God of War team has 'pulled back' from violence against women
Sony Santa Monica design manager David Hewitt talks about how the violence in God of War is portrayed, and the line that even Kratos won't cross.
Viewed on a timeline, the God of War series is basically the story of a man becoming a remorseless murder machine. The stage demonstration at E3 was particularly graphic, showing off Kratos going full Hannibal by ripping out a monster's brains. This was the partial inspiration for some developers reacting to the violence trend at the show this year.
But there are some lines even the furious Spartan won't cross, like hitting a lady.
"There are some things we’ve pulled back from," Sony Santa Monica design manager David Hewitt told IGN. "I think where this has been an issue is with violence against women -- the team's pulled back from some of that and assessed that a little more carefully. There are certain things that carry a different kind of resonance that we don't want to get into. This isn't about statement-making in that regard. It's about fleshing out this character."
Presumably Hewitt is referring to mortal women, considering Kratos snapped a goddess' neck in God of War 3. But besides the developers tip-toeing around a delicate issue, Kratos' own family history makes sense of his aversion to violence against women.
Hewitt says the game design is meant to show that Kratos doesn't enjoy the violence. "Where it shows itself is how the combat designers and animators have designed Kratos' moves. He's always leaning forward, he's always moving forward. He's seeking revenge and he's after his ultimate objective and he will tear through enemies -- rip them in half -- as quickly as he can. But there's not a lot of flourishes, there’s not any kind of enjoying the moment. There's nothing about this that he's enjoying."
So you see, kids, he's actually not a sociopath, because when he's slaughtering entire villages he's not having any fun.
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Steve Watts posted a new article, God of War team has 'pulled back' from violence against women.
Sony Santa Monica design manager David Hewitt talks about how the violence in God of War is portrayed, and the line that even Kratos won't cross.-
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I don't know, this is pretty lame.
I remember a puzzle you had to solve by holding a door open and by doing so the women that you forced to hold open the door died. It was pretty graphic also. See, you rescue her and you lead her to what she thinks is her salvation, when in fact its for her to be a door jam. Its pretty sadistic and totally Kratos.
So what now? he gently caresses her cheek and pats her tush and sends her off?
This smells of fail. -
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It's a good question. But you will get weak excuses. It's a general aesthetic that women and children are some sacred category not to touch in games or even films (Unless it teaches a moral lesson). But they will make games with themes that marginalize a select group or country for the sake of entertainment.
White Knights gon' white. -
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Reminds me of Ghost Dog
Louie: Jesus, Vinny. You just iced a woman, you know that?
Vinny: You know what you are, Louie? You're a fuckin' male chauvinist pig.
Louie: What do you mean, I'm a male chauvinist pig? You just shot a broad.
Vinny: A cop. I just shot a cop. They wanna be equal? I made her equal