God of War’s creator, David Jaffe, talks about how one of the most successful Indiana Jones enabled him to design God of War.

The character of Kratos owes his existence to one of the finest and most successful Indiana Jones films, which inspired his creator to make a game based on Greek mythology and featuring many action-adventure elements. God of War’s father was a huge movie buff.

David Jaffe is the mastermind behind God of War. Image Credit: David JaffeYT

David Jaffe, the mastermind behind God of War, was a film student who had come to LA to pursue a career in films. He applied for odd jobs to pay the bills while focusing on breaking into the industry. He applied for the position of a tester at Sony and as a clerk in a dentist’s office; as fate would have it, he was rejected by the dentist but accepted by Sony. That was the beginning of a long relationship between Jaffe and Sony.

Kratos owes his existence to this Indiana Jones film

Young Kratos was featured in the DLC of God of War Ragnarok. Image Credit: Santa Monica Studios

The biggest inspiration during the ideation process of God of War was Greek mythology and Indian Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark, one of the most successful films of that time. The film was a mega-blockbuster that earned almost $368 million at the box office. It left an everlasting cultural impact on society and was a source of inspiration for many.

The action-adventure element of the film is what appealed the most to Jaffe, who wanted to design a game around his protagonist’s journey into a world full of adventures with a lot of action involved. The animalistic attributes of young Kratos were largely due to the creator’s desire to make the experience of playing the game extremely violent.

God of War is one of the most successful franchises to date that established Kratos as one of the shining stars in the world of gaming who has been through a lot throughout his journey. The culmination of his traumatic experiences acted as the catalyst for him to leave the path of violence and denounce the title of God of War. Jaffe also feels that Atreus is not yet good enough to retire Kratos from God of War

David Jaffe enjoyed playing god of war

Kratos owes his transformaation to the bith of his child. Image Credit: Santa Monica Studios

Jaffe is no longer the director of God of War; however, he decided to try his hands on the game eventually. He was hesitant at first and described his experience as similar to how one would feel like going back to dinner with their ex. He said:

I didn’t play it for a very long time. I just wasn’t interested. A lot of people thought I was upset about it but I never was. I’ve heard other creators talk about why they don’t necessarily go watch a sequel of a movie they directed. They say it’s basically like going out to dinner with your ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend.

He did enjoy playing it and appreciated the direction in which Cory Barlog was heading the game before his departure. He was all praise for the director and accepted that his methods were slowly getting out of date.

Video games have adapted to a more nuanced way of storytelling, which has a lot of emotional depth and narrative-driven gameplay that elevates the overall experience of playing a game. What do you think about it? Let us know in the comments below.