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Sony Santa Monica's unannounced IP canceled, says laid off dev
An unannounced new property at God of War studio Sony Santa Monica is canceled, according to ex-employee Jonathan Hawkins. The former lead level designer, who lost his job in yesterday's round of layoffs, took to Twitter to reveal the IP had been in development "since God of War 3," and indicated it was connected to that game's director, Stig Asmussen. It's speculated the project in question was a AAA sci-fi game, and that certainly matches with what Battlestar Galactica writer Michael Angeli said at last year's E3. Angeli revealed he was working with Sony Santa Monica on a new and unannounced project, telling Polygon he'd been writing for the game across the prior two and a half years, and that the studio's full team transitioned to work on it after God of War: Ascension. Sony has yet to confirm any details on the project, and for his part, Hawkins said he couldn't say too much about the situation. However, he did share his frustration over what had happened in a heartfelt series of tweets: "Yesterday, I was laid off. It was a good 10-year run and I got to make three 90+ games. I lived the dream and got to accomplish all of my goals. Except one... making something out of nothing and creating a new AAA IP. Secondly, the pain that I feel for my friends who have lost their jobs. The saddest and most important part is the game I was creating for the player that will never be played. I'm sorry that I've failed you." [Image: Sony Santa Monica]
God of War 2's lost Atlantis level pulled from the abyss
When God of War 3 director Stig Asmussen recently revealed that "we cut less" from the PS3 game than from its PS2 predecessors, he wasn't kidding! As PlayStation Blog has unearthed, God of War 2 has the entire "lost" city of Atlantis buried in its design history. In the video after the break, level creator Jonathan Hawkins guides us through the blueprint. This was his first "big chance," recalls Hawkins, who says "knowing what i know now, it cracks me up how all out I went." He reckons three to four months were spent on the intricate Atlantis level before it was eventually scrapped as the game's story evolution went in a different direction. (Kratos does take care of unfinished Atlantis business in the new Ghost of Sparta PSP game.) "As a designer you have to have tough chops and, you know, roll with the punches," Hawkins warns with a chuckle about the unsentimental creative process. "I wish you guys could have played it."
