Opening Up the World - The Art of God of War

Opening Up the World -  The Art of God of War

[Download]

As the development team wrapped up its first God of War playable, the dust was beginning to serdle on the narrative side. Story details were being locked down, and it was time to dig into the main game. Two levels became initial points of focus: "The Mountain"-a large, vertical, cavernous dungeon with a dragon--and "Alfheim," the realm of the elves.

Wich a great deal of effort and much iteration, Alfneim represented the first time the team started to nail down what another realm would look and feel like.

Things were also ramping up on the visual development side as that team worked to support the main team's new goals, while simultaneously continuing to explore the creatures, characters, and locations they wanted to include in the game.

High vision work is extremely important to the concept artists, even if a given piece of work isn't used directly in the game. It often helps to inspire level design, and provides a preview of the aesthetic choices the artists intend to make.

This means that when the design for a given item is ready, the subsequent work can be executed much faster.