Why Kratos is Red: The Diablo 2 Connection

Director David Jaffe posted on his blog that Kratos, the protagonist of God of War, had a little makeover just before he was unleashed into the world.

Kratos the First was a slightly less intimidating (but perhaps more symbolic) blue, instead of his current red hue. However, a member of the team showed Jaffe a picture of a Diablo 2 Barbarian, and the resemblance was uncanny — too uncanny to let slide.

I had played Diablo I but never II, and this was sure news to me. As it was to clearly to many/all others on the team, as this was the first we’d heard of the character, let alone the similarity.

So you can bet we changed it, lickity fuckin’ split!

Not a huge overhaul, but enough to make it work, especially under a time crunch. The original blue was probably a reference to the colors of the Greek flag, but the red looks much more badass. 

Although, I’m sure he could be pink with glitter, and I probably wouldn’t mess with him.

Source: David Jaffe (via Joystiq)