In 2007, God of War director David Jaffe stated that it would be "hell on earth" as the gods and the titans battle each other for domination and that "God of War explains, or ultimately will explain, why there are no more Greek myths". Jaffe also envisaged a very different end for the series, with other mythological pantheons becoming involved once Kratos killed Zeus and the other Greek gods. The end result would have apparently been mankind no longer believing in the gods, which according to Jaffe is the only true way a deity can die.[8] Although Jaffe and Barlog left Sony for other opportunities, they are still credited for the series.[9]
On December 8, 2009, Stig Asmussen told IGN that Cory Barlog "was with the team as Game Director for the first eight months of development," and that "he has had a major impact on the game." Asmussen also mentioned that even though Cory left the team, they spoke several times and "bounced a few ideas off him," but there was no formal collaboration. He also mentioned that David Jaffe "has been around the studio a few times" and that they've spoken as well and "have gone over some high level stuff with him to get his observations and feedback" on a few occasions.[10] The finished game script was approximately 120 pages.[11]
God of War III was first discussed by Cory Barlog at a God of War II launch event.[12] Barlog stated that the game would run at full 1080p HD resolution, and the game would support Sixaxis tilt and vibration functions.[13] This was stated before the DualShock 3 controller was announced; therefore causing confusion as the Sixaxis controller did not support rumble. Barlog also expressed an interest in adding a cooperative mode "if we can do something unique with it".[14]
In March 2009 during the Game Developers Conference, the developers stated that the Sixaxis capabilities have been removed, due to the fact that the developers "could not find a suitable situation to use Sixaxis in the game effectively", and have decided to scrap the idea altogether rather than put it in and have it working poorly.[15]
In November 2009, Stig Asmussen, Game Director for God of War III, advised GamePro that multi-player wouldn't work in God of War III, stating that there's a story we want to tell and an experience we want to deliver, and multiplayer doesn't fit into that." Asmussen, however, did mention that there were conversations about a multi-player option. When the game went gold on February 20, 2010, it was confirmed that multiplayer was not included.[1]
Asmussen also stated that one of the biggest challenges in developing God of War III on the PlayStation 3 was the "complexity of everything", and that individual tasks could take a year because the "level of detail that's expected is so high and intricate, it crosses multiple departments." Asmussen mentioned that the overall game length was between 10 to 20 hours, "depending on how good of a gamer you are."[1] John Hight, studio director at Santa Monica, reassured that God of War III lasts longer than 10 hours. "We've done a lot of play testing on it...We know, for a really hardcore player, it'll take them longer than it took them to play either of the previous God of War games."[16] In December 2009, Asmussen advised IGN that the game was in the final stages of development. "The entire game is together from start to finish and we're working our butts off putting on the finishing touches."[10]
On December 16, 2008, Sony claimed that God of War III will be the last in the franchise.[18] In January 2010, however, John Hight told Joystiq that "while God of War III will conclude the trilogy, it won't spell the end of the franchise", claiming "We're going to be really careful about what we do next".[19]
In a February 2009 interview, God of War III director Stig Asmussen mentioned the possibility of downloadable content. In November 2009, he told GamePro that the game might be shipped with a certain amount of challenges, and that they might put out a download pack with new challenges to keep the series going.[1] In the development of lighting the game, Illuminate Labs product Turtle was used.[20]
On March 23, 2009, it was revealed Sony sourcing opinions regarding a "Collector's Edition" from current PlayStation 3 owners.[21] In October 2009, an "Ultimate Edition" was revealed for the North American release. An "Ultimate Trilogy Edition" was announced in December 2009 for a limited European, Australian, and New Zealand release. A "Trilogy Edition" was announced soon after for Japan, where CERO gave the game an adults-only Z rating,[22] after the previous two were considered suitable for teenagers.
On February 16, 2010, it was revealed that there are no true CGI cinematics in God of War III. SCEA animator Bruno Velazquez stated "that while the first two God of War titles certainly boasted CGI cinematics, there will actually be no true CGI in the third and final installment", and "Everything you see is 100% in-game. All camera features, including motion blur, run real-time in the cinematics and in-game. For this game we decided to try and blend in the cinematic sequences with the in-game sequences, so all models and assets are used for cinematics and for in-game."[23]
Velazquez later stated "When I mentioned that GOW3 has no CG, I was referring to the fact that we do not have pre-rendered scenes that were created outside of the game engine, like GOW 1 and 2. In GOW3 all the cutscenes are created using our in-game engine, however some scenes were just too epic to run real time and thus are recorded videos."[24][25]
According to Sony Santa Monica's director of technology Tim Moss, God of War III uses 35 gigabytes.[26]
In October 2009, SCE Studios Santa Monica announced the God of War III Ultimate Edition. With a pre-order, the package included a high-end sculpted replica of Pandora's Box, a limited edition God of War art book, and exclusive digital content available via the PlayStation Network.
The exclusive digital content included the "Challenge of Exile" mode, "Dominus" premium Kratos skin, God of War: Unearthing the Legend franchise documentary, the God of War trilogy soundtrack, and the God of War: Blood & Metal EP: a heavy metal homage featuring original music from bands from the Roadrunner Records label, such as Opeth, Killswitch Engage and Dream Theater.[7][37] The EP was released for purchase on March 2, 2010.[38] On March 24, 2010, the God of War: Unearthing the Legend franchise documentary was released on the PlayStation Store for purchase.
Pre-orders for the Ultimate Edition began on October 30, 2009. Select retailers also included a premium skin for Kratos, being the "Apollo" skin, the "Forgotten Warrior" skin, and the "Phantom of Chaos" skin, available from Amazon.com, Game Crazy or Play.com, and GameStop respectively. Beginning February 11, 2010, pre-orders from GameStop also included a 17x24 poster signed by Andy Park, Concept Artist for God of War III.[32]
GameStop also held a "Be the Envy of the Gods" sweepstakes for all pre-order customers, with prizes including pizza for a year, a Sony Home Entertainment System, a VIP trip to a premier music festival, or an MMA experience in Las Vegas.[39]
On December 15, 2009, the God of War team accepted video submissions from players to see who was the "Ultimate God of War fan." The development team selected the top 18 submissions which are included within the ending credits of God of War: Unearthing the Legend – a full-length movie documentary depicting the history of the God of War franchise and how the events in the games relate to actual Greek Mythology. All the selected winners received a copy of the God of War III Ultimate Edition signed by the development team.[40] The winners were announced on March 5, 2010.[41]
On December 17, 2009, SCE Studios Santa Monica announced the God of War III Ultimate Trilogy Edition which contained more content than the God of War III Ultimate Edition for a limited release in Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. The package contained all of the content in the God of War III Ultimate Edition, in addition to including God of War Collection, all four of the premium Kratos skins, and God of War postcards.[42] Pre-orders for the Ultimate Trilogy Edition began on January 14, 2010 at Game and Gamestation.
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