As always, David Jaffe, the director of the original God of War games, finds himself embroiled in controversy once more due to some rather provocative statements about current games. In an interview, he discussed how writers for new characters draw on their own experiences, allowing these influences to heavily shape the characters.
Jaffe condemns this practice because it alters the character’s personality to an unrecognizable degree. However, he believes both of the new God of War games are excellent work with an amazing story.
David Jaffe, the Original Creator of God of War, Disagrees With the Writing of Current Video Game Characters
Having created the first three God of War games, where the characters’ personalities and combat styles were entirely different, David Jaffe talks about how the process was to create Kratos back then.
Jaffe used more comic book-like characteristics and a much lighter touch to give this popular PlayStation character the right personality. In the past, Kratos was very violent and full of rage.
In a recent interview, this director compared his work to Sony’s more modern games, stating that writers put too much of their own experiences into the characters.
Despite his admiration for these new games, he underscored that overcrowding dilutes the character’s essence. Particularly when the character resembles a real person rather than a video game hero, it dilutes the essence of the character.
According to This Director, the New Way of Writing Characters Is Too Deep
Jaffe says that not all characters need to resemble an adult fiction character since they are still part of a video game, and it’s okay for their depth to only go so far. He compared them to superheroes, noting that while they remain highly creative characters, it’s unnecessary for them to have such deep construction. He primarily referred to characters from a franchise, such as Kratos in God of War.
Another point made by the director is that this kind of fictionalization of characters works once the story ends. However, the creation of a franchise and the continuation of more games can impact the perception of the characters.
This could potentially undermine the character’s development, given the likelihood of additional games in the series. These decisions can impact the final development of the character.
Along with Jaffe’s praise for the 2018 God of War, both new games in the God of War saga have received overwhelmingly positive reviews from fans and critics, with millions of copies sold worldwide.
So, despite this director’s disagreement with the character development, the sales speak for themselves. This kind of analysis is good for the writers to know how to apply less construction to every character.
What are your thoughts on Jaffe’s opinion? Let us know in the comments!
