What we found was that the themes of these games mostly revolved around 'familial ties,' and to a certain extent, fit the plot structure suggested by Blake Snyder. I must admit that I was largely inspired by God of War's writing and game design when I subsequently developed my own games.īy being so focused on such a small cast and staying in their point of view, it gives each story beat more emotional depth than most games in the genreĬase in point, before working on the script of Xuan Yuan Sword 7, we analyzed the biggest single-player games on the market using famed screenwriter Blake Snyder's 15 beat plot structure. The addition of the delicate portrayal of emotions between father and son is nothing short of amazing and it's perfectly integrated into the game experience.

I never imagined that the God of War series, which is famous for its button-mashing gameplay and ludicrous characters, would undertake such a drastic change in tone. God of War unequivocally deserves two thumbs up for maintaining the unique features of the franchise (the aforementioned thrashing and beheadings of foes and challenging of gods), while giving it room to grow with this newly introduced family dynamic. This makes their quest to fulfill the last wish of Kratos' late wife (and Atreus' mother) feel emotionally charged in a way the series had never been before. The God of War reboot fixed that.įrom the moment the game starts, series stalwart Kratos' new son Atreus cleverly guides the player on their journey, and it's through these conversations that we establish the dynamics between this father and his newly introduced progeny. Most people he meets he kills, and while they provided an exciting, action-packed thrill, they didn't exactly tug on the heartstrings. In the older God of War games, Kratos was more of a loner. It turned out that not only did God of War (2018) meet those expectations, but completely surpassed them in so many other aspects.

As such, we had high expectations for the battle mechanics of the newest installment.

When it comes to God of War, many of the team members and I associate it with the wonderful feeling of thrashing foes, brazen beheadings, and the story of one man challenging a pantheon of gods.

This entry was contributed by Golgi Yang, producer of Xuan Yuan Sword 7, a third-person action RPG set for release on Xbox One and PS4 next week. Why I Love is a series of guest editorials on intended to showcase the ways in which game developers appreciate each other's work.

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