Developer spotlight: Ready at Dawn

How much do you know about God of War Collection Volume II developer Ready at Dawn?

Ready at Dawn is the talented developer behind God of War Collection Volume II on PlayStation 3. Discover how the acclaimed company paved its way to create classic after classic...

Daxter (PSP, 2006)

Ready at Dawn's mission statement is deceptively straightforward: "making fun games a lot of people want to play". And the California based developer got off to a fine start with Daxter on PSP.

Spinning off the successful PlayStation 2 series Jak and Daxter, Ready at Dawn's first PlayStation title was a fresh-faced platform game starring everyone's favourite ottsel sidekick, Daxter. Filled with bug bashing fun, mini-games and imaginative levels, Daxter swiftly became a fan favourite - and the perfect introduction to Ready at Dawn's talent.

Daxter was just the beginning for Ready at Dawn, which was far from finished with impressing players and critics...

God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP, 2008)

Not intimidated by the high bar set by Daxter, Ready at Dawn smashed expectations with its entry into the God of War series. Chains of Olympus was the first God of War game developed outside of Sony Santa Monica Studios - and all eyes were on Ready at Dawn.

"It was an honour to work on the series," says Marc Turndorf, Ready at Dawn's director of production. "We had never made a God of War title before and the learning curve was quite high to make one on a par with the original God of War team's wonderful games."

The pressure didn't faze the team, who went on to create a massive PSP action adventure that did Kratos - and Sony Santa Monica Studios - proud. "From an early build they acknowledged that not only were we on the right track, we were far exceeding what they expected from a God of War game on PSP," smiles Turndorf.

The question wasn't so much of how can we make a God of War game on PSP - it was more that we just wanted to make the best God of War game possible. Our biggest early challenge became a source of great triumph when we gained the trust and respect of the original God of War team."

God of War: Ghost of Sparta (PSP, 2010)

With another successful feather in its cap, Ready at Dawn turned its hands to a follow-up which helped cement its reputation as a quality developer. God of War: Ghost of Sparta was even bigger and bolder than Chains of Olympus. Staggering set pieces and a storyline which revealed some of Kratos's most emotional battles made Ghost of Sparta an essential PSP game.

Raising the stakes on both a gameplay and story level is something Turndorf is particularly proud of in both God of War titles on PSP. "My highlights usually come from our designers coming up with an incredible idea or set piece that seems almost impossible to pull off - then our team work together to figure out a way to make it happen in spectacular fashion."

God of War Collection Volume II (PlayStation 3, 2011)

With two classic PSP titles under its belt, Ready at Dawn felt it was only fair to give PlayStation 3 owners the chance to check out what they may have missed. So both God of War: Chains of Olympus and God of War: Ghost of Sparta were re-mastered into God of War Collection Volume II, a PS3 game available on Blu-ray Disc and to download from PlayStation Store.

"We wanted to make sure we put our best effort forward when creating God of War Collection Volume II", says Turndorf. "This meant adding trophy and wireless controller support, as well as a massive range of visual and audio improvements. On top of all this we added stereoscopic 3D, all the bonus costumes found in the PSP versions and the Director's Live Video."

The result is a must-have package which feels right at home on PS3. The explosive combination of well designed gameplay and all the advantages of PS3 make it an unmissable experience.

"We had worked so hard on the PSP God of War games that it was a labour of love re-mastering them for PS3," says Turndorf. "The game really shines in High Definition, and stereoscopic 3D adds a whole new level of immersion to the game."

You can enjoy Ready at Dawn's latest Greek epic, the incredible God of War Collection Volume II, by downloading these amazing adventures of magic, monsters and mayhem from PlayStation Store now.