One Excel spreadsheet was the backbone of God of War Ragnarok

techradar.com:

God of War Ragnarok is nothing to sniff at. With players clocking in anywhere between 20 to 50 hours of gameplay, this venture into Norse Mythology is expansive and pretty hard to plan. 

Organizing the story, fights, and exploration in God of War Ragnarok would give anyone a headache. In an interview with Game Informer(opens in new tab) God of War, Ragnarok director Eric Williams explained how he and his team overcame this enormous task. 

The solution to all of this was simple: creating one Excel spreadsheet that will rule them all. This spreadsheet broke down every single moment of the game and “how much time you’re going to spend in them,” said Williams. 

Despite the size of the spreadsheet, it only ended up predicting “10% of the final product”, Williams added. Even after pages and pages of content, it still proved especially difficult to reign in the God of War. 

Over the course of making God of War Ragnarok, Williams learned that he had Aphantasia

Some may think a master Excel spreadsheet of this size is pretty intimidating. However, it turns out that this detailed planning was crucial for Williams as the director of God of War Ragnarok. 

Over the course of making God of War Ragnarok, Williams learned that he had Aphantasia. This describes the inability to form a mental image of an object that isn’t right in front of you. Williams described it as if you tell him to “think of a green apple.” I can't see it. I can't picture anything in my head”.

This is why the extensive Excel spreadsheet was so groundbreaking for Williams. “I had to compensate for this with a crazy ton of reference,” Williams said; I need “images for everything”. 

There were certainly images for everything in this spreadsheet. From fight scenes to dialogues,