Reinventing God of War

Alert for photosensitive viewers: Cory's presentation includes white flashes on slide transitions. The first one occurs approximately 6 minutes into this talk. Please be aware when watching.
In this 2019 GDC session, Sony Santa Monica's Cory Barlog explains why the road to creating a new God of War was a seemingly endless climb up an impossibly enormous mountain, filled with countless gut-wrenching failures and joyfully sweet successes.
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[@BoaeCH]

"Scory Sbarlogssss" Haha Cory knows how to entertain people in a video game and IRL.

[@20storiesunder]

Scory*

[@FreshBro8]

The reason I bought God of War 4 was because of Cory. When the trailers came out it looked really good but I wasn’t attached to it because I never played any of the past games even though I found the story interesting. It wasn’t until I saw his reaction to the reviews that I realized he put his heart and soul into this game. So I preordered it not knowing what to expect and it blew my mind. The years of hard work really shows in the game

[@ctp1469]

@theory816 Aight but no one gives a shit

[@kellymoses8566]

@theory816 no, it is one of the best games in the last 10 years.

[@mutalix]

@theory816 So you say, I've played the entire series, including handheld ones. Personally loved it, can't wait for Ragnorock and where ever Santa Monica takes the series afterwards!

[@suli559]

Playing the older ones only makes playing gow4 a million times better

[@kellymoses8566]

@theory816 no, they improved it by making Kratos α fully realized character trying to raise his son after his wife died.

[@Severian1]

I have been waiting for this talk! Cory is just awesome. It's like chatting with that dude with a physics degree who isn't a snob about it. You learn stuff from him without feeling stupid. Quite an amazing skill to have.

[@Severian1]

@Jared Lind Thank you!

[@dangerzara]

that's a really nice insight.

[@AK-ACEx]

People like this are the best mentors,leaders, examples to follow

[@faizfrez2729]

44:11 "kojima doesn't remember that" sounds like a one hell of a scene in a telltale game

[@urizen4355]

I'm so glad we get to see more on the development of this awesome game!

[@jriibzmodus4792]

Yeah I've been waiting for this talk

[@zednotzee]

i loved the behind the scenes features on the older games, and i was disappointed to not unlock such features when i beat the game. But the wealth of talks and interviews Barlog has done since release really makes up for it

[@giantalbinoeel]

@@zednotzee Sorry, I'm late. But there's a documentary of the development. On PlayStation channel, the title is Raising Kratos. It's a nice documentary

[@zednotzee]

@@giantalbinoeel yeah I watched that, but thanks anyway. I just kinda miss having to unlock those things on the game disk like with the old games

[@Spongi_NA]

@@zednotzee , was qaä

[@sabahah7305]

Never get tired of listening cory talk about development of the game it's such a good insight. He deserves all the credit and the people had his back to keep him going.

[@Nick-kb2jc]

He didn't do shit. He's just a director. The ACTUAL dev team deserves the credit.

[@sabahah7305]

@@Nick-kb2jc it was his direction that the dev's followed I am not giving him all the credit I know every one worked their ass off. Even cory says it in all his interviews with out his team behind him he couldn't do it.

[@jriibzmodus4792]

Very true love watching his videos you should subscribe to Sony Santa Monica

[@satellite964]

GOW made me fall in love with games again.

[@brucedoyle4055]

@@Nick-kb2jc I dont know what your problem is with Cory or if your just one of those Edgy dudes who likes to Swim against the flow just to feel special, but if you have watched this Video you would have understand how much he had to do, to create this Game, I think you believe him being Creative Director, means he just shouts what to do and does nothing, than you have no idea what a Creative Director has to do, out of all in his team has the most work, cause he must be everywhere showing the team what and how to do it, dont forget he knows how to Animate, he is not some Guy just writing Storys and waiting for other people to create his idea while he takes Naps in the office.

[@Fearless665]

Cory is so charismatic, I could listen to him talking 24/7, even in the little interview from NoClip; he's so wholesome when he talks about ... basically everything! Not to mock other GDC talks but compared to others, he barely stutters, says a lot of "uhm ..." or loses his train of thought, S++ talk right there.

[@MCI-ReactGaming]

The hideo kojima bit felt like stand up comedy lol

[@hugoportefaix348]

the entire second half is !

[@nordiskapa3612]

He said days before this speech that he wasn’t really done with it by then. I guess he didn’t finish it and added that last part

[@testxxxx123]

I thought this is going to be professional. And yes this is professional comedian material

[@korpos8833]

Hahaha

[@MaxClyde]

This man is brilliant

[@Nick-kb2jc]

How? He didn't do any of the actual development. He's just a director. Don't get me wrong, Cory is awesome but i'm tired of everybody acting like Cory made God of War by himself. It's the engine programmers, gameplay programmers, environmental artists, and everyone else on the team that all pour their blood sweat and tears into making video games. They don't get enough credit.

[@brettd2308]

@@Nick-kb2jc I get what you're trying to say - development is the work of hundreds of people - but to say he didn't do *any* is a gross misunderstanding. He led the project, which means deciding what all those people are working on, managing their work, helping direct the cinematic work, and guiding the vision for the game so that it turns out how it's supposed to. He was also the lead writer, so he's responsible for the story & script - in particular the early drafts that pinned down the concept. He's also a game animator by trade, since long before he got promoted to game director, so he has experience as one of those hundreds of "actual" developers you mention and no doubt helped out with that - he did enough animation on the original God of War to get a lead animator credit, even though he was the director for it.

[@korefighter]

@@Nick-kb2jc anthem is a great example when you have no director at the helm... great looking game yet 0 substance. Cory provides vision, every decision on development went past him and got his approval, he was the pinncable point when in doubt. Yes there are talented developers and programmers that helped, but he was the man who put it all together. He deserves all the credit he is given.

[@Nick-kb2jc]

Julian Gall Anthem had nothing to do with direction. It had everything to do with greedy corporations pushing a product out before it was ready.

[@korefighter]

@@Nick-kb2jc incorrect. Read the kotaku investigation. It had everything to do with no direction.

[@tychoazrephet3794]

"And at the back of that group of people, was Hideo Kojima, he was holding a picture of Mads Mikkelsen doodling hearts and smiley faces all over it."

[@Marksman3434]

This whole presentation not only convinced me that Cory is a passionate and talented storyteller but also has a brilliant sense of humor haha

[@ColeEdits]

50:10 Even though we KNOW they're working on the God of War sequel - I'm so glad he literally confirmed it and in the best way right here ahahaha. What a top guy. Great speech too. Very real.

[@davidwitt3547]

@@ayoCC well he did that for the reason of you can't just wing it and hope it comes out okay. You write a long ass story to make sure you know the direction before even making the first model. It's very smooth after getting your engine stable. Making the story the main focus after, Which is good for us because cory wont let gow go to shit because its basically his baby (not betrayal or ascension).

[@kraenk12]

He just won't be directing it.

[@SKhan-zp7lc]

@@kraenk12 who said that?

[@rayyanw786]

S.Khan it’s true he is working on a new ps5 ip for PlayStation

[@MexiCooki]

that dosent mean he cant direct god of war

[@SkywardSpork]

Cory is a genuine inspiration for a lot of people, not just from his success in and with Santa Monica and the new god of war, but even how he placate and explains his pitches and how he handles himself in public speaking, a real legend in my books

[@marhubyak]

lmao this went from a presentation to a stand up comedy :D. Cory Barlog is just the greatest.

[@Settless]

I can in my mind see the eyes widen on the person Cory is talking about when he made the joke about Bear McCreary and the live orchestra, Cory is a shining light and a breath of fresh air in the gaming industry.

[@Hush99]

I legitimately couldn't stop watching this. The man may hate pitching but he's damn good at keeping people's attention.

[@Lewdology]

44:00 For Kojima...it was tuesday... Good question on the voice actor. I respect the decision now much more than before.

[@ElegeantFencer]

Kojima didn't seem to care about Hayter at all.

[@PTSDaddyy]

god damn GDC on fire this year, playstation on FIRE

[@CharalamposKoundourakis]

Hope it's not the heating coils acting up. /s

[@omarmir8426]

I don't think I've been as excited in years for a sequel as I am for the next God of War. I could seriously listen to Cory talk about the creative process on the game forever.

[@satellite964]

This is what a great director should be like, saying no when it counts, being a "taste maker", convincing the team to jump into the unknown.

[@FuzzySamurai]

I just finished GOW for the first time, i missed 2 generations of Playstation and now that I was lucky enough to get a PS5 this was my first game on it. Man, it's so good to be back on consoles.

[@maxsun13]

Oh man, welcome back to the PlayStation universe! I felt very emotional when I got my PS5, like wow I lived long enough to see the pinnacle of consoles come around.

[@WorldBestGamers-YT]

Who doesn't loves Cory? He and the SM team put so much of them in the game that make it awesome and unique. Even if comes from an established franchise

[@abrahamruiz8473]

You know Cory is a pretty great story teller when he gets to the part of getting to the balcony to present the game, your heart starts racing and hoping he doesn’t mess up even though that was like 4 years ago lol

[@markwonder8168]

This game became such a huge success because of Cory. It's as genuine and honest as Cory himself.

[@Thai101full]

I struggled with which is the better game : God of war or the last of us , but recently I can't just describe how God Of War grew on me , such a fantastic game. Cory brought Santa Monica Studios next to NaughtyDog and Neil has a big mountain to climb with the last of us 2 because Cory set a new standard with storytelling and character development.

[@FraserSouris]

I disagree. I'd give it to TLOU over GOW any day. GOW suffers from its pacing (particularly when Atreus gets angry), a lack of depth in its combat and systems despite all the affordences from the mythical and RPG elements. It's open world is so segmented and easy to explore that it feels secondary. TLOU avoids these problems. The story is straightforward but doesn't interfere with anything. The combat and stealth aren't deep but they are developed enough to be interesting when they are used.

[@flamingmanure]

@@FraserSouris tlou avoids these problems because naughty dog doesnt have even a shred of imagination compared to god of war. the enemy variety and design, environment variety and design, level design etc etc. god of war is pretty much better in every aspect in game design. comparing both in gameplay is trivial since theyre so different, complaining about god of wars combat depth(granted its not that deep) and dismissing the fact that tlou gameplay is laughable and as shallow as a puddle in comparison. seems to me you hold different standards to these games due to ur bias. tlou doesnt avoid these issues, theyre just so bad at them that ppl lower what they can expect from a studio thats only good in writing and animation.

[@flamingmanure]

god of war by a landslide. tlou is almost dull and boring to go back to after gow.

[@FraserSouris]

@@flamingmanure TLOU actually executes its mechanics consistently well. Be it stealth, crafting on the spot, the tension. Combat works best in grounded difficulty because of how you need to manage threats to avoid being flanked. Even if it's simple it's done well and complements the experience more so. As for GOW >"the enemy variety and design

[@TheSaxAppeal]

@@FraserSouris i mean GoW also isn't a full open world game, so that point is lackluster Also, they built a whole new combat system from the ground up. That shit takes time. Don't be so critical. Take time out of your life to just enjoy stuff

[@TheSystemKid]

The very first game I ever platinumed, and the greatest game of all time.

[@adventuresingamedevelopment]

Getting all those crows must been a pain in the ass lol

[@christophersykora3601]

FaDe Deragator it’s a surprisingly easy platinum, actually. Hahaha.

[@all4onen442]

@@christophersykora3601 true, the Valkyries ain't even that difficult

[@pauldank3453]

@@all4onen442 the queen on the higher difficulties tho

[@FraserSouris]

It's got a fair way to go before it's truly amazing. I hope they improve the combat, add more RPG stuff and improve the exploration

[@danielelkadi3499]

I truly appreciate Cory’s story and sharing his valuable experience

[@alihouadef5539]

Shawn Layden = Final Boss.

[@Sampawende]

28:20 Ok. I now understand where the Ragnarok logo teaser is coming from...

[@KRHamiltonGaming]

Amazing talk! Thanks for posting this video. As an aspiring game developer this channel is great at showing the way different industry leaders handle many diverse challenges. It was also great to see a single player story driven game be so successful, since that will always be my main passion.

[@Thai101full]

Cory will get all the money he needs to do a masterful sequel !

[@Joe-fq6bz]

Took a while for me to even notice Kratos voice had changed. The new guy did great

[@senshai1267]

Some thing about the way he speaks that hooks me

[@oraclegear1687]

It's the arms

[@SuperBeefyStew]

"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people are so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

[@chezuzinferno55]

im glad god of war is in his hands.

[@collt091]

Me too

[@michael_loc009]

Cory's journey to reinvent the God of War should be novelized. He's such a daring, imaginative, hilarious and committed being.

[@homerotl]

Cory Barlog, someday I want to be half as awesome as you are.

[@babo814]

wow the helheim bird was originally supposed to be a boss fight? oh thats awesome. kinda wish they woulda went through with that cuz how it is now the thing is just sorta there with no explanation or even mention from the characters

[@cyco7229]

the moment when you fight that troll i was expecting the eagle to come by and reveal itself as the real boss, sadly it didn't happened, the only complain I have about the game is the lack of bosses.

[@Tuxedosnake00]

he will be in the next game. thats for sure

[@davidwitt3547]

That eagle is what causes the artic winds of hell. It also Is one of the eagles that sounds off during the start of ragnorak. Same with heimdall blowing his horn.

[@davidwitt3547]

@@cyco7229 cory says they'll have a lot more in the next game. Not many investors thought gow would be any good so there wasnt a lot of cash flow, no cash no boss lol

[@AnecProductions]

I ve been waitting for this YES thank you

[@fibonacci-dilemma3675]

Cory:”don’t ask who blew the horn” Me: “what did jormungandr say when he first met Atreus and Kratos?” Cory: “fuck he’s good” Also me: “why does the game refuse to let us see what’s burning in the beginning of the game that is on the menu.”

[@DelusionalInsider]

I'm so confused about this

[@fibonacci-dilemma3675]

@@DelusionalInsider in actuality we have no idea what he said the first time he met kratos and atreus

[@Kill-Kier]

We hear singing and see the sculptures of Kratos and Atreus. I always thought it was Faye by a campfire singing and thinking about her visions. We don't see because they try to keep Faye hidden. So, its in the past and Faye knows the future. While we see the main menu I mean.

[@saitamadeku8568]

The funny thing is that God of War won both Best Action Adventure game and Game of the Year 😍😍

[@ashilmanoj175]

Don't forget best direction too

[@kokomiyax]

i honestly absolutely love cory to bits he's precious 🥺

[@WelNep]

Including mimir was the best idea in the game

[@ztedylan]

A true creative Genius

[@trigtriggytrigga]

Guy walks out when Barlog says "We aren't going to tell you who blew the fucking horn." I bet he sat through that whole presentation just hoping Cory would answer that one question lol

[@lunchbox5932]

When?

[@kevinnevada5342]

i believe Corey and his team won the war of best re imagining and execution of development of a really awesome game this decade....or last decade. They won the gaming wars (2010-2020)

[@artdood1]

This is TED talk quality.

[@Behemothius]

Haha that 'I can't hear you" joke...poor audio guy:D Wait, Balrog prounounces GIF as jiff? Nooooooooooooo...............

[@nickv1212]

I disappoint people enough in life. I'd rather not get their hopes up about the gifts I'm sending them when all they're gonna get is a short video clip with no sound.

[@zerenadli]

Team jiff ftw

[@themaseofspades6857]

Love that this guy is one representing the gaming community. He’s an amazing visionary and all around human.

[@DNH17]

LoL the Title itself is pitched doubted and then changed. This is an immersive way of making a GDC talk... it seems nobody realized it.

[@hbmn02]

I love watching documentaries on my favorite games

[@nichtrick3308]

God, I love Cory.

[@foggyinc724]

love this guy.

[@xelaredna6841]

I can watch Cory talk all day about video games.

[@johnday4888]

Scory

[@Mar1____]

Am a simple man !! I see God of War and cory..... I click

[@ivanleon6164]

it must be awesome to work with Cory, surely he gets the best of the team. brilliant piece of work.

[@rocketpunchgo1]

I mean damn is there an award for GDC speech of the year?

[@bdre5555]

I love how this game is basically a mix of Zelda, open-world, and linear

[@ChrisGiordano]

Hands down one of the best games I've ever played. The more I think about it it's probably my favorite game.

[@FraserSouris]

They've got a fair ways to go. I hope the team really knock it out for the sequel

[@livecarsonreaction]

It's interesting that the "teaching" aspect was never really planned at the start. One of my favorite things to do in GOW4 is kill the seagulls - especially by having Atreus shoot them so I can watch them explode. There's no reward, no achievement, no point to any of it. But by the end of the story, it felt almost like I'd been teaching Atreus to be a better marksman because of how many times we stopped to shoot seagulls.

[@LaronePL]

13:10 That is excacly what i felt when I was turning on "Spartan Rage". Thanks for thath game, best story telling since... I don't remember.

[@IndianTelephone]

Kudos to the guy whose eyes got really big, coz that live performance reveal was the best reveal I have ever seen for a game!

[@leopamir]

Really interesting and entertaining talk!

[@artemis_lena]

Damn and he really did create the game of the year. Major props!

[@xTobsecretx]

“Who wants to make a game that’s completely obtuse?” - GGG would like to know your location

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

Many games are obtuse on porpouse or by necessity, and are the better for it, however it doesnt fit with what god of war was always suppoed to be, mythology in playable form.

[@xalener]

I really hope the next God of War introduces some of the classic titles' verticality

[@maxsun13]

That is literally all it is missing. Real verticality.

[@Martin_TheCollector]

Great stuff, I personally love all of the games in the franchise.

[@misomiso8228]

Great designer, great guy.

[@maximegirault6683]

So interesting and captivating.

[@BePegasus]

Cory Barlog is just a fucking genius. There, saved you 59 minutes

[@ilyashka_levelart]

Awesome talk

[@PollHard]

What an amazing presentation and Cory seems amazing! The depth put into God of War's mythology and story is insane. Not trying to plug anyone but there is an amazing video called "Untangling God of War" by Good Blood that goes into depth about the games mythology. He goes over the changes they made in mythology for the game and how that actually effects the in game universe and their spin on Norse mythology. If you enjoyed this talk then you would definitely appreciate checking it out.

[@realarchanger]

Man, we had to do pitches in couple of days, one week tops and we felt like shit when we missed something, because it is heluva lot of work to do.

[@reaktorleak89]

Scory is my Shero.

[@AndyKazama2]

I could listen to Cory Barlog talking forever.

[@gary.oneill]

Great talk!

[@arenkai]

I don't consider it to be the greatest game of all time, but I understand people that do. Thank you Cory, you and your team made something special.

[@extraordinarygamer937]

I have the same feeling for the last of us Witcher 3 and rdr2

[@mobyokelly52]

Thank you very much, this is a very motivating and informative talk.

[@landonmillerofficial]

i love cory barlog

[@youngzombie6342]

I can't wait for Ragnarok gdc featuring Cory 🙃

[@jamu8060]

Please give me the next God of War teaser trailer! So crazy for that ;-;

[@FraserSouris]

I doubt it. You'll be waiting 3-7 years

[@Desty0007]

@@FraserSouris *An exaggeration*

[@korokseed1619]

Fraser Souris Nope, only one year

[@F2t0ny]

14:41. Fun and Accessible. I do not understand Souls fans.

[@stevep.2481]

The reveal for God of War was the absolute best I have ever seen!!!!!!! That was fuckin AWSOME!!!

[@MrBananaCheeks]

Man I loved this, especially hearing exactly why TC wasn't used.

[@tree5723]

The captions are a bad. Can you please explain why he wasn't used.

[@gregwxst]

Best game of the generation!

[@my0punk535]

How do people even get a chance to ever get a job like he has. Honestly seems practically impossible but someone has to do it. Where do you even start with stuff like that.

[@ethanb6576]

Cory was originally an animator and then just kept going up and up

[@radekseky4571]

Yeah, like Ethan said this is just a result of around 20 years in the industry. Tbh position like this is still so good though that many gaming veterans could only dream of it. But I too almost feel discouraged by stories of people this high, even though it should be the other way around. You know, that they made it.

[@alexaxy3328]

He said it was exhausting to be the game director, that's why he took a brake this time.

[@MisterDrumsNoob]

Santa Monica should do a Castlevania inspired game, someday

[@howmuchbeforechamp]

Yes please, or 2 decades more of kratos

[@XHAYLE_019]

The real God of war fans fell not only with the graphics but also the great gameplay , that's why we watch this great gods teach us how it's done!

[@DaMorg3]

Is that Mark Brown from Game Maker's Toolkit or Danny O'Dwyer from NoClip asking the question at 57:10?

[@hulkdante5504]

Hiiii mr cory🙋i love every god of war games😂thank u mr cory n team🙌kratos&atreus loki😉forever

[@johgus96jg]

I fuckin' ADMIRE the hell out of this man

[@mvargasmoran]

So this Boi Miyagi the whole team into making the best God of War game?

[@Mookie819]

🐐 in human form

[@Bolbi145]

5:08 for how the gow world works

[@omnirhythm]

Alert for franchise and GoW 2018 fans: Cory's presentation includes heartwarming, heartfelt, big-hearted and heart-stopping moments. They occur at random throughout the talk. Please be aware when watching.

[@XProSuper]

Masterpiece

[@sadhvikpuchalapalli]

Create "Game of the year"... spot ON!

[@piusdoe8984]

Great vid!

[@davidgab4448]

Amazing video!

[@camgeorge6222]

I don't get how people still think gow is some universal or multiversal. When he literally states they exist in the same world. It's basically like the percy jackson universe.