Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

What could be better than shoving your blade into an enemy’s throat as it futilely prevents you from doing so, before you succeed and the blood gushes in a geyser in your face? How about doing it in first-person as the blood stains the screen? Not a lot of action games would take very well to the first person shooter (FPS) style of controls and perspective but as SCEA Art Director Ken Feldman revealed, he sure wished God of War III could have done it.

In conversation with CGSociety on the development of God of War III from the past till now, touching on some rather interesting info regarding the unique sets of character animations, the number of lights for each game object and the breadth of each level’s design, Feldman, when asked if there was any idea he could have used, remarked:

“I tried unsuccessfully to convince [Director] Stig to make ‘God of War III’ a first-person shooter. Kratos could have some truly badass huge weapons that rip gods to shreds. Unfortunately he didn’t see the genius in the idea.”

For all the people who remarked that a game like Zelda wouldn’t work in first-person, it’s interesting to see the process circulating about in the game industry. Granted, it would have created a sense of vertigo unparalleled since Mirror’s Edge but of the many gamer fantasies, isn’t literally being Kratos as you rearrange beasties one limb at a time, one of them? Let’s see if a GoW III spin-off comes up that at least allows support with Sony’s motion control device next year.