God of War II recently celebrated its 14th anniversary and in celebration of the occasion, game director Cory Barlog shared his own history with the project. In short, he said he had ‘absolutely no idea’ what he was doing with the game, and praised his team for helping them complete the game.
“I had absolutely NO idea what I was doing ALL the time,” Barlog wrote. “Every day I felt like I was being thrown off the stage on the opening night to perform a musical I had never heard of, even less rehearsed.”
Fortunately for Barlog, and to his credit as a team leader, there was a strong team around him. “Fortunately, I was inspired by a brilliant team at every turn,” he wrote.
When the play was finally released, Barlog noted that he “only understands KIND OR THE MECHANICS of a director.” It has gotten better in this regard for many years, Barlog said.
I had absolutely NO IDEA, what the hell am I doing ALL the time. Every day it felt like I was thrown off the stage on the opening night to perform a musical I had never heard of, even less rehearsed.
Luckily, I was inspired by a brilliant team at every turn. Https://t.co/kR50HNFOfE– Cory Balrog @ (@corybarlog) 14 March 2021
And when I finished the game, I just understood the technique of directing.
Actually KIND of understanding what it really means, as directing … which came many years later.
NARRATOR: He meant like just a week ago. Unfortunately, he had already forgotten about it.
– Cory Balrog @ (@corybarlog) 14 March 2021
God of War II from 2007 was Barlog’s first time as a game director, according to his profile on MobyGames. Later, he held creative directorial positions on God of War Chains of Olympus and 2008’s God of War reboot. Barlog was also the creative director for Happy Feet Two: The Video Game.
Barlog returns to the God of War series with the new God of War – referred to by fans as “Ragnarok” – in development for PS5.