David Jeffe, the Director of God of War I and II has really strong opinions of what Sony made out of the God of War IP, especially its characters and the way that Kratos developed.
David Jaffe was the game director and lead game designer of the first God of War game and later on creative director of God of War II in 2007. Nowadays, he has a YouTube channel where he talks about developments in the gaming industry ad shares his experience as a game designer, as well as a podcast called "Gabbin + Games". But given the fact that he played a crucial role in shaping God of War in its early years, he doesn't seem too fond of what they made out of Kratos in the recent games.
Past God of War Director Doesn't Like Kratos' Change
In one of his podcast episodes, David Jaffe talks about the way that certain characters have changed over the years. In particular, he talks about Indiana Jones and Kratos from the new God of War games.
"Don't take the character Kratos or Indiana Jones and go, you know what, I'm Steven Spielberg, I'm older now and I'm really into family and I want to tell stories about fathers and sons. God no, [ __ ] you. That is not what this character is."
David Jaffe isn't a fan of how Kratos' character has been developed in recent games. He feels that focusing on themes like family and father-son relationships changes who Kratos is at his core. Jaffe thinks that the creators are injecting too much of their own personal experiences into Kratos, which doesn't fit his original badass, no-nonsense persona. He believes these kinds of stories should be saved for new characters or new games, not for established ones like Kratos. In short, he doesn't want Kratos turning into a character dealing with issues that aren't true to his original essence.
Even though, this podcast episode was released about five months ago, the clip is still a big discussion topic, especially on 𝕏.
Saying something like "I don't want my character to grow" is something fucking insane as a creator.No wonder the series got REALLY good when he stopped being involved in God of War 3 and Kratos became more than just a pawn of the Greek Gods. pic.twitter.com/1gj9dcDRXP
— truggler (@RealTruggler) June 8, 2024
What Makes A Good Character
We think that all characters truly become alive when they undergo a journey of personal growth. Kratos has been through a lot in the past, but really seeing his character softening up and showing this human side of him through the relationship with his son, has given that character even more depth than there ever was. This is also what makes him so relatable to a broader audience, and what keeps him interesting.
But what do you think? Do you like that way that Kratos has changed in the latest God of War games, or do you think they took a wrong turn with that. Let us know in the comment section below!
