God of War Ragnarök Developers Discussed How Side Quests Humanize Kratos
The quests are designed to expand the characters and the larger themes arising from their journeys.
In a recent PlayStation blog post, Santa Monica Studio's Lead Player Investment Designer Anthony DiMento and Lead Writer Rich Gaubert talked about how God of War Ragnarök's side quests humanize Kratos and his friends, allies, and family.
They said that the side quests, or Favors, were designed to expand the world and, most importantly, its characters and "the larger themes arising from their journeys".
“We had a better sense of what we wanted from side quests this time. And I think that the impulse for many developers is to use them to flesh out the world and its lore.” Gaubert explained. “While that’s certainly part of it, we didn’t want that to be the main focus. The focus is on these characters and themes and ensuring that the critical path, storyline, and side quest storylines are pieces in a larger puzzle.”
The quests unveil new layers in supporting characters, which are meant to serve as mirrors of the protagonist, "showing what may be a path not taken, or serve a warning of what might happen if the character stays on the course they’re on."
The Player Investment team had to answer questions like “When and where should these quests open up?” and “Are the characters who drive the narrative going to have similar motivations before and after Ragnarök?” to make the quests what they are now.
“We wanted the world to feel connected and alive,” DiMento said. “We never want the player to regret their decision not to do a side quest as soon as it becomes available or if they decide to go back to it after the main story is completed. We just want you to play the content and to be able to enjoy it regardless of when you engage with it.”
While side quests are optional, they had to show character growth and fit in with the new, softer narrative.
“There generally tended to be an ulterior motive for him doing good. Otherwise, it would have felt false.” Gaubert shared. “Especially in the early parts of the game where he’s less altruistic and more protective of what he has. But in the post-game, the implication is that he is doing these side quests for unselfish reasons. So, building in those motivations from the get-go helped reduce the number of alternate lines we would have to write to account for his shifting motivations throughout the main story.”
The final story of God of War Ragnarök was possible only thanks to the collaborative work of the entire team and Santa Monica's many departments, which all worked hard to bring the adventure to PlayStation 4 and 5.
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