Directing God of War with Cory Barlog

We sit down with Cory Barlog to talk about his experiences directing the critically acclaimed God of War (2018).
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[@NoclipDocs]

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[@vVAstrAVv]

Howd you know i like podcasts :D

[@LookingTheBest]

Dude Reminds me of George Lucas. I always liked listening to George.

[@TheAlison1456]

Oh my god! If it's anything like Designer Notes, i'm gonna love it.

[@majlo213]

There's a Counter-Strike Major Tournament going on right now, would be a good time to release that Scott Smith material about the history of CS ;-)

[@GoldStandardGames]

Who disliked this video?

[@NakeyJakey]

this man is a gift and a prince

[@sabmu757]

He's a true gamer girl.

[@jessestumpf190]

I love you jakey, dog bless

[@mehtabali568]

Yeah hot boy

[@MOMO-ux4hh]

you need to review this game, especially the soundtrack. that is if you have the time, have a nice day jakeyboy.

[@KrackDaddy]

Please make a video tribute to God of War. Please please please

[@emideadmanvideojuegos6167]

I think one of the best moments is when Atreus tells Kratos he doesnt care about her mother and Kratos stop rowing and aswers: don't misundertand my silence with lack of pain. Each one mourns in his own way. That single moment cold froze my blood.

[@chaostrocio1156]

Thank you. I will search for that video

[@spiderrocket8367]

For me it is Kratos owning the fact that yes he has done horrible things, that his sins are to great to ever be fully redeemed that yes he IS a monster but he is no longer a monster that belongs to anyone. It’s the epitome of owning our mistakes and deciding to be better

[@Epictook]

"Do not mistake my silence for a lack of grief. Mourn how you wish, leave me to my own, you do not know my ways.

[@tinfoilfox]

God of War (2018) was such a good game. I'm so glad it won Game of the Year. It, and Cory, really deserved that award.

[@aechean]

Being the parent of a two year old, and having played the previous games...the game just blew me away. I love the mythology, I love the interaction with boi...it was just an amazing experience from top to bottom.

[@kolz4ever1980]

Won goty.. AFTER fornite you mean. ;)

[@Skitz0frenix]

Everybody at Santa Monica deserved it

[@1wayroad935]

It's even more impressive since they seemed to have also cut a bunch of hype stuff from it too.

[@spotanjo35]

@@aechean Me too. I love the mythology fill of monsters in Rome and Greek. Awesome! I enjoyed all sequels included PSP. :)

[@venpopov8321]

1) Christopher Judge's "Indeed" a few hours into God of War is one of the greatest easter eggs ever and had me laughing for minutes. 2) Knowing that Cory Barlog was obsessed with Stargate SG-1, just like I was, makes me love this game even more

[@ealing456]

I agree. SG-1's one of my all-time favourite shows. Like Barlog said, it's a show that feels good to put on after a day at work. Know when to have a laugh but also have time for more serious, human moments. The only other comparable show for me would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Both products of the same era I suppose.

[@ShellComics]

This was such a great interview! Cory Barlog is awesome :)

[@Smackdo]

From this and other interviews, I want like, 6+ hours of Cory talking about this game and the craftsmanship they put into it. Like I would watch a 10 episode Netflix series of him reflecting on the development process, that ends climatically with their GOTY and directing award. I would buy that on Blueray, given the chance.

[@zachford94]

indeed

[@JaydevRaol]

Agree! 😃👍

[@MeatloafSwooshbear]

@Angry Pent lol okay buddy

[@ItsLuminusity]

@Angry Pent wtf smh

[@awanthabandara3011]

At first I was like "no way I'm going to watch an interview for 16 minutes". 16 minutes later, "That's it? where's the rest of it??"

[@holamoco]

Yep me too

[@TheOriginalEdFry]

Well Raising Kratos is out if you need more Barlog in your life ;)

[@cmcproductions26]

Lmfao that happened to me too. When it said on the screen "most proudest moments" I tapped my screen, and it said it was at 13:00 into the video, I was like "damn already? I wanna hear more!!"

[@StayFractalesque]

just imagine all the good content you're missing out on because it's longer than 2 minutes.. smdh

[@stevencianciolo5980]

Not sure if you will see this, but if you liked this interview then I suggest you check out this one about making God of War kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJLCg2CBlK6ii8U

[@mrf4ncyp4nts]

"Directing the God of War" sounds like what I have to do when my 8 year old cousin is visiting too so I guess you could definately say I can relate

[@rangeslider]

legendary!

[@danparsons1423]

Excellent! Cory is so charismatic, its a joy to listen to him.

[@AintPopular]

same

[@kirillaristov7235]

Indeed

[@kasino007]

This is so great. This is what gaming is about... Not lootboxes, not Twitch views, this.

[@hubblebublumbubwub5215]

“This is what gaming is about because I say so”

[@CGBOSSS]

Glad Sony published this and not chased the gaming trends.

[@holyflame2]

Hubblebub Lumbubwub Oh look, a Loot Box player... Lmao.

[@TotallyOKAYProductions]

Hubblebub Lumbubwub Take that EA who sold 18 million copies of FIFA 18, the game that sold 5 millions copies and took years to make won an award!

[@RTXWill]

@@hubblebublumbubwub5215 I dare you to find someone that says lootboxes are a good thing. If you are too blind to see that what we are typically fed now is nothing compared to the passion that we got to experience in games before, then I'm sorry but you're wrong. Your opinion is wrong.

[@akvalues]

IM A SINGLE FATHER OF A 9 YEAR OLD. MY WIFE DIED FROM CANCER 5 YEARS AGO AND THIS GAME TOUCHED ME SO DEEP.

[@akvalues]

@@jabbatheslut7406 thank you sooo much! God bless!

[@BackwardsCombatable]

Wins Game of the Year, still has improvements in mind. I respect this mans ambition.

[@luciddre4m]

God of War is on another level. Indeed.

[@golmgamer]

I get it, I get when those games are so good. Because they have descent, honest people behind them. They are build with passion and love. Thank you for this wonderful interview, I enjoyed every second of it.

[@SilverACS]

The fact that this game is all in ONE camera shot is an achievement in itself

[@theenglishman]

SilverACS Three if you’re being really technical (four if you count the secret ending) since there’s a fade cut as Kratos enters the Light of Alfheim and another as he returns, but it’s such a tiny little detail it might as well still be one shot.

[@FraserSouris]

SilverACS I think Half Life, Portal and Dead Space beat GOW to the punch there. Personally, I feel the camera is cool but it does bring playing the game down a bit because you can’t really move or show the passage of time efficiently as you could with cuts

[@SilverACS]

@@FraserSouris True, but all those games went for other types of experiences. HL was environmental, Portal was an amazing puzzle game, Dead space was horror, GoW was a fantasy/mythic adventure.

[@FraserSouris]

SilverACS However, GOW was also putting points on being environmental. Half Life was conversely, also focused on being narrative. I think GOW’s camera should stick out as it’s the first hack and slash, action adventure open world game to do this as opposed to just having a camera in it of itself

[@mohamedabdelfatah7297]

I fail to see how it added anything substantial to the game.

[@Wladislav]

Teaching and upgrading your kid being linked to calling an assist in MvC2 is wild.

[@Hadrian117]

I love how open Cory is with these interviews. He's so passionate and so talkative about his creation that he wants to be in interviews to share his thoughts. That's how every game director should be...

[@fearlessromeo4293]

This channel is GOLD !

[@jasoncropley5334]

It's one of the best video game documentary channels on youtube, if not the best

[@Paprika_Gaming]

So cool to understand the tremendous amount of consideration that goes into these games BEFORE production even begins. Gaming is the future of Art.

[@jigowatt121]

Ha, when I got to that point and Kratos said "Indeed" I literally yelled "YES!!" - really glad they put that reference in!

[@eberaldo]

This guy is really incredible at directing games. Playing the game myself got me thinking about a lot of aspects, the relationships between fathers and sons, the feeling of duty, anger, empathy, teaching others, your experience and it's protection, thinking that you know better and can decide for someone else as well as giving your all for someone else without them really understanding. Kratos himself is a difficult character and though being a God, feels so human. Especially the part about fatherhood really struck me and the last bit of the interview really got to me. This is what really takes this game beyond games themselves and I'm very thankful for the possibility to experience that. I sincerely hope that he will make more awesome games in the future and will be given the artistic freedom to do it his way.

[@EposVox]

Cory Barlog is a god.

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

Cory Barlog: If you're reading this by any chance - you are one of the guys in this industry I look up to as one of the greats. And I have done so since I saw you on the behind the scenes tapes for GOW2. You stuck out to me as someone who really poured his soul and essence into the art he makes. You looked like you were about to die during GOW2, but you guys pulled through and made one of the best action/adventure games ever. Now with the new one, you reinvented it and did the unimaginable thing of getting way more stuff right than you did wrong, on the first try. People like to criticize the new GOW (I do too, but I love it), but it's easy to do so when you don't have a probably 50-100 million dollar project on the line that depends on YOU. GOW is an amazing game and I like what you did with it. It's by far the one game of 2018 I got the most enjoyment out of. Thank you for doing right by Kratos and not fucking up his character. You actually continued the series instead of rebooting it. As a mega-fan of GOW, I can't thank you enough for that. Now, because I know from all the interviews you did over the years that you're an extremely self-critical guy who actually wants to improve all the time, I thought it would be nice to link you to what I think is the harshest critique of your game. I don't agree with everything he said at all, but there are some good things in it. Still, the game is much greater than the sum of its parts so even though what he says might be true, it doesn't drag the game down for me. I consider these things small quirks that can be ironed out in a potential sequel. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f3a1eYCDjcqmnsU Keeping in mind what you said about Atreus in this Noclip documentary, I think you might actually agree with this critique on the point of passing the torch to Atreus through gameplay rather than an XP upgrade system. And as a gamer, I of course have no idea what ideas you were throwing around behind the scenes but didn't have the time/resources to develop them, or you had to cut stuff. Lmao he's never gonna read this. I cringe thinking about anyone reading this.

[@ZedEdge]

Very well said. Good on you for keeping an open mind with that MatthewMatosis' video, and for recommending it to Cory. It looks like the Santa Monica Twitter actually saw it: twitter.com/SonySantaMonica/status/1034138908273983488 So, perhaps this kinks will, indeed, be ironed out. :)

[@iWillWakeYouUp]

@DooDooBumMan Liked your own comment lmao

[@geminijemini7976]

I have high hopes for Dad of Boii 2.

[@freddirak3033]

Kratos: 'Keep your expectations low BOI, that way you will never be disappointed.'

[@geminijemini7976]

@@freddirak3033 But boii... We're talking about Dad of Boii here... By Cory Barlog...

[@freddirak3033]

@@geminijemini7976 Indeed...

[@pedrochevez2090]

Gemini Jemini You mean 5. The 2018 one is chronologically the 4th.

[@geminijemini7976]

@@pedrochevez2090 Yeah i know, I played every God of War when it came out.

[@patrickrealdeal]

What an experience God of War, thanks Cory and Santa Monica Studios

[@SHINYREDBULLETS]

It's not tears in my eyes. It's dust. I'm not crying, *you're crying*! Holy shit that last segment. Great, great video.

[@BoaeCH]

Damn the lore around the Trolls sounded so cool ! I hope they'll manage to put those ideas in the next game.

[@zavi3rz]

This interview is awesome, but is too short! I would really love to have a full documentary on how this great game was conceptualized and made from start to finish. Great video as always!

[@chiragnarsaria]

Damn this was good. Felt a bit short maybe cause I love to hear Cory speak. He is so good with words. Hopefully there are more of these little device diary sort of things

[@billyrigby4839]

Can I just say something here? Look, in this day and age of mass saturation of media and entertainment I am always blown away by how on the mark Noclip is. I am so grateful for this channel, for these videos, and for the crew who goes into making these documentaries. With all the bullshit in this world, it's nice to have the limited escape Noclip gives us! I've said it a hundred times and I will say it probably on more videos in the future... Y'all are the best channel on KZbin! Thanks! "Indeed!" hehe

[@VaJohn]

Well deserved GOTY of 2018, stands way above the rest.

[@emiruysal507]

I literally cried when he told the story of that guy reconnecting with his father

[@AndrewJH93]

That Cannon Fodder clip tho ;) This was amazing interview with one of the most talented minds in the industry! Thank you, guys!

[@NoclipDocs]

Jools, Jops & Stoo - Never Forget

[@simonhamlin6488]

Jools & Jops ftw

[@r3cy]

man, i could really go for ski-doo ramp jump action right now

[@johndoe4034]

I could listen to him talk all day, this man is a legend, he sound so beyond humble, always love his interviews,

[@Flyin9Penguin]

Seriously cant wait for the sequel, such an amazing experience, emotional and powerful. Thank you Cory, you and your team did an amazing job.

[@jackjohnson8305]

11:14 makes sense, the game was fantastic but the enemy variety was very disappointing i got bored of fighting different reskins of trolls as bosses throughout the game but now watching this i realized they were planning to have more variety but they just didn't have the time or the budget, hopefully they make up for it in the sequel.

[@MichelePandini]

oh gosh, I have tears in my eyes watching this no clip, cause I know how the person who spoke with Barlog feels. God of War was an experience to me and maked me watch the world with other eyes. Thank you for this beautiful video.

[@kuplayfordvalls6781]

You've made a Masterpiece Cory. Thank you!

[@MaJuV]

As an SG1 fan, I couldn't help smiling at the "Indeed" reference.

[@mrkrunch4340]

Indeed. All joking aside, when it occurred in-game I laughed out so loudly that my wife came upstairs to find out what I was watching thinking it was some stand-up or something. Once I explained it was Christopher Judge in the main role, she just smiled and left the room.

[@PogoAniki]

I've become so conditioned with the landscape of youtube to roll my eyes at video titles like this one. I'm used to seeing similar presentation result in nebulous video essays that only succeed at wasting time. I've been subscribed to this channel for a very short time, but I've found myself deeply charmed by the dedication to substance and reality that you carry into each new video. Keep subverting the expectations of bitter bastards like myself, your efforts are appreciated.

[@reborn3288]

Great to hear that.

[@jaidarling8855]

Such a brutal, visceral, heart wrenching, anger inducing, awe inspiring and enchanting experience this game was for me. It was the very first game I ever completed on my very first Playstation ever last year, and I will cherish the experience fpr many many years to come.

[@talonnewton5486]

I love the way Cory see’s things and how open he is about game development and how it effects him and those around him. A true role model

[@mrginn]

Excellent content as always. Thanks for bringing this to us Noclip!

[@bdre5555]

Started playing this again on PS5, 60fps is completely transformative

[@alexritschert5954]

Thank you for this great editing! It still keeps me watching this! I love the way you put the music in the beginning, just gives me the chills

[@maruf16khan]

God of War is a masterpiece.

[@ABELXDAYA]

Indeed

[@samuelesquivel6202]

True

[@sttate]

It's an excellent and beautiful game that definitely deserved goty, but I think the combat is little more than padding, and it overly pads.

[@marcuslopez7302]

@@sttate Valid criticism.

[@TRU_Lunchy]

@@sttate If it had more "Stranger" boss fights it would have been a 10/10.

[@casualgrindgames]

Great interview. Pure joy to watch. Thanks Noclip!

[@DescmondBell]

Absolutely the best interview with Cory Barlog! Great job with this one NoClip. Love, Love, LOVE Cory Barlog.

[@yousefal-anzi3213]

Thank you Cory, I've been playing God of War since the first one came out... and since then it has been my favorite game of all time. I'm so proud of the direction God of War is going, and I'm so happy it's in good hands, I dont think the industry knows how much this means to us as the consumer of this arts. Beautiful work.

One of the best interviews of this channel i would love to see more than just 16 minutes of Cory.

[@HellGatyr]

for me, atreus is the biggest part, he did great job playing his role as child and grown up in the progress of the game

[@MarcusJagdell]

Great interview with great questions! The last bit about the guy getting in touch with his father again almost brought tears to my eyes. Cory's a really great guy btw!

[@Hotpanini]

I spoke with Cory Barlog & he is a very nice person. He gave me his time & it was genuine. Thank you Cory!

[@rollizle]

I was so into it and then it ended! The 15 minutes just flew by! Amazing interview, Noclip and Danny. Keep up the amazing work. =')

[@5ilver42]

Really awesome interview. Thanks!

[@chainsofdoom3465]

I suspect now that the reason God of War left a hell of an impression on people is because of the Father/Son relationship that Im sure many related with, myself included. The gameplay was very fucking good as well, not Exceptional or anything but it was as good as it needed to be to further illustrate the Power Fantasy of being Kratos. I wonder though what'll be next? It seems that Atreus has found his balance, so what will the drama be about next game?

[@TianaLoserFace]

Stellar interview and production. Great job.

[@gunrodoplu]

Amazing amazing interview, so much insight into the actual designing process. Thanks a lot.

[@d3vak]

Excellent interview! Thank you!

[@cloudbloom]

Fantastic work Danny and crew. Your documentaries have been my favorite for years even before noclip. Love you guys, keep up the excellent work 👌

[@sev2300]

Such a great interview. Really need stuff like this in my life. Thanks.

[@swastikshetty8235]

That father-son story ......right in the feels man.

[@RigGames4]

I had never played any God of War game before I played this one and oh my god, this game is one of the best games I've ever played. The combat made you feel powerful when done right, the story was incredible, the graphics and gameplay was on point. I can't sing it's praises enough. Oh and the voice acting was amazing too!

[@ricardoa32]

Dude, every time I see any interview with Cory, it makes me wanna play GOW again! He talks with so much passion and looks like a really honest person. Gotta love the guy!!

[@dofgames]

I could watch 10 hours of Cory Barlog interviews. Please do more on this amazing amazing game.

[@SpiritLegion]

Noclip, i'm so happy i'm subscribed to you guys. Gaming documentaries and interviews that are on a different level to anything i've seen before. Keep it up!

[@devilgames2217]

This video, channel, Cory and co are just brilliant!

[@LazarheaD]

Finally a good person in the gaming industry that does it for the art and not greed.

[@pipistrelle9814]

You think only one person in the entire gaming industry does his job for the "art" ?

[@pipistrelle9814]

@Sagan Unit dumbass incel

[@furious_malic7808]

You clearly have never heard of hideo Kojima and Hideaki Itsuno. Great devs in their own rights.

[@reborn3288]

"Indeed"

[@Thatsdantoyousir5]

Dude supergiant has always been the games as art powerhouse

[@antihero8seven]

Always love Noclips work. Great job guys.

[@mateusrezenderibeiro3475]

This was one of the best interviews with Cory!

[@bregodk]

That was really great, thanks!

[@chrisrivera9140]

Thank you Cory Barlog and team for bringing one of my favorite series to life in more modern day!

[@SteveSaylor]

This was amazing to watch!!!

[@HappyNormalHuman]

I love you Noclip. this is really wonderful work as always!

[@rangoononline]

Awesome interview. Very moving.

[@usernamesareforidiot]

Cory Barlog is one of my favorite developers, and I love listening to him talk. He's incredibly sincere and passionate about what he does. I wish this was an hour long.

[@Cjay2200]

Wow! What a great interview. thank you for that.

[@Chiiyuriii]

Hey thanks for these Videos and the Documentarys my dudes. Super interesting! Love watching this stuff!

[@matthewpokora336]

Theres something about Cory Barlog that I find fascinating. Could listen to him all day. He has this fantastic way with words and makes everything sound like an amazing story (ok so he's actually telling stories most of the time, I get it).

[@johnnyfreetanga5506]

Ok. that was GREAT content. Thanks all NoClip team and Cory Barlog, the man.

[@SpontaneousWeasel]

Whats interesting in the interview is its evident how much Cory and his team imbued the characters with their own emotional sensibilities to the extent you can actually FEEL this when playing the game. Its amazing that the complexity of videogames as an art form has progressed to this point where we get a 'sense' of the artists own emotional take on the scenario we virtually experience. SO glad to be a gamer in 2019! Another great noclip video!

[@AngelOf1000]

Nice little interview, Cory Barlog is a great guy for doing it. I wish it was longer, or more parts, but still great.

[@harveynewman4612]

This is beautiful work NoClip...nicely edited, and Cory is such an interesting character in the games industry. As an animator myself, I have the utmost respect for his humble beginnings, his hard work and I am proud of all his achievements. He is setting a standard for all of us aspiring game makers. The future is bright.

[@keoki101]

Awesome interview!

[@Kevinsty]

stellar interview!

[@imawsmbig_luv6070]

loved it man. no more words.

[@Ninoish]

I’m glad that the cast gets along so well

[@NachoTeso]

The first 3 minutes alone are worth the watch. The complete interview is magnificent.

[@Hersatz]

Oh boi, am I happy to see this in my feed!

[@gipro1]

Cory continues to be so inspiring to listen to. I love that he's not just passionate about his latest masterpiece of a game but he also has so much to say about art in general, the development of film and how gaming has been on a similar path. I'm glad that we've come to this point where we don't have to focus on the arms race of visuals and we can shift more towards substantial storytelling.

[@GameoverUK-YouTube]

Amazing story and an amazing video once again - thank you.

[@kozak1993lk]

thankyou so much cory and your team at santamonic....this has surpassed gaming and will be remembered as such a milestone, i lerned so much from the story you have told us

[@kitsu5245]

Seriously love your videos thank you so much

[@josephgpa]

I need more of this!!!

[@PursuedByAMemory]

MORE! MORE GOD OF WAR! MORE CORY BARLOG! MOAR!

[@VladTheRad]

Another great interview! Keep up the good work!

[@Splatball]

Ah hell yes stargate talk

[@PacificAsgard]

indeed

[@jerryk843]

indeed

[@miranteazi]

indeed

[@batmaiden1378]

Indeed

[@Daniel.Anugerah]

No joke this video got me into Stargate

[@LuxBellator92]

Fantastic interview. This game was amazing and Cory seems the humblest fellow. Love your channel.

[@magnet8185]

This is why reading is important. Knowledge and in depth points of view.

[@matnelson1]

This was great!