Overview
This talk detailed the evolution of God of War's combat design for the 2018 reboot, focusing on the challenges and solutions for adapting the series’ signature offensive gameplay to a new, close-camera format. Key systems for tracking, targeting, and engaging enemies were discussed, and audience questions explored practical implementation details and development philosophy.
Core Combat Design Evolution
- The series transitioned from a pulled-back, spectacle-oriented camera to a close, intimate perspective demanding more deliberate combat.
- Maintaining God of War’s offensive, combo-driven identity in this new style required abandoning old refinement in favor of reimagining core systems.
- A new camera approach created significant issues with spatial awareness, enemy management, and maintaining player confidence.
Tracking and Enemy Positioning Systems
- The aggression system assigns tokens to dictate which enemies are actively threatening based on several criteria, dynamically managing fight focus.
- Initial attempts at weight-based positioning failed due to complexity and player confusion; replaced with zone-constraint logic for clearer enemy spread.
- Quadrant-based logic kept off-screen enemies predictably positioned, supporting player mental maps and confident play.
- Off-screen indicators evolved from screen-edge flashes to directional arrows, helping players track threats without visual overload.
Targeting and Camera Assistance
- Target selection became a hybrid of analog stick input and camera direction, with Kratos’s attacks auto-facing valid targets to maintain fluidity.
- “Suck to target” mechanics were refined for the new perspective, addressing depth perception and reducing disorienting motions.
- Range targeting adopted shooter-style aim assist and snap, facilitating seamless switches between melee and ranged combat.
- Despite initial intentions, a lock-on system was implemented late in development due to player demand, customized to fit God of War’s combat.
Engaging Enemies and Combat Feel
- Animation translation (Kratos and enemies moving through space) was overhauled to balance satisfaction with on-screen clarity.
- “Strike Assist” ensures enemies stay on screen during combos, increasing control and visual coherence.
- Hit reactions and aggression tokens were adjusted to reward offensive play with brief windows of player advantage.
- Systems were put in place to manage juggling and airborne enemies, keeping them within camera bounds and ensuring gameplay clarity.
Development Process and Philosophy
- Iterative playtesting and internal reviews drove the refinement of core combat feel before expanding to broader systems.
- Frequent collaboration between design and engineering was crucial, blending technical implementation with gameplay vision.
- Production favored polishing the core combat experience (e.g., fighting a basic enemy) before addressing broader enemy variety and advanced features.
Q&A Highlights
- Valkyrie (boss) fights intentionally test camera mastery and diverge from standard offensive combat priorities.
- The Blades of Chaos were reworked to fit the new camera and reused many of the same combat systems as the Leviathan Axe.
- Targeting and positioning systems use a mix of root-joint checks and custom logic for on-/off-screen status, adapted per system need.
- Ranged and turret enemies use the same positioning logic but allow for varied zone shapes and special cases.
- Level design and combat design interact via an “encounters team” to balance enemy compositions and fight setups.
Difficulty Tuning & Aggression Tokens
- Harder difficulties increase enemy aggression, change attack patterns, and adjust stat curves to alter the combat “puzzle.”
- Aggression tokens are static per difficulty and enemy type, not dynamic during gameplay.
Action Items
- Wrap-up room – Mihir: Address any further audience questions in Room 30-20 after the session (no specific due date stated).