‘God Of War: Ascension’: Developers On Adding Multiplayer

The developers of God of War: Ascension opened up on adding multiplayer.

God of War: Ascension takes place before the original trilogy, but after Kratos is tricked by Ares into killing his family. This latest installment was released this past week, and has received lukewarm to positive reviews. Aside from showing a more human and less vengeance-driven side of Kratos, God of War: Ascension is the first in the series to offer multiplayer.

How did developer Santa Monica Studios approach adding multiplayer to God of War: Ascension? Matthew Reynolds of Digital Spy spoke to lead combat designer Jason McDonald and lead game designer Mark Simon to figure out what went on before Kratos showed a softer side and accepted help.

Jason McDonald said that the decision to add multiplayer was a result of lead director Todd Papy’s idea of pushing the envelope for gameplay and design. Todd said, “The part he was interested in, was what we could do and possibilities there were for multiplayer for God of War. We tried it out to see where it brought us, and it brought us here.”

After eight years of God of War, Matthew Reynolds wondered why the developers decided to add multiplayer now. Mark Simon says he wished they could have done it sooner, but everybody was in different roles now than when the previous games were released. Simon said this was the first time the studio was able to say, “You know what? We’re going to do multiplayer and it’s going to be a AAA part of our game, not just something we throw in there. It’s going to be a big part of what we’re doing.”

Mark Simon said that guys concentrating on a multiplayer level were sitting next to a guy focused on a single player level. There was immediate feedback back and forth, and that made it possible to get it done right.

What do you think of the developers adding multiplayer to God of War: Ascension?