According to Narrative Director Matt Sophos, God of War Ragnarök is designed on the one-shot camera approach, similar to the 2018 entry. Though stunning, God of War 2018’s lengthy, uninterrupted shot wasn’t exactly groundbreaking in the game world.
After all, according to Creative Director Maxime Béland’s grandiose concept, Splinter Cell: Conviction had no camera cuts. Given the unpredictable gameplay, which spanned from frantic clashes with hundreds of opponents to large-scale boss battles against gigantic beasts, Santa Monica Studio managed to make the method their own.
Cory Barlog, the God of War creative director, recently disclosed that he suggested the Tomb Raider reboot’s unbroken shot idea. Although Barlog’s idea was rejected by Crystal Dynamics and Square Enix, it obviously struck a nerve when he returned to the mansion that Kratos had constructed.
Barlog and other Santa Monica Studio developers have spoken openly about how tough it was to pull off such a feat; allegedly, there were occasions when some team members wanted to scrap the idea entirely, believing it would be too harmful to the overall product. However, it appears that the crew has doubled down on the technique’s use.
Following the demo reveal for God of War Raganrok at the recent PlayStation Showcase, many wondered if the sequel will use the one-shot camera. Narrative Director Matt Sophos answered to such a question on Twitter, informing a curious Twitter user that Ragnarok will definitely include “one, uninterrupted shot like 2018.” See the following thread for a quick exchange:
https://twitter.com/dillanmtb/status/1436097045077635072?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1436098585938980868%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es2_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fscreenrant.com%2Fgod-war-ragnarok-one-shot-camera-confirmed%2F
Because God of War Ragnarok is the conclusion of Kratos’ Norse epic, it’s only natural that familiar faces from the 2018 journey return. It remains to be seen whether the approach will be as successful a second time around, but what has been revealed so far is promising.
Surprisingly, one noteworthy difference for the forthcoming film is the director. The Ragnarok-focused story will not be directed by Cory Barlog; instead, Eric Williams, a God of War veteran who was a key member of the design team for all prior iterations, will take the reins. God of War’s next installment appears to be in capable hands.
