Cory Barlog

As a writer, you understand how hard it is to build up backstory for characters, so you can have impactful moments. You have to build toward something and then pay it off.

Working with George Miller was an education. It was eight college degrees in character development and directing all at once.

Sometimes a crazy idea can make something special.

Do not make decisions for your kid. It's not going to turn out well.

At the end of 'God of War III,' after laying waste to Olympus, Kratos leaves and, for me, goes on this really long wandering pilgrimage.

Play the way you want to play. I want to give as much power back over to the player as possible. That's where games are leaning: give me the tools, let me do what I want to do with it. Let me solve the problem the way I want to solve it - experience the combat the way I want to experience it.

My thing I always go back to is that sense of finishing 'Castlevania: Symphony of the Night,' and that castle flipping over, and just going, 'Oh my God, that was amazing! I have so much more to play!' It was astounding. I think I've always been chasing that. I think my entire career, I have been like, 'I want that kind of epiphany.'

So Kratos is always angry, and he spent a considerable amount of time after 'God of War' trying to be away from people and trying to figure out how to get control of that. So it is this kind of internal struggle for him at all times.

The Resident Evil' series. Not only are they great games, but the creators' willingness to reinvent the game every so often is something I think positively affects our industry.

Resident Evil 4' truly changed the way I look at making games.

The Uncharted' series really pushed me as a developer. They managed to raise the bar with every single release and produce an action- packed thrill ride starring characters I wanted to hang out with, and mechanics I can easily pick up and play.

Picking just one game above all is nearly impossible for me, but if I had to, it would be 'Metal Gear Solid.' I remember being completely blown away with the story, the mechanics and the overall presentation on my first playthrough.

I can't learn Swedish to save my life. I tried, but I'm not very good at it.

Any sort of major change we want to make in our life is hard. Change is not easy and true change takes time and takes thousands, millions probably, of failures along that path and that's the interesting thing.

The dynamics of storytelling are very important. To just be serious and morose all the time would be not very enjoyable.

That feeling of being rewarded for your curiosity is huge. It's why I play games, this idea of truly existing in a world.

Initially I took the job because I thought it would be really easy. I was like, I'll take the paycheck because I want to do my own movie. That didn't work out. In the first two weeks I fell in love with Kratos from an animation perspective; I'd never been able to do anything like this.

Throughout my life, I've seen that everybody has had something to teach me and, strangely, it's always something relevant to what I'm going through at that point.

I'm trying to be better for my son. And regretting every moment that I'm not spending with him.

I had this idea that I didn't want to have kids until my career was at the right point, until we have a house, until we have savings of at least this much ... None of that came true. It just happened.

Having a kid motivates you to really take stock of yourself and how much of yourself you want to be reflected back in the actions of your kid.

For me, human beings have a very difficult time changing. It's one of the hardest things to do.