Jason McDonald

Lead Gameplay Designer

How did you first become interested in pursuing a career in video games?

I think it’s everyone’s dream to be able to work on something they love. I’ve played games my entire life and as a kid I always thought working on one would be a dream.

Plus, my parents would watch me play video games as a kid and I knew they thought it was a waste of time. Part of me always wanted to prove them wrong.

How long have you been on the team?

Since May 2004. 14 years.

Give the reader an idea of your day-to-day tasks.

A typical day is filled with tons of meetings with various designers, programmers, leads and directors about various aspects of the game. Usually I focus on Mechanics, Hero, Son and Enemy design and animations, often reviewing, and tuning. When I can find the time, I still find ways to sneak into the scripts and implement a few things even though I’m sure many would wish I didn’t and would just stay pinned to a meeting room forever.

What was your favorite aspect about the project?

We had previously been working with the same combat formula and overall gameplay design since God of War 1, within the same Greek mythological world. We’d tweak and try to improve it with each iteration, but the base experience was the same. This game was a chance to go outside the box and see how we can keep the essence of the game, while changing and modernizing the feel into a brand-new experience. New Enemies. New World. New controls, mechanics, and combat. The ability to bring new elements into a 10-year-old franchise was exciting.

What was the trickiest task assigned to you and how did you solve it?

A surprisingly tricky thing was creating gameplay that stayed true to the new vision. When ideas got difficult to implement, it was much easier to stay within the wheelhouse we were used to with previous titles, and our initial designs had us doing just that. With so many God of Wars under our belts it was easy to slide into old habits regarding camera angles, old weapon styles, and older designs that did not fit the new direction. You sometimes didn’t even realize you were doing it.

The solution oddly enough was to fully embrace the change. Instead of inching the camera backward every chance we get with early prototypes, how about we just slam the camera in there and work out the problems. Part of that led in early prototypes to throwing your axe which partially came from looking at things from that 3rd person perspective. And from that perspective wouldn’t it be nice if your son could help watch your back and pin down enemies you cannot see? Things started to take off once we began looking at things through a new lens.

What are you most proud of concerning the game?

I am proud of the team persevering through the challenges to make this game. Every department stepped up to the challenge in creating something new that we have never done before. The result is the culmination of the hard work from whom I consider very talented people across the team. It feels like we created a new IP, with the excitement and familiarity of the God of War franchise.

Why a “soft reboot” instead of God of War IV?

I think part of it was to get everyone out of the mindset of creating a typical sequel. This was a reinvention that hoped to respect the characters and franchise we created, but in a different way.

How does God of War fit into the storyline, both as a continuation of the series and as a soft reboot for the franchise?

Kratos remembers everything that has happened to him and everything he has done. He bears that weight in this new title, and players will both see and feel the effects of this change through story and new gameplay design.

What were the overall goals in creating the next chapter of the God of War universe?

We wanted to capture the elements that made people love previous God of War games and deliver it in a new experience. Remove the franchise (and developer) fatigue by taking the series into a whole new direction.

What key decisions were made to reinforce and accomplish those goals?

Much of the start of this project was identifying the key pillars of Kratos as a character, as well as the God of War titles as a whole.

New “rules” documents were created for Kratos and his new direction, and Cory kicked off the project with a small book that detailed his goals for the design. Working from that starting point, we could ensure that future decisions could be tested against this bible to correct us if we steered too far off course.

What do you feel has the most impact in making the God of War series stand apart from other video games?

It’s a mixture of bigger than life mythology, epic moments, and multiple gameplay pillars (combat, puzzles, exploration) melded together into a seamless experience.

How would you summarize the experience of God of War?

Epic. Unflinching. Awesome.

Game Design

Tell us about the rebuilt gameplay and why you introduced the new elements—the behind-the-shoulder camera, the crafting/recipe system, and so forth.

This game has a deeper, closer, and more personal narrative than any God of Wargame before. There was a strong desire to make the game feel like that all the time, and not just in cinematic moments. With a tighter camera, looking up at a giant creature feels epic in a different way than before. Looking freely from that angle makes you feel like you aren’t merely watching Kratos, but you ARE Kratos.

That meant new puzzle design that could work with a camera view like this. New combat design that could have you aim at the legs of a monster to trip them as they chase you down. New tension as you try to track enemies behind you while using your son to help keep them off your back.

Slamming enemies into walls to stun them or attacking their backs to exploit weakness. The new system rewards positioning, aiming, and rushing down at the right moments much more than previous games.

We also wanted a deeper customization path for Kratos this time. The game is longer with much more to explore, so we reward this with crafting and customization options that people can experiment with and change their gameplay style throughout the experience.

Exploring, fighting difficult enemies, and solving world puzzles will give you gear and materials needed to explore all itemization paths for Kratos.

How does the overall combat system differ from the previous games in the series? Why the changes?

The game is slower paced and more deliberate. You can still get in there, juggle enemies and string together combos. But your positioning and manipulation of enemies is more important, as enemies will blindside you if you do not pay attention or lock them down.

Grabbing most enemies now requires stunning them first. Sometimes building stun on an enemy is more effective than going for raw damage depending on the circumstances. Taking advantage of opportunities and using Atreus to help stun and fend off enemies is key. Different gear and skills will improve this depending on what you can find and craft.

These changes reward a somewhat more tactical approach to combat scenarios and a wider variety of tactics that can be used to win. We wanted to give the players more options and more variety to fit the longer game experience.

What were some of the challenges in creating the gameplay experience this time around?

One major challenge was Atreus himself. There were many prototypes of how he could integrate into combat. He ranged from useless, to laughable, to annoying, to “kinda OK, maybe” for a very long time. Some members of the team wished him to be cut. It wasn’t until around the time people saw him drop kick an enemy, trip them, then proceed to beat him with his bow repeatedly when people finally started to say “OK, I guess he is pretty cool.”

What elements did you incorporate into each level to make them unique?

Each level is a blend of new narrative, puzzle mechanics, and enemy types. We try to focus on a new blend of those elements for each level to ensure you do not get the same experience back to back.

Describe some of the gameplay challenges introduced with the addition of Atreus.

Companions in games are often annoying for a variety of reasons. They get in your way, they do stupid things, they steal your kills, they get into trouble, or they talk too much. The chief goal for him was to make him not a pain in your ass.

That partially meant no micro managing. We give the player one button to command him to shoot enemies to help distract or stun enemies. If you don’t command him, he will still automatically grab enemies or follow up on your attacks with his own combos. Kratos is clearly the brawn in this relationship, but that doesn’t mean his son cannot hold his own and help Kratos get things done.

What was the motivation for Kratos to give up his Blades and take up the magical Leviathan Axe? How has the new weapon altered gameplay in God of War?

We knew if we were to truly reinvent Kratos and the series, we needed to give him a new iconic weapon. It took a while for the first throwing axe prototypes to emerge, but when they did a new direction was born. Throwing the axe not only felt good from the new tighter camera angle, it also gave life to new puzzle opportunities based on aiming and recalling the axe. Plus, we kind of liked jamming your axe in the back of someone’s head and watching them fall as you walked away. Embracing this weapon was a definite anchor point for the entirety of the new God of War title.

Can you speak in general about what lies ahead for Kratos, Atreus, and the franchise? Where does God of War go from here? Are sequels in the works?

The only way to know what’s in store is to play the game and find out! If you want spoilers I cannot help you. Bribes could work though.