviathan’s Ax Weapon at higher levels. This design allowed for his two different approaches to action. You can kill enemies at a distance, or you can use the same weapon to perform powerful attacks at close range. I feel this is an innovative combat design! “
– Capcom Director Morimasa Sato
“I loved the original God of War game. For me, the flow and ferocity of the combat was the best combat of any game developed outside of Japan. When the 2018 version came out , I was worried – would this try to “remake” the formula and ruin that nice combat?
Of course, it didn’t, instead offering a wonderfully crunchy third-person combat experience. One of my Horde mates blew him away – a true moment of joy! And I knew this game would live up to expectations. “
– Anna Marsh, Associate Game Director, Firesprite
“Chivalry 2’s combat design paradigm is about letting the player do amazing things. You have full control over the weapon’s swing arc and the player character’s body position, evading, feinting from one attack type to another, and countering. Mechanisms such as allow players to perform eye-popping symphonies of action.
By comparison, God of War (2018)’s combat is powerful, kinetic, and bombastic. It’s about giving players the opportunity to live out definite power fantasies that feel rewarding and powerful. Much attention has been paid to hit reactions and impact kinetics, making Kratos’ ax a natural extension of the player’s hand. The animation response and input handling make all the action feel rewarding on its own, and combined, it leads to fight sequences that rival Hollywood blockbusters.
God of War also leverages its nature as a single-player game to expand the player’s toolset throughout the player’s journey, keeping the experience fresh and allowing players to develop their own playstyle based on their preferences. allow it to be defined. “
– Leif Walter, Design Director, Torn Banner Studios
“God of War (2018) was an amazing achievement. We probably all agree that Leviathan is one of the best implementations of the ax in a video game (and we’ll elaborate on why To do).
My initial concern was that the game could be one giant escort mission, but Atreus was never a burden and was a rare shining example of a buddy companion that dramatically improved the combat experience. I didn’t expect him to contribute so much to core combat, but he was fully autonomous and never passive, able to instigate and encourage combat mechanics through crowd control, distraction, and aerial juggling. . My only complaint was the irrepressible urge to separate every sentence with “BOY” in the months that followed. “
– David McMullen, Lead Systems Designer, Guerrilla
“With the Nioh series, I wanted to convey the contrast between the stillness and movement of samurai battles, so I designed the game so that players and enemies have stamina bars and need to be aware of when to attack and when to attack. In addition, the ability to recover stamina by using Ki after an attack is a unique feature of the close-quarters combat in the Nioh series.
The fairness and unique gameplay that are the characteristics of the Nioh series are also the points that Team Ninja puts the most emphasis on when creating close-quarters combat.
[In God of War (2018)], the animation and sound effects were all very high quality, but the camera work was a step above everything else and felt incredible. When designing melee combat, a dilemma arises as to how to set up the camera in such a way that both visuals and gameplay are equally impactful.
However, the camera in God of War (2018) was very close to Kratos while also maintaining the power of his attacks and allowing the player to feel the pain of his enemies. This was done while a lot of work was put into the UI and effects, but players never felt the camerawork was outrageous. Combo attacks with Atreus and the series’ standard QTE are seamlessly implemented, and I was really surprised at how they came together. I’m really looking forward to seeing how all of this evolves in God of War Ragnarok. “
– Hiroyuki Nishi, Combat Designer for Team Ninja
God of War Ragnarok launches on PS4 and PS5 on November 9, 2022. Revisit the story of God of War (2018) and brush up on Norse mythology (via Kratos).
