Interview | God of War: Ghost of Sparta

God of War: Ghost of Sparta is the highly anticipated action adventure game set to be released in November and is the second God of War title developed specifically for the PSP.

The game will feature similar gameplay to previous instalments in the series, with quick-time-events, puzzles and boss fights. It will also feature new weapons, magical powers and navigational abilities not present in previous games, and has been cited as featuring 25 percent more gameplay than its PSP predecessor Chains of Olympus. Stan McGuigan sat down with Nathan Phail-Liff who is the Art Director at Ready at Dawn Studios.

Gamefreaks: Nathan, thanks for spending some time with us to talk about Ghosts of Sparta, can you start by telling us about your role in the development of the game?

Nathan Phail-Liff: I am the Art Director at Ready at Dawn, so I am responsible for overseeing the visual direction of all elements of the game (such as characters, environments, and fx) from early pre-production to what you see in the box.  Working at a smaller studio like RAD is always fun, as people often get to wear many hats, so I was also able to get my hands dirty with game art as well.  In addition to my duties as Art Director I am also responsible for a lot of the environmental effects (rain, oceans, lava, fire, snow, etc) and sky backdrops.

GF: What is the storyline with GoS, we understand that this is set when Kratos is the God of War?

NPL: Ghost of Sparta is set in between the conclusion of God of War 1, when Kratos has just defeated Ares, and the beginning of God of War 2 when he has claimed his place on Mount Olympus as the God of War.  So in our game he hasn’t yet assumed the mantle of a full-fledged god yet.

What our game explores is the gap in time between GOW 1 and 2 when Kratos is trying to come to terms with the torment of his past, focusing much on the remorse over the fate of his family.  It is this torment that is is binding Kratos to the mortal world and he has to put his past to rest before he can ascend to Olympus and become a god.

GF: Without giving too much away, are any new characters introduced, if so what are their roles?

NPL:   A major new character was recently revealed in the ‘Origins’ trailer for Ghost of Sparta.  Deimos is Kratos’ younger brother who was kidnapped as a child and taken to the underworld right before Kratos’ eyes, and one of the central themes of Ghost of Sparta revolves around the relationship between the two brothers.  As the elder brother, Kratos has always been wracked with guilt over his inability to save Deimos from his fate and Deimos has been bound in torment in the underworld all of these years, with only the his rage and feelings of betrayal towards his elder brother sustaining him.  So the relationship between these two is a central element to Ghost of Sparta and makes for some very cool and emotional storytelling moments.

GF: The GOW series has become legendary in itself, for hack n slash titles, setting the benchmark for all that follow in its path, does that place a lot of pressure on development to deliver high quality?

NPL: At Ready at Dawn we always feel pressure to deliver the highest quality game possible.  From Daxter to Chains of Olympus our games have been some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful on the PSP, so working on the God of War franchise is an exciting challenge that we relish. Working on a franchise in parallel with a team as talented as Sony Santa Monica also keeps us pushing the envelope with a little friendly competition.

GF: What new things will we see in the game in regards to weapons and abilities?

NPL: In terms of magic and weapons, revealed so far are the Eye of Atlantis and the Spartan Spear and Shield, both of which are playable in the demo of the game available for download on PSN. The Eye of Atlantis is a relic that lets Kratos channel the power of Poseidon to unleash a devastating blast of lightning towards foes. Higher levels unlock additional abilities such as chain lightning that arcs from one enemy to others in close proximity.  The spear and shield is also a really cool addition, as for the first time players can fight with the weapon most associated with a warrior of Sparta, and it provides cool new combat mechanics very different from that blades, that balance between defence, offence, and ranged projectile attacks.

Beyond these weapons and magics from the demo, there is also recently revealed Thera’s Bane, an ability that allows Kratos to ignite his blades in searing, molten lava and deal more devastating attacks on enemies, as well as breaking through armor and environmental obstacles otherwise impervious to the blades.

As we get closer to the release in early November, more cool abilities will definitely be revealed.

GF: With such high expectations set for the franchise, does the PSP provide you enough power to meet your needs?

NPL:   The PSP is a really powerful piece of hardware and with Ghost of Sparta we feel we not only pushed it to its limits, but in doing so were able to deliver a full fledged God of War experience, on par with its console counterparts.  At Ready at Dawn we were always aware of how high the expectations would be for this game, especially coming on the heels of God of War 3, and I am happy to say that we really feel we delivered the goods with Ghost of Sparta.

GF: GoS began development in Sep 2008, did Ready at Dawn meet the deadline, what were the biggest hurdles to overcome?

NPL: The game is wrapped and on target for it early November release thanks to all the hard work from the team at RAD.

Definitely the biggest challenges were making a game dramatically bigger and better than Chains of Olympus, which is quite of feat considering it it still the top rated game on the PSP platform and certainly coming out after players already experienced the awe-inspiring God of War 3 raised the stakes even further.

GF: What were the main goals for the team in the development of the game?

NPL: Our goals were really to take all of the feedback on Chains of Olympus, both internally and from fans and critics alike, and make sure Ghost of Sparta delivered on all fronts.  Common feedback we received on Chains was that people wanted a longer game, with more (and larger scale) boss fights, more diverse gameplay mechanics such as platforming and puzzles to balance out the combat, as well many more cool, one-off more moments that tied in with the story of the console God of Wars.  We also knew that players would have already played God of War 3 by the time we released so we needed to make sure that both the story and new gameplay devices would keep Ghost of Sparta fresh and exciting for fans.  I am happy to say that I think we came through on all of these points, but I’ll leave it to the fans to decide for themselves!

GF: In Chains of Olympus we saw glimpses of the anguish that Kratos suffered when he was forced to push his re-united daughter Calliope away, will there be more emotional pain for our vengeful hero?

NPL: Definitely!  At Ready at Dawn we are particularly proud of the Calliope moment as one of the high points in storytelling in Chains of Olympus, so we are thrilled at how often fans and critics alike single this moment out in particular.  This type of emotional storytelling is definitely something fans can look forward to in Ghost of Sparta, as we feel it really adds depth to Kratos as a character and serves as a counterweight to his rage and over-the-top violence.

GF: At E3, GoS received nine awards, including “Best Handheld Game”, “Best PSP Game”, and “PSP Game of Show” from various media outlets. Were there specific targets that RaD had in mind for the show or was this just another day at the office?

NPL: We were just excited to see the reactions of people to seeing the demo at E3, so while we were absolutely humbled at the amount of awards we received, we really had no specific goals for E3 other than showing the first glimpse of a game we were incredibly proud of.

GF: When developing a GOW game, are you set very specific guidelines as to the look and feel of the game or are you given free reign?

NPL: We have a great working relationship with Santa Monica Studios, so we are fortunate in getting pretty free reign with the visual look.  Having Daxter and Chains of Olympus under our belts already, there was already a lot of faith in us from Sony’s perspective that we would treat their top franchises with the same respect and passion as their internal teams.  That said, certainly major characters and story moments in particular we would run by Santa Monica for feedback, so it was great to have them as a sounding board for ideas.

GF: What specific areas/outcomes in the game are you most proud of?

NPL: Without giving away any spoilers, the overall story and, in particular, the ending of the game is something we’re incredibly proud of.  I think fans will really be satisfied at the conclusion of the game, as its a culmination of a powerful moment that has been waiting to be told since the very first God of War games.  Artistically I’m also really proud of the sheer scale of the environments in the game and the amount of life in the world expansive vistas and atmospheric effects.  From what has been shown so far, when fans see the opening of the demo with the rain sleeting of the deck of the ship, lightning, and turbulent, roiling sea in the background they immediately recognise how far Ghost of Sparta has come since Chains of Olympus, from a graphical level.