God of War Ragnarok Director Fought to Preserve: In God of War Ragnarök, the gods, and monsters are constantly butting heads as they pursue their individual goals. The nine realms are hazardous and full of peril, but a ray of unexpected light shines through it all, and no, I’m not talking about Brok the dwarf who can’t seem to complete a sentence without resorting to a slur. I refer to Ratatoskr, the squirrel with the eyepatch who stands guard above Yggdrasil, the world tree.
Yes, Ratatoskr did make an appearance in God of War (2018), although he served more as a power than a personality. The transparent blue squirrel would appear whenever Atreus called for it, bringing with it food, medicine, and even Hacksilver on occasion. Ratatoskr is a tangible, non-translucent character in God of War: Ragnarök speaks makes requests and has an opening cutscene. He’s also one of the most surprising players can encounter.
Like a lovable animated Disney sidekick, Ratatoskr introduces himself to Kratos and Atreus. In order to convey who he is to Atreus, he first ascends to Kratos, who might as well be a tree, looks through his things like Yoda in Return of the Jedi, and then leaps to Atreus, where he is perched on his arm.
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— Santa Monica Studio – God of War Ragnarök (@SonySantaMonica) October 28, 2022
God of War Ragnarok Director Fought to Preserve
He doesn’t fit in with the rest of society in any way, and he’s just plain weird. Ratatoskr is the only animal in God of War: Ragnarök who dresses up and speaks flawless English (or whichever language you play in). He’s funny, but he’s not meant to be the comedic relief. Director Eric Williams intended for Ratatoskr to be offbeat and surprising in Ragnarök, and the character succeeds brilliantly in this role.
When asked why he wanted this character in the game, Williams recently told us. Everyone was like, “We have to cut this,’ even though I really wanted him to perform them. There are just too many people in this story. To which I responded, “No!” ‘He’s not going anywhere.’ One of the many things that make Ragnarök the funniest game in the God of War series is Ratatoskr. Williams insisted that Ratatoskr remains in the game because he wanted there to be comedic relief from the game’s otherwise serious tone.
And the part where he actually appears? Everyone said, “Okay, are we going too far?” after that one. This, according to Williams. ‘I don’t even know what to do with the music here,’ the music director admitted. This is completely different from the God of War series.
None of us can even write music that would be useful for this! Because it was so different from the usual God of Warfare, they had to go back and add some extra content. Williams was concerned that whoever played Ratatoskr wouldn’t be able to pull off a comic performance, so he had a clear idea from the start.
#GodOfWarRagnarok pic.twitter.com/sYpVef5chL
— Much (@Much118x) November 25, 2022
SungWon Cho is a skilled voice actor who has guest-starred in a wide variety of video games and animated television series, but he may be best known online for his humorous short-form sketches poking fun at niche aspects of geek culture. Williams explains, “I wanted SungWon to voice him.
Anthony Burch, one of our writers, said, “I know SungWon,” and I immediately said, “Dude – call him.” After learning more about the character, Cho walked in, and Williams asked if he’d be interested in contributing to Ratatoskr as well. Cho gladly accepted.
Cho revealed in an email conversation that he was approached for the part before the game was announced and that he had no idea what he was getting himself into. “I came into the meeting room without knowing what to anticipate, and Eric said, “So I think you can guess what game we want you for,” Cho writes. When I said, “I have no idea,” he glanced toward the projector in the room, where a massive God of War background was playing, and I mumbled, “……Oh.”
He wasn’t as taken aback by Ratatoskr’s appearance or strategy as the other players. Cho adds, “I wasn’t too thrown off in the beginning conceptually, but maybe that’s because I’ve voiced a lot of talking animals in my career.”
Cho was involved in the creation of Ratatoskr right from the start of the character’s story. It was up to Cho to “create the true Ratatoskr’s personality and voice,” he explains. A former member of the writing staff said, “Before I joined the writing team, Ratatoskr’s personality was actually much more like Bitter’s in the first game, rude and sassy.
However, I thought it would be more fun to have the real Ratatoskr be more of an eager-to-please, not entirely trustworthy type who literally ejects aspects of his personality he finds bothersome. Basically, I sold him as “almost like a car salesman who wants you to like him so he can sell more cars.”
Cho presented Ratatoskr’s several identities, and he was given a rough outline of what information needed to be conveyed to the player, but beyond that, he was allowed creative freedom to create and write for the character as he saw fit. Because “Ratatoskr’s introductory scene was essentially untouched from the way I scripted it,” Cho claims it is “very key” to establishing the character’s personality/tone.
After leaving the writing team, “I did see that part of my dialogue was still in, some had been changed, and there were also new lines, but I was impressed with how it all flowed very well with the personality I had developed for the character,” the actor said.
Cho also did motion capture for the character Ratatoskr, who was very distinct from the rest of the cast while looking like they were all human in appearance. As one participant put it, “It was a fascinating experience. Cho writes, “I feel like the actual procedure was much more strange; many people seem to assume I literally stepped up on Christopher Judge’s shoulders or something. A bar was put up in front of me and a large seat pad was all that was offered.
The next thing I knew, a puppeteer was performing the words live while moving a plush Ratatoskr around Chris’s torso, and the actors were doing the climbing motions while standing.
In order to reach the platform behind me, I would have to sit on a character’s shoulder. I could use the bars in front of me to ‘lift’ myself up if I had to climb something. Cho essentially acted out the sequences as the puppet version of his role. Cho says of his acting career, “it was one of the strangers but most entertaining experiences I’ve had.”
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— Much (@Much118x) November 25, 2022
“[SungWon is] really stoic. Williams recalls, “I had no idea if he was happy, angry, depressed, or whathaveyou the entire time.” In the end, he admits, “I’m simply like this all the time. My mind is flipping backward within my skull.
Although Troy Baker (Joel from The Last of Us and hundreds of other games) provided Ratatoskr with lines of dialogue and a voice in the original game, the developers decided to revamp the character for the sequel. Because Ratatoskr has broken his personality free of his body, he appears in the first game as a ghostly figure speaking a different language.
According to Williams, “I had already had this notion that we would make it like Inside Out where he’s got all the personalities – but we’ll keep Troy [Baker] so that he’s got this one that he’s like, ‘He’s not even part of me.'” “Troy found out and he’s like, ‘Oh, this is great. Absolutely looking forward to doing this again. In this way, the seven squirrels grew to include two new members.
Williams and the team debated using different voice actors for each squirrel at first but ultimately relied on Cho to spice up the performances. They wanted someone with comedy experience not only for acting but also for writing the script, and they thought I could pull off dramatically diverse personas, Cho writes.
It’s to be expected that certain ideas intended for Ratatoskr wouldn’t make it into the final game, as is the case with any creative project. Regarding material for Ratatoskr that didn’t make the cut, Cho says, “They asked me to compose a ‘rap fight’ in the form of the Norse activity of flying, which is essentially a contest of slinging insults at one other.” A lot of stuff had to be removed for time (or maybe silliness), but I was really impressed with how it finished out.
God of War Ragnarök’s director fought to keep its most unexpected and cartoonish character, Ratatoskr, in the game. We also spoke with @ProZD about writing and performing him. https://t.co/LDJBzeiGc2 pic.twitter.com/FeSk3ocM3L
— Game Informer (@gameinformer) November 25, 2022
The final verdict on Ratatoskr has not yet been made. Though it remains to be seen if he becomes a fan favorite among God of War’s massive cast, he has been met with open arms so far. Fortunately, gamers know that if they ring his bell sufficiently, the normally calm squirrel will lash out, making him the only character in the game with greater rage than grumpy old Kratos.
Cho writes, “I think Kratos is going to feel cartoony no matter what you do if you’re going to bring in a giant talking squirrel and have him talk to him.” It was important to me that his character’s personality and goals were sincere even though I wanted him to be a very fun, almost larger-than-life character. As far as writing him went, I wanted him to feel real and not just a silly little throwaway character.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Cory Barlog Working on God of War Ragnarok?
Furthermore, Cory Barlog has taken on the role of producer for God of War Ragnarok, even though he is not directing this installment.
How long has God of War Ragnarok been in development?
It took five years to develop both the 2018 installment and Ragnarök, and the creators decided they didn’t have 15 years to convey the same story if they added another five years.
Why Did They Change the Director of God of War?
It’s not possible for one person to direct two consecutive entries in the same series at a major studio like Sony Santa Monica. Indeed, it is common practice for the God of War series to employ a new director following the release of each installment.
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