How God of War uses cameras to craft a more intimate experience

Those of you who've played the original God of War trilogy might've noticed that footage from the new game feels a lot more intimate than its predecessors. 

One of the reasons for that tonal shift is Kratos' decision to embark upon a journey into the dangerous unknown with his child in tow. And based on what we've seen so far, it looks like Sony Santa Monica took that route to try and deliver a story that's just as much about parenthood and family as it is about eviscerating mythical creatures. 

But there's something else those of you with a keen eye for direction might've clocked. As revealed in a recent interview with Eurogamer, this time around we won't be seeing any of the franchise's signature camera cuts or sweeping cinematic shots. 

Kratos himself will literally be front and center most of the time, and according to game director Corey Barlog, he made that conscious design decision to ensure players feel rooted and emotionally invested in the world and narrative around them. 

"The aspiration when I got back was to tell a much more personal story. God of War is traditionally known for these cinematic, pull back cameras, which I think are fantastic. But we're trying to get in there and really get to know the character a little more. I realized it'd be interesting if we got closer," explained Barlog. 

"So yeah, there's never going to be a situation where we cut away and show you what someone else is doing. For me it really comes down to when you experience something amazing, you go see the Grand Canyon or something like that, you don't have a crane camera behind you giving you a vista shot to make it look amazing. 

"That's a postcard. What you have is you, standing on the edge, looking around and just being in awe of what you're seeing. In games, I think we can do that. We can experience it from that perspective and I think that's amazing."

You can hear more from Barlog by checking out the full interview over on Eurogamer. It's well worth a read, so be sure to take a look.