Slides from the Design/Art lecture that God of War III team members Chris O'Neill (design) and Bruno Velazquez (art) gave at GDC 2012. Summary: God of War III presented, quite literally, Santa Monica Studio's biggest challenge to date: The Titans. These real-time moving levels built on giants presented new and vast challenges across the entire development team. Combining compelling level design, stunning visuals, and an exciting boss battle into a seamless and memorable spectacle required a team-wide desire to innovate, intensely collaborate, and have an excitement to show fans something they had never seen before. Team members share the development story of Cronos from elevator-pitch to completion outlining the technical and creative challenges they faced while also shedding light on the philosophy, process, and technology used in bringing this truly titanic moment to life.

1. The Titans:
Creating Living, Breathing
Levels in God of War III
Chris O’Neill
Senior Level Designer,
Santa Monica Studio
Bruno Velazquez
Lead In-Game Animator,
Santa Monica Studio

6. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History

7. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle

8. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot

9. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time

10. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time
• 5 Core Team Members (3 Dedicated)

11. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time
• 5 Core Team Members (3 Dedicated)
• 35 Person Effort (1/3 of Studio)

12. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time
• 5 Core Team Members (3 Dedicated)
• 35 Person Effort (1/3 of Studio)
• 420 Animations

13. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time
• 5 Core Team Members (3 Dedicated)
• 35 Person Effort (1/3 of Studio)
• 420 Animations
• 500 Joints – 160k T , 18 Mill. Raw

14. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time
• 5 Core Team Members (3 Dedicated)
• 35 Person Effort (1/3 of Studio)
• 420 Animations
• 500 Joints – 160k T , 18 Mill. Raw
• 25 Min Average Playtime

15. Overview
• Largest Sequence in Studio History
• IGN #1 God of War Boss Battle
• Multimillion Dollar Money Shot
• 24 Months Development Time
• 5 Core Team Members (3 Dedicated)
• 35 Person Effort (1/3 of Studio)
• 420 Animations
• 500 Joints – 160k T , 18 Mill. Raw
• 25 Min Average Playtime
• 500 Meters (1640 ft)

17. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang

18. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In

19. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In
3. Playtest A LOT

20. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In
3. Playtest A LOT
4. Great Games are Made One Piece at a Time

21. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In
3. Playtest A LOT
4. Great Games are Made One Piece at a Time
5. Top Down Commitment to Quality

22. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In
3. Playtest A LOT
4. Great Games are Made One Piece at a Time
5. Top Down Commitment to Quality
6. Director is the Gate Keeper

23. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In
3. Playtest A LOT
4. Great Games are Made One Piece at a Time
5. Top Down Commitment to Quality
6. Director is the Gate Keeper
7. Specialization = Singleness of Purpose

24. SMS Development Philosophy
1. Start With a Bang
2. Go Huge and Bring It In
3. Playtest A LOT
4. Great Games are Made One Piece at a Time
5. Top Down Commitment to Quality
6. Director is the Gate Keeper
7. Specialization = Singleness of Purpose
8. Don’t Play It Safe

25. Establishing the Vision

26. Establishing the Vision
1. Locations

27. Establishing the Vision
1. Locations
2. Epic Set Pieces

28. Establishing the Vision
1. Locations
2. Epic Set Pieces
3. WOW! Moments

31. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image

32. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image
2. Get On , Do , Get Off

33. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image
2. Get On , Do , Get Off
3. Team Breaks for 30 Mins

34. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image
2. Get On , Do , Get Off
3. Team Breaks for 30 Mins
4. Regroup – Put on Board

35. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image
2. Get On , Do , Get Off
3. Team Breaks for 30 Mins
4. Regroup – Put on Board
5. Director/Leads Vote on
Favorite 3

36. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image
2. Get On , Do , Get Off
3. Team Breaks for 30 Mins
4. Regroup – Put on Board
5. Director/Leads Vote on
Favorite 3
6. Assess Popularity

37. Brainstorming
1. Concept / Image
2. Get On , Do , Get Off
3. Team Breaks for 30 Mins
4. Regroup – Put on Board
5. Director/Leads Vote on
Favorite 3
6. Assess Popularity
7. Director Makes Decision

38. Research
&
Development

44. $elling the Experience

45. Bringing It To Life
1. Emotional Buildup

46. Bringing It To Life
1. Emotional Buildup
2. Keep It Believable

47. Bringing It To Life
1. Emotional Buildup
2. Keep It Believable
3. “Dynamicism”

48. Bringing It To Life
1. Emotional Buildup
2. Keep It Believable
3. “Dynamicism”
4. Animation

49. Bringing It To Life
1. Emotional Buildup
2. Keep It Believable
3. “Dynamicism”
4. Animation
5. Visual Effects

50. Bringing It To Life
1. Emotional Buildup
2. Keep It Believable
3. “Dynamicism”
4. Animation
5. Visual Effects
6. VO and Sound FX

51. Scale
1. Real Character

52. Scale
1. Real Character
2. Relative Scale

53. Scale
1. Real Character
2. Relative Scale
3. Camera Work

54. Scale
1. Real Character
2. Relative Scale
3. Camera Work
4. Real Time / No Cuts

55. Scale
1. Real Character
2. Relative Scale
3. Camera Work
4. Real Time / No Cuts
5. Animation

56. Design Decisions
1. “Experience” not a Boss

57. Design Decisions
1. “Experience” not a Boss
2. Show the Goal

58. Design Decisions
1. “Experience” not a Boss
2. Show the Goal
3. Epic Payoffs

59. Design Decisions
1. “Experience” not a Boss
2. Show the Goal
3. Epic Payoffs
4. Comfortable Pacing

60. Design Decisions
1. “Experience” not a Boss
2. Show the Goal
3. Epic Payoffs
4. Comfortable Pacing
5. Plausibility

61. Executing Epic

62. 62

64. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech

65. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech
2. Massive Joint Count

66. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech
2. Massive Joint Count

67. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech
2. Massive Joint Count

68. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech
2. Massive Joint Count
Animation
1. Animating a Level

69. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech
2. Massive Joint Count
Animation
1. Animating a Level
2. Stability Vs Aesthetic

70. Tech Art
1. Zipper Tech
2. Massive Joint Count
Animation
1. Animating a Level
2. Stability Vs Aesthetic
3.Anim Resolution

71. Level Design
1. Nucleus of Effort

72. Level Design
1. Nucleus of Effort
2. One with Animator

73. Level Design
1. Nucleus of Effort
2. One with Animator
3. New Collision System

74. Level Design
1. Nucleus of Effort
2. One with Animator
3. New Collision System
4. Reliance on Other
Disciplines

75. Level Design
1. Nucleus of Effort
2. One with Animator
3. New Collision System
4. Reliance on Other
Disciplines
Camera Design
1. Moving Foundation

76. Level Design
1. Nucleus of Effort
2. One with Animator
3. New Collision System
4. Reliance on Other
Disciplines
Camera Design
1. Moving Foundation
2. Ridiculous Scale

77. 1.0

79. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation

80. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last

81. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last
3. Things Need Time to Come Together

82. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last
3. Things Need Time to Come Together
4. Strong Tools Allow Designers to Iterate Quickly

83. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last
3. Things Need Time to Come Together
4. Strong Tools Allow Designers to Iterate Quickly
5. Designers Encouraged to Think for Themselves

84. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last
3. Things Need Time to Come Together
4. Strong Tools Allow Designers to Iterate Quickly
5. Designers Encouraged to Think for Themselves
6. Get the Right People on The Bus

85. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last
3. Things Need Time to Come Together
4. Strong Tools Allow Designers to Iterate Quickly
5. Designers Encouraged to Think for Themselves
6. Get the Right People on The Bus
7. Know Your Philosophy and Stick To It

86. Design Philosophy
1. Experimentation and Iteration Over Documentation
2. Documents Come Last
3. Things Need Time to Come Together
4. Strong Tools Allow Designers to Iterate Quickly
5. Designers Encouraged to Think for Themselves
6. Get the Right People on The Bus
7. Know Your Philosophy and Stick To It
8. Strength In Numbers

89. 89

90. 90

91. 91

92. 2.0

100. Additional Credits
• Tyler Breon (Senior Character Artist) • Aaron Jessie (Cinematic Artist)
• Jason Hall (Animator) • Weiching Wu (Cinematic Animator)
• Meng Vu (Animator) • Max Ancar (Lead Effects Artist)
• James Che (Animator) • Ken Feldman (Art Director)
• Gary Kavenaugh (Animator) • Cecil Kim (Lead Concept Artist)
• Adam Puhl (Lead Combat Designer) • Andy Park (Concept Artist)
• Nathan Gary (Level Designer) • Izzy Medrano (Concept Artist)
• Stig Asussen (Game Director) • Sung Jin (Cinematic Animator)
• Mark Simon (Lead Camera Designer) • Katon Calloway (Character Artist)
• Steven Peterson (Camera Designer) • John Lawrence (Tech Designer)
• Jacquie Shriver (VO Coordinator) • Vassily Filippov (Lead Programmer)
• Paul Fox (Lead Sound Designer) • Jim Tilander (Senior Programmer)
• Timo P (Environment Artist) • Fabrice Odero (Senior Programmer)
• Todd Papy (Design Director) • Phil Wilkins (Senior Programmer)
• Jason Minters (Tech Artist) • Yury Nedelin (Tech Artist)
• Matt Arrington (Senior Programmer) • Cory Barlog
• Steve Caterson (Senior Producer) • David Jaffe

101. Career Pavillion
Booth 1902
Kriste Stull / Marlina Balandra
SonySMRecruiting@playstation.sony.com

102. Contact Info
Chris O’Neill
Senior Level Designer
@chris_a_oneill
Bruno Velazquez
Lead In-Game Animator
http://elanimador.blogspot.com/
@brunovelazquez