How God of War Ragnarök’s side quests humanize Kratos and the cast

blog.playstation.com:

2022’s God of War Ragnarök hosted some of the year’s most thrilling fights and emotional peaks in gaming. While the main story had its own highs, its Favors (a.k.a. side quests) contained some of its most memorable character moments. Implementing these optional adventures, however, invited challenges to the game’s development.

Developer Santa Monica Studio set out to create unique side missions hosting small yet impactful narrative beats that accentuate the stories of its characters. These quests humanized not only protagonist Kratos but also the friends, allies, and family that the once ruthless God of War has found since the end of his journey in Olympus.

We spoke with Lead Player Investment Designer Anthony DiMento and Lead Writer Rich Gaubert to explore the implementation of a few of the game’s most memorable side quests.

God of War Ragnarök’s side quests are designed to expand not only on the world, but most importantly its characters and the larger themes arising from their journeys.

“We had a better sense of what we wanted from side quests this time. And I think that the impulse for many developers is to use them to flesh out the world and its lore.” Gaubert explains. “While that’s certainly part of it, we didn’t want that to be the main focus. The focus is on these characters and themes and ensuring that the critical path, storyline, and side quest storylines are pieces in a larger puzzle. That lore and world-building should be byproducts of exploring the characters rather than the other way around. It’s too easy to get lost in the minutia if it’s not anchored by characters, as they’re easier to relate to.”

The game’s first Favor, In Service of Asgard, is a perfect example of this approach. This quest sees