Deconstructing God of War Ragnarok with Director Eric Williams

Huber and Brad sit down with Sony Santa Monica's Eric Williams to get his insights on everything from the history of God of War and directing a game during the pandemic to combat, nuggets of lore, and more in this extensive interview.
*Review Copy Provided by PlayStation
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#EasyAllies #Gaming #GodOfWarRagnarok

[@DzekoVelez]

Huber is such a good interviewer. He makes it seem more like a casual conversation instead of an interrogation. Good stuff EZA!

[@gnarcky6ix6]

I like how excited he gets, it's gotta be rewarding for Eric to see someone so visibly joyful over his work lol good vibes

[@AndyGilleand]

I feel like he was a bit over excited and came off as a crazy fanboy at times lol

[@sh00ner]

Man, I've watched every podcast or interview I could find of Eric talking about this game, so this was such a treat to see pop up. I remember him saying how uncomfortable he is doing public speaking and it blows me away, because he really is such a captivating speaker. He just has a certain charm and charisma to him that I love.

[@sagemodeq544]

Wow so happy you guys got to do this again! Saw him making the rounds a while ago and thought EZA got left out. L&R

[@sevenhareproductions]

Easily my favorite interview I've seen with Eric, your ability to just make it feel like a couple of friends hanging out is unmatched

[@Talented34tv]

Oh hell yeah, shoutout to his Tsushima shirt too!

[@MAXISORAWIGGLES]

Also if I have a suggestion, I think it would be better to have the guest on the left side of camera so that he doesn't have to keep turning his head to both Huber and Brad. It would allow them to feel more natural and look at both of them at once.

[@MrConeman]

It makes me so happy for Brad and Huber being able to take the lead on this one, and they both nailed it with the presentation and questions. This is EZA at its jolly best.

[@Starfals]

This reminds me of what you all did for God of War 2018, with Corry. Nice to see another one for the second game!

[@GarryDaltona]

Thank you for this great interview. Eric is such a calm and reasonable person ;)

[@godofwarguy9865]

Can we please leave that in 2022. Im begging u... PLEASE.

[@DDSlawson]

I've watched all of the spoiler stuff with Eric and I think this might've been my favourite. So much detailed insight.

[@brandtreppond2167]

Dude on the left is so excited to be on this interview

[@WTFLegacys]

Huber interviewing devs is always the cherry on top of these great gaming experiences! Love the vibes both Huber and Brad brought. Keep up the great work!

[@ChrisLT]

Great interview, Eric sounded super chill and relaxed. Making someone this comfortable is an underrated interview skill. And shoutout to SotN, also my favorite game of all time. First soundtrack I ever imported.

[@Zamzummin]

Love the industry insight.

[@crazeeruler]

Took me a bit to get around to this, and I'm not done yet, but I loved this. Excellent vibe, excellent interview.

[@pepe220987]

Wow what an epic high tier guest for you guys. Amazing!

[@eda0076]

Wasn't expecting this. Great stuff!

[@mrrehino]

shouldn't the intro caption be "Director Provided by Sony Santa Monica". jokes aside. very cool interview. i hope you guys get to do more of these.

[@godofwarguy9865]

Ong there he is. The kid that drank a whole case of 90s coke a cola soda when he interviewed barlog in 2018. Love it

[@sebastianvonp1467]

great discussion!!! more developer talks like this please.

[@BOTCHED]

Fantastic interview! Just finished the game and it held up to my expectations! The team over there at Sony Santa Monica is special.

[@Aryan-MNV-2000]

This man is unbelievably humble.

[@IsaiasMGPalafox]

Great sit down. Great conversation. Ragnarök was GOTY for me personally. I was invested from beginning to end w/ that game. SMS delivered a great game. 💯👏🏼

[@rommelcarrasco3081]

Valhalla revived my hype for this masterpiece. What a franchise and what an amazing story

[@ubersoldat91]

Great interview ya'll

[@lunapixels]

I'm super inspired as a creative by Eric Williams he really had 3 monkeys on his back and delivered GOW Ragnarok along with the amazingly talented team at Santa Monica, with a consulting background, combat design experience and just general love of games (obviously his porfolio is far bigger just mentioning what he talked about here) he and the team at Santa Monica delivered on a sequel that was amazingly tough to pull off. Truly grateful.

[@gencruz3277]

Eric Williams seems to have enjoyed the conversation! Hope this encourages more developers to come over to EZA!

[@MonsterMJ]

Omfg i waited for this amazing ❤️ this is Epic 😍

[@GroundPunch2]

HELL YEAH ALLIES

[@skyace9386]

Huber is like a kid in a candy store. Raw, unhidden excitedeness and passion.

[@Ramkumar8404]

Some of things that was asked in this video have come to life in the dlc! Way to go!

[@daytonablue2041]

Great interview! I loved Ragnarok so much. I’m waiting patiently until they add NG+ with added armor and runes so I can jump back in and experience the magic once again.

[@kingofthesharks]

Damn still haven't got around to Ragnarok (finally finished Horizon 2) so can't watch this yet... but super happy for you guys, yay for developer interviews! Keep searching around the LA area for more opportunities like this!

[@user-mu8dm4rk7g]

You'll love it

[@simpleclout5546]

​@@user-mu8dm4rk7g will he?! Lol

[@shhhonuff320]

Awesome interview, Ragnarok was my GOTY 2022

[@Starless85]

The Hozier song is still in my playlist and will remain there forever. I get chills every time.

[@Zeldafan355]

Love how Eric's taste in games really vibes with Brad and Huber.

[@moraleslachinomartinedmund8834]

Best interview I've wathced so far

[@ragnarok9658]

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@DRAGHNALL]

This is my first time watching this interview, and it happens to be after beating the Valhalla DLC. So the hindsight is pretty funny.

[@MAXISORAWIGGLES]

Fuck yeah keeping the tradition alive!!

[@MyxeQ]

my only complaint is that Huber and Brad did not query him about how the culmination Ragnarok itself felt weird and short

[@archonrex5600]

Whoa! *Love & Respect EZA* and God of War/Sony Santa Monica!!

[@gamingbits5570]

29:26 COry and Eric worked on KillBill game 44:22 Cory Barlog troll Easter egg 54:47 Angrboda's Flower

[@ragnarok9658]

😂😂😂 flower. Wtf. This game was such a let down

[@Tjmoney4200]

“Death can have me, when it earns me”

[@___IG]

Wow best in the biz guys!!

[@bricelevai8520]

My expectations dropped a lot when I heard there was no 3rd game for this story. And despite the rushing issues in the story, I was pretty blown away on how well they did it

[@hypebrain4150]

‘Family has always been part of God of War’ 33:00 Damn boy.

[@Erfan_Gg1]

This is freaking AWESOME!!!

[@emmanuel1337]

(40:35) That part is really funny in retrospect, since cyclopes, dead legionaries and a bunch of other Greek stuff from other games are featured in the Valhalla DLC for GoW Ragnarök. The guy acted at the time in a way that could both be interpreted as a sign that it was going to happen or just sincere "I'd like to, but I don't know" hahaha.

[@Bureji]

40:40 Not sure how long Valhalla was in development for, but I could see the gears turning in Eric's head haha

[@BACKDOORBROWNIE710]

Yea I noticed that too. Curios to know how long Valhalla was being worked on

[@denebowdalo3715]

Great job guys! L&R!

[@Luffy2008]

This is the content that I want from you guys, more gaming journalism besides de podcast. More produced in deph analises and videos putting the spotlight on the people that makes games.

[@theebigbam]

Great insights from Eric, he seems like a real cool dude. Love the Ghost of Tsushima t-shirt, can't disrespect somebody who reps that game.

[@stuartmcknight6925]

Great interview. I'm always torn with not using Mijolnir as it does make sense but it would have been so great to use it to finish Thor if he was as bad as they made him out to be in 2018. That spear though is so damn good

[@kjer2540]

Williams is one of the unsung legends in this industry. Without him, there would be no Kratos. Or maybe there would be, but the combat wouldn't be nearly as badass.

[@connortiernan2548]

Amazing revisiting this after Valhalla and hearing Eric say he doesn’t know what’ll happen in the future with visiting Greece, fighting old enemies, without any mention of the additional shit they put in. Santa Monica is possibly the greatest game studio at the moment (amongst Nintendo’s, FromSoft, and some arguments for Insomniac/Naughty Dog).

[@mwmrhdm]

The thumbnail edit makes the director look much larger than the other two, like how Tyr is so much larger than everyone else.

[@Kmaitland89]

Yes!

[@phizz1234567890]

Danny Boyle's Sunshine is one of the ALL TIME GREATS

[@Starless85]

especially with the Dualsense, everything in this game just FEELS so fucking good to do. Everything has weight, momentum and impact.

[@sharpkatana1178]

This was great guys made me appreciate the game even more. I still prefer 2018 more I found the pacing better in that one.

[@JUNIOR-hv9sq]

Speaking of combat the ice and fire elements were more flashy in the 2018 game than ragnarok.

[@theeprotagonist1355]

Really funny to listen to this now after Valhalla’s release

[@ZekeAxel]

Brad and Huber are the cozy EZA interviewers.

[@anasshahid224]

Great interview, Eric Williams did a phenomenal job as game director on God of War Ragnarok, it’s a amazing game 👏👏👏👏

[@fredoraa]

I wanna know what’s going to happen weapon wise in the next game because all 3 have every reason to stay in as the other and I feel like adding another weapon or 2 might feel too crowded

[@Mac_N_Cheezy]

Awesome. Hope the Allies get to do more stuff like this in the future. Although having Huber and Brad Flank him from both sides is a little intense no?

[@Demigod_3scrub]

WHO BLEW THE HORN 🥳

[@Lord_Heisenberg]

Eric is so awesome!

[@hammerz2k]

Repping the Ghost of Tshima T, love this kind of culture.

[@tracefetherman]

I feel when Huber asked "Who blew the horn?"... and Eric said "You gotta ask the other guy", and that he "knows but cant say". Was hinting at what Cory has been working on.

[@matthewvandeleest8095]

Doesn't the game show Kratos blowing it? Or is this a different reference??

[@arandomperson3840]

​@@matthewvandeleest8095 the horn which is used to summon the world serpent. In the first game when you're taking a sick Atreus to Freya someone blows the horn but it's not revealed who.

[@chadmorton9259]

AYYYEEEEEE LETS GOOOO! EZA 4 LIFE L&R!!!

[@FreeBandz658]

I was fully expecting Mjolnir too, still would’ve loved to see it but I completely understand why they didn’t. The axe was made to go up against the hammer it’s like good vs evil. It makes sense for thrudd to get it “be better” was a theme throughout

[@antivanti]

"Art is never finished. It's only abandoned" - Leonardo Da Vinci or someone probably

[@tarik8953]

What game are they talking about at 56:50

[@thepuppetmaster9284]

Holy Batman! GoWR sold 11 million copies in just 3 months?! I guess it will sell more than GoW 2018. Anyway, great interview EZA . Sadly you guys didn't ask about Castlevania, which Eric said he love the franchise and would love to work on a new game if someone get the license from Konami.

[@grupastudencka1m652]

55:35

[@thepuppetmaster9284]

@@grupastudencka1m652 Ah thank you kind sir. I missed out when i fast forward the video a bit.

[@pitchen]

As someone who’s only here for Eric: what the hell am I watching? Who are these guys?

[@hellsgate700]

so uh... can we release that Kill Bill demo?? 🥺🥺

[@GodIsSatan]

Fucking yes.

[@j.h.181]

Eric, if you read this, please let me change Rage types with the touch pad.

[@cynicshminic]

Eric gives really clear, thoughtful answers

[@ChrisWTube]

That bit about Kill Bill!

[@Alex-444x94]

10/10

[@alexcogames636]

Jason Mcdonald! The speed of Jason Mcdonald!

[@morkmon]

letsgoo

[@andrewgambin]

Love the Ghost of Tsushima representation, what a great game

[@GarryDaltona]

Can’t wait for the sequel.

[@paulsmith9192]

I thought this wasn't gonna happen. Next,Egypt

[@VivekRai05]

I missed the glaive storm the most

[@Aussie27Legend]

Bookmarked!

[@thepneumanator1352]

Huber actually predicted the Valhalla DLC.

[@ReddTurtl]

Came here to say the same thing lmao

[@paulsmith9192]

Would love a 2d castlevania by sms.

[@postrock3374]

Are you having a stroke

[@keysersoze9592]

I remember the guy on the left absolutely creaming his pants interviewing cory. He’s cringe but at least he’s passionate

[@ragnarok9658]

And now look at him. The thumbnail tells it all

[@zhandosainabek]

I would ask about AGILE STRIKE move. Why removed? 😢😢😢

[@ali-k-gamer1881]

Eric Williams is a great developer and very cool and humble person

[@paulsmith9192]

Eric pretty much confirmed they are working on the next,gow.when he said we may do in the future about greece.I was surprised we didn't go back to greece.kinda wish they actually talk about the story.they really didn't touch on the story and faq.

[@ededdandeddytv5164]

Are you having a stroke

[@cyanokhaar]

I see Eric I watch video

[@Aleezy18]

Atreus blew the horn. I’m calling it

[@GarryDaltona]

Yes please. We need a sequel with Atreus in the size of Uncharted Lost Legacy about his search for the other giants.

[@paulsmith9192]

@Nausicaä I'm sure u will.a smaller, miles Morales type of game, with atreus,to set up the next big,gow game

[@GarryDaltona]

@@paulsmith9192 Son of War 😅

[@dareelcabbagelord1332]

Dude on the left makin crazy faces

[@ChichiNaka]

Have hosts on one side and the guest on the other so the person getting asked questions doesn't feel the need to swivel their head constantly >_< It's like a first date; get a table and sit across from each other not a bar and constantly turn your head

[@rocketgroot4311]

*I'm little sad we never got to see what Valhalla looks like. i mean to me it looks like* *There's some cons to these pros in making just making two ✌️ games* *Lots of things had to be rushed* *Even the climax (Ragnarok) itself felt a bit rushed* *It was Good and it was Epic but there's things i wished we could've seen* *Lot's of cool fights we're mostly off in the distance but i wanted to be apart of that* *Like instead of watching Thor and the World Serpent fighting from far away why couldn't we fight alongside Jorm against Thor* *Why wasn't more done with Surtur i feel he couldn't been devoplopt more as a character* *Wouldn't it be more awesome fighting on Top of the Ragnarök Giant* *(Even the last game pulled that off) we fought baulder on top of a dead Giant* *These are things I wanted to see that being said I'm happy with both these games there both amazing and have emotional storytelling with Excellent gameplay* *I just think this story might've benefited more as a trilogy*

[@timvsreality7534]

“I’m alittle sad we didn’t get to see Valhalla” Devs: “hold my beer” give out Valhalla as free dlc👏

[@rocketgroot4311]

@@timvsreality7534 *Yeah it was cool*

[@MrMalastoufa]

What were the three things that needed to happen that Cory told Eric? Do we know?

[@timvsreality7534]

1: Ragnarok has to happen 2: Brok has to die 3: Atreus has to leave