Matt Sophos

Story and Narrative Design Lead

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

I was going to college for a degree in Radio/Television/Film with a minor in Journalism. In fact, most of my writing background was always in journalism (and more specifically, sports journalism). I’d always been a big video game and comic book geek—coming up with game ideas and drawing comic book characters—but it wasn’t something I’d really considered as a career.

On the flip side, I had a good friend who decided right out of high school that all he wanted to do was make games. So, when I went off to college, he pursued a job in games. Fast forward to my senior year in college...I was working at a talk radio station in Dallas, and my buddy had recently moved back to town to be one of the first employees of a new video game studio starting up. After a while there, he told me he thought it was something I’d really love doing if I gave it a shot. I figured, “what the hell” and started going to his apartment in the morning when he’d go off to work, and would build levels just to see if it was something I may want to shift careers for. Soon after, I just started showing up to work with him and began fixing levels on a secondary computer he had sitting next to his desk. After a little while of that, the Project Lead realized he’d never actually hired me, but I was doing good work so maybe he should start paying me. And that’s how I got my first job in the industry at Ion Storm. I never looked back from there.

By the way, I don’t recommend just showing up at a company and starting to work like you already have a job there. Ion Storm was a unique place and it was a LONG time ago when it comes to game development. I think most people would now be escorted out by security and possibly prosecuted.

How long have you been on the team?

3½ years

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

Well, at the time of this interview, most of my day is spent addressing bugs and finding things in the game from the narrative-side that aren’t playing out correctly.

As a writer/narrative designer, your day-to-day is wildly different based on what stage of the game’s development you’re in. In the beginning, a typical day consisted of lots of sit-downs with my writing partner, Rich Gaubert, and Cory (Barlog, the Creative Director) to hash out major beats of the story. We’d write things up on note cards and pin them up on a board—constantly shifting them around as the spine of the plot took shape.

At other times, we spent time writing character breakdowns and monologues for Casting, and then watching and giving feedback on auditions. Sometimes we were holed up for days on end furiously writing scenes or level banter so it was ready for pre-visualization or temp VO recording.

And other days we spent most of our hours taking screenshots and doing paint-overs to explain to implementers how we intend for banter to trigger as a player progresses through the level. Others were spent timing and re-timing banter so that it sounds conversational and leaves room for sound effects and specific animations.

It’s kind of a grab-bag that keeps you on your toes, honestly.

What was your favorite aspect about the project?

If you mean, “what’s my favorite aspect of the game,” it’s the depth of the world we’ve been able to create. Gone are the days of a purely linear romp with each level bookended by cinematics. I’m incredibly proud of what this team has been able to pull together and create.

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

I think the trickiest task was to find a way to write Kratos in a way that stayed true to who he is (the character that players have had many games to become familiar with) while evolving him to the point where players can accept that he’s different now. He’s a man that wants to change—to be more than the “Ghost of Sparta” and remorseless killer of gods. Part of doing it was just digging in and figuring out what aspects of Kratos *I* found potentially redeemable. Adding Atreus to the mix with Kratos wanting to change FOR someone gave me an “in” to the character that I could relate to. Hopefully players will find this as well.

What are you most proud of concerning the game?

I’m proud we’ve so far been able to change how players (at this point, playtesters and team members) feel about Kratos as a character. I think to a large degree, people felt like he was largely irredeemable… a notion Kratos himself would agree with. After playing through this game, I’ve heard almost everyone come around on Kratos and that he’s a far more tragic character with more depth of emotion than the pseudo-villain he’d mostly become.

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

God of War picks up many MANY years after the events of God of War III. It’s a direct continuation because Kratos has grown from his experiences in the previous games. He’s still the same man (err… demi-god) that killed most of the Greek pantheon—including his father and his previous family. It fits as a soft reboot because, like Kratos, we’ve moved to a different place both physically and emotionally, and we’re all older and grayer with different outlooks on life. Not to crib too much from our E3 2016 demo, but it’s “a new beginning.”

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

The goal was to create a deeper, more intimate experience for players and to tear down a lot of the walls Kratos built around himself to get to the heart of the character.

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

By giving Kratos a son to care for, we could tap into the fears Kratos has of passing on the bad parts of himself—the parts Kratos wishes he could forget. From a technical standpoint, pulling the camera in tight and making all the action play out up close makes the gameplay feel more immediate… like you’re experiencing everything at Kratos’ side, rather than at a distance.

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

I think it’s the scale of things and only being limited by imagination. I spent many of the middle parts of my career working on shooters that are grounded in realism (whether in World War II or a science fiction future). God of War gives the freedom to say, “this is mythology, not history.” You want to fight a living statue? Do it! Pull off the fingernail of an enormous Titan? Have at it! Bury your axe in the face of an 18 ft. tall troll throwing fire at you? You got it, pal. It’s incredibly freeing from a creativity standpoint.

How would you summarize the experience of God of War?

I’d say God of War is a deep, visceral, emotional experience that I hope surprises players and makes them want to continue playing long after they should have gone to bed. You have work/school in the morning… go to sleep!

Narrative

God of War introduces a father-son theme to the series. What was the inspiration for this, how has it affected Kratos as a character, and what were the challenges in developing this theme?

As Cory tells it, he was at a different point in his life than when he directed God of War II. He became a father to a young son and saw the potential in exploring this aspect of his life through the lens of Kratos. When I joined the project, I could fully identify with that perspective because I’m also a father to a young son, as is Rich. By giving Kratos a son to raise, it gave us the ability to tap into the fears we all have when raising our own sons. As a parent, you’re always concerned that your bad traits—the ones you really wish you could change—will become your child’s bad traits. I know I personally always feel like I’m screwing up and can only hope I’m a good influence on my son more often than not. Imagine how Kratos feels when you think of all the horrible things he’s done and the rage he’s constantly striving to contain. “The sins of the father…” so to speak.

How has the transition to the Norse mythological setting impacted the story? What was the inspiration for this? What were the challenges?

Kratos is a stranger in a strange land. He’s in a place that doesn’t know him. One of the things Kratos has always tried to do is forget his past, and moving far north was a way for him to do that. We’d considered other mythologies to explore before landing on this one, but to me, for a demi-god seeking isolation from the rest of the world, the Norse lands seemed like the perfect place for Kratos to exile himself.

One of the big challenges with regard to Norse mythology is that it’s really not terribly well-documented. Unlike Greek mythology, where books still exist that were actually written during that time period, Norse mythology was largely oral stories passed from person-to-person. In fact, the oldest, most extensive written history of the Norse gods was authored by a Christian scholar close to 1000 years after the Norse mythological era. It’s all very fragmented, with not much in the way of accepted “facts”. This provided both a terrifying challenge and a lot of freedom when it came to mining myths for the game.

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?

I could, but I think Cory and Sony might throw Kratos’ axe at me (hopefully the foam version).