If you ask a creative about where they get inspiration for something they make, they’ll likely tell you that inspiration can come from anywhere and everywhere. Many people like to paint a picture that inspiration is a “lightbulb moment,” or one where “lightning strikes” your mind, and suddenly you have an idea. But the truth is that sometimes you need to look at other things and ask yourself, “Well, what if they did this instead?” That happens quite a bit in video games. Even with modern titles like God of War Ragnarok, you’ll find inspirations and ties back to the classic games that started it all.
If you don’t believe us, you can ask Eric Williams, the director of God of War Ragnarok. During an interview, he noted that five classic games influenced his “vision” of the title for PS5 would be. For example, one was The Legend of Zelda, where you needed to explore the world and find key items that would help you on your quest.
Castlevania 2: Simon’s Quest was another that he cited. That game was also about exploring a world and having deep myths and lore about the beings you were fighting. Given that the Santa Monica Studio series is about beings from mythology, that’s a fair game to reference.
The third game was Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!, we mean it. The reference for this game was about the boss fights. Even now, fighting Mike Tyson can be difficult if you don’t know what to do in the title. For God of War, having robust and long-lasting boss fights is vital to make the game feel impactful every time one pops up. That goes double for the new game when you consider you’re fighting legends like Thor and Odin.
River City Ransom was another surprising title to get stated as an influence. The reason for this game being on the list is that as you play the game, some little moments and actions reinforce the game’s themes. For God of War Ragnarok, Kratos needed to remain a Spartan despite his new paradigm, and there are little ways the game shows that off.
Finally, there’s Baseball Stars, a game with an excellent system for modifying stats, which you do with Kratos in the new PS5 title.
All this goes to prove that inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere. It all depends on who you are, what you play, and what you think about as you live.
Source: IGN
