God of War dev reveal Kratos' ashen design happened 'by accident'

One of gaming and PlayStation’s most popular and instantly recognizable mascots is Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta from the God of War series, known for his pale, ashen skin. His ghastly appearance, with streaks of red across his temple and face, serves as a reminder that he eliminated his wife and daughter under Ares’ influence. 

However, Kratos’ pale design didn’t come from deep brainstorming or from being predetermined as part of his lore. It happened by accident when the developers of God of War took a look at the incomplete artwork for Kratos’ initial concept design, thought it looked cool, and stuck with it.

Stig Asmussen, who worked as the lead environment artist on the first God of War game for the PS2 in 2005, later spearheaded God of War III, shared the story of Kratos’ final design in a recent issue of Retro Gamer Magazine.

Asmussen looked back on the early days of God of War and said that the development team had been working with white marble in the game’s environments, and the new engine enabled sharper reflections, resulting in bold contrasts.

Asmussen told the magazine, “We had a lot of white marble, and we were able to do reflections, so the bloody bodies fell onto things that were stark, and that worked as a contrast. Kratos himself was white, too, so we were able to define the massacre he was creating because he always stood out in it.”

God of War’s Director Found Kratos Unfinished Concept Design “Really Cool” and went with it

However, the story behind Kratos’ design is simpler. God of War’s original director, David Jaffe, took a look at early concept designs from lead concept artist Charlie Wen for the 2005 game. Back then, the concept art for Kratos was still on white paper, and Wen hadn’t added skin tone. 

Jaffe took one look at Kratos’ ashen figure on the sheet of paper and decided that this would be the Ghost of Sparta’s final design.

Asmussen explained, “Kratos being covered in white ash was decided early on.” When Jaffe “had seen an illustration where lead concept artist Charlie Wen hadn’t done the skin treatment yet, Kratos was still white on the page, and Dave said that was really cool. I don’t know if he thought of the ash at that point, but that might have been a catalyst.”

Then and there, the development team wove Kratos’ design into the story. The ash from his slaughtered wife and daughter was permanently fused to his skin, becoming an eternal reminder of his grave.

Years later, with the release of God of War (2018) and God of War Ragnarök, Kratos’ design has changed in the Norse mythology saga, including a full beard and a fuller body. However, his ashen, pale skin, with red streaks across his head and torso, remains as an echo of the past.