‘God Of War’ Showrunner Can’t Work A Controller, Is ‘Not A Gamer’

I am going to be starting this article with a big long sigh, as I’m not sure what other reaction there can be to new quotes from Ronald D. Moore, showrunner of Amazon’s big God of War show, where he’s just revealed that he’s “not a gamer” to the point where he can’t even work a modern controller to actually play the games.

The good news first. Moore is an excellent talent in the industry, behind such shows as Battlestar Galactica and For All Mankind. So at baseline, he has the potential to make a great series.

But, counterpoint: another long sigh.

It is obviously a red flag that someone tasked with directing one of the most storied narratives in gaming history is neither a gamer nor has actually played the game. I assume at the very least he has to watch someone play the game, but still. This quote is being met with outrage from gamers who as we know, are very prone to outrage at baseline. But I agree, this is not exactly promising. The guy is saying he can’t work the “new” controllers, which I have to assume means the dual joysticks which first arrived with the PS1 Dualshock, in 1997.

In addition to being a gamer at all, it is important to have at least some measure of appreciation for the source material when you enter into an adaptation like this, even if you come into it late. This has been the case with shows like The Last of Us and Fallout, and those have been some of the most beloved live-action gaming adaptations there have ever been.

Contrast that with Halo, another show that had a team that seemed to not care much about the source material at all, and the result was something average to occasionally disastrous. I’m also thinking of The Witcher, sort of a game/book hybrid as Henry Cavill’s performance was inspired in part by game Geralt (he’s a huge gamer), but he ultimately left the project reportedly due to the frequent departures from the source material.

I don’t think every single actor needs to be some die-hard game fan. I remember quotes from Fallout’s Walton Goggins that he did not play the game on purpose to have a fresh take on his character, and clearly that worked out well. But when we’re talking about the showrunner of the entire series, no, that’s not great.

Moore says he was “put on” God of War, which also sure makes it sound like he was not exactly pursuing it. Amazon, as it is sometimes prone to do, already greenlit it for two seasons, and no doubt it’s going to be another hundreds-of-millions-of-dollars project, which seems obvious if you’ve have in fact played the game (this is adapting the Norse era).

I’m sure there will be consultations with Sony and Santa Monica. I’m sure many people involved with the show have played the game. But this is a massive undertaking and even if Moore has a history of success, going in, this already feels like a big gamble.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.