God of War III Could Have Been Developed as a First-Person Shooter

In basically no time since its launch, God of War has become one of Sony's biggest franchises. The game is already at its third installment in the main series, and has already a few spin-offs on other platforms. But so far the team behind it managed to stay clear of the first-person genre that defines a typical action game, and although the idea did pop up somewhere during the developers' meetings, it didn't really get anywhere. And it probably shouldn't either.

The idea came to art director Ken Feldman of Sony Computer Entertainment of America, who wanted to give to the players a Kratos that would tear, rend and shred his enemies to oblivion from a first-person perspective. In a large technical report, mainly about the special effects of the game, such as lighting in God of War III, Feldman brought up his desire to turn the game into a first-person one. Proving to be a stubborn man, he continues to stand by his idea, even after seeing it shot down. "I tried unsuccessfully to convince [director Stig Asmussen] 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," Feldman told CGSociety.

God of War is one of the most acclaimed action game series to come out in the last couple of years. And this number of years is actually quite hefty. The game really set a standard for other titles to follow, and pretty much one they fail to reach. The graphics and gameplay proved to be perfectly intertwined to offer an amazing and addictive gaming experience.

The first person perspective has been rejected for the main series of the game, but the handheld consoles could end up with a version of it. The idea is pretty much against the natural flow of the game and of the genre that it's part of, so it might be a real washout. To pull it off, the first-person perspective would have to be a background element, a setting for the main idea of the game, not a reason to make that game itself.