This and many more inside baseball-y factoids were kicked around at the "Practical SPU Usage in God of War 3" panel. Programmer Jim Tilander and Lead Game Programer Vassily FilipPov sounded more like PS3 salesmen than programmers as they expounded on the many benefits of running a Synergistic Processing Unit.

They went on and on about Sony's special EDGE geometry processing library available only to PS3 developers through Sony. It's a highly optimized SPU code that allows for easy integration, but you still control main rendering group and it can greatly improve your performance.

About this point, I feel asleep. I perked right up when they finally showed the SPU processing in action though with a five second gameplay clip. Which they wouldn't let anyone record or take pictures of (boo!).

Kratos runs up to a platform and sees the Sun God, Helios, lying prone on the ground. He's about to go in for the kill when a bunch of silver-clad guards with pikes and shields show up to make trouble. The camera zoomed seamlessly in and out on the different groups of enemies as Kratos ran up to perform combos. Then a giant cave-troll-looking thing dropped from on high into the frame and things really started getting hairy - both for Kratos and for the frame rate.

There were about 15 enemies on screen at any one time, including the cave troll that flailed around while Kratos rode his back and stabbed his head repeatedly (as seen in the first trailer). Filippov and Tilander explained that the biggest challenge in getting the SPU to work in parallel mode with their normal processor (PPU and no I don't know what that stands for) was rendering Titans.

Sounds like the Titans will have more in common with the Colossi from Shadow of the Colossus — the programmers described them as "large scale creatures that move around," which the programmers thought of as "just big levels." Apparently, the SPU technology allowed them to easily render a Titan in a level. But some designers decided to take the code for the Titans and apply to other things - like moving rope mesh.

This was like having a bunch of Titans in a level as far as the engine was concerned. Filippov and Tilander said the "titan" rope mesh crashed the level 'til the designers explained to the programmers that they'd "borrowed" the Titan rendering code.

We caught a glimpse of the look of the new game in the trailer aired during last night's Video Game Awards on Spike TV.

"We have large shoes to fill following the success of the previously released God of War titles," said Stig Asmussen, Game Director for God of War 3. "But with refined gameplay and jaw-dropping visuals, I guarantee that God of War will give fans what they have been eagerly waiting for, and much more."

Myth Becomes Reality: Award-Winning Franchise Makes Debut on PLAYSTATION(R)3 With God of War(R)3

Game Serves As Epic Conclusion to Multi-Million Unit Franchise With State-of-the-Art Visuals and Groundbreaking Depth of Scale Four Times Larger Than Its Predecessor

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) announced today, the unveil of God of War(R)3 — the last installment of the multi-million unit franchise — exclusively on the PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) system. The first game-play trailer was unveiled last night at the Spike TV Video Game Awards in Los Angeles, showcasing the game's beautiful cinematography and its groundbreaking depth of scale that is four times larger than its predecessor on the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, God of War(R)2. Developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's, Santa Monica Studios, God of War 3 will bring epic battles to life with stunning graphics and an elaborate plot that puts Kratos at the center of the carnage and destruction as he seeks revenge against the Gods who have betrayed him.

"We have large shoes to fill following the success of the previously released God of War titles," said Stig Asmussen, Game Director for God of War 3. "But with refined gameplay and jaw-dropping visuals, I guarantee that God of War will give fans what they have been eagerly waiting for, and much more."

Set in the realm of Greek mythology, God of War 3 is a single-player game that allows players to take on the climatic role of the ex-Spartan warrior, Kratos, as he treads through the intimidating heights of Mt. Olympus and the dark depths of Hell once more to seek revenge on those who have betrayed him. Armed with double-chained blades, Kratos must take on mythology's darkest creatures while solving intricate puzzles throughout his merciless quest to destroy Olympus.

Utilizing a new game engine built from the ground up and state-of-the-art visual technologies, the development team behind God of War 3 have made significant strides in giving players the realistic feel of actually being on the battlegrounds. With texture resolutions being quadrupled since God of War 2, God of War 3 will feature fluid, life-like characters, as well as dynamic lighting effects, a robust weapon system, and world-changing scenarios that will truly bring unmistakable realism to Kratos' fateful quest. Players will have a chance to join battles on a grand scale with many more enemies on-screen and be able to interact with levels like never before.

Previous God of War releases have set the bar for the action-adventure genre and been acknowledged by some of the videogame industry's key publications, which include Playstation: The Official Magazine (Editor's Choice Award), Game Informer (Action/Adventure Game of the Year and Handheld Game of the Month Award), GamePro (Editor's Choice Award), Electronic Gaming Monthly (Best PS2 Game), IGN.com (Editor's Choice Award and Game of the Year Award), and four nominations in the Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, including Overall Game of the Year and Console Game of the Year. The franchise has also been awarded with several honors including several E3 Best of Game Awards (given by several online publications), numerous Game of the Year and Best Action Game Awards (given at Spike TV's Video Game Awards, Golden Joystick Awards, PSX Extreme Awards and the 3rd Annual G-Phoria Awards, and by PAX, GameZone, GameDaily, GameSpot), to name just a few.

About Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc.
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. continues to redefine the entertainment lifestyle with its PlayStation(R) and PS one(R) game console, the PlayStation(R)2 computer entertainment system, the PSP(R) (PlayStation(R)Portable) handheld entertainment system, the ground-breaking PLAYSTATION(R)3 (PS3(TM)) computer entertainment system and its online and network services PLAYSTATION(R)Network and PLAYSTATION(R)Store.
Recognized as the undisputed industry leader, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. markets the PlayStation family of products and develops, publishes, markets and distributes software for the PS one game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system, PLAYSTATION 3 and the PSP system for the North American market. Based in Foster City, Calif., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. serves as headquarters for all North American operations and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.

David Jaffe was stuck in the San Francisco Airport yesterday so what did he do? Read Kotaku of course. And even better, he took a photo of Kotaku on his MacBook. (But one of my posts isn't featured in the photo....it's ok Jaffe, I get the hint). But he does say Kotaku "never lets [him] down with the goods." Well Jaffe you never let us down either. Yesterday he also posted an entry about the departure of Cory Barlog from the God of War team. His take? It's a good move for Cory and he thinks God of War 3 "promises to be the best game in the series." Read more over at Jaffe's blog.

David Jaffe is quite quickly becoming, for me, the game developer's Everyman. He's neurotic, gets drunks and spouts off and seemingly spends a disproportionate amount of time worrying over what other people think of him. And by other people I don't mean his bosses or his equals, no I mean you, the gamer.

As I mentioned in the duplicate post about Jaffe's drunken interview at the Playboy Mansion: Anyone who, while roaring drunk at the Playboy Mansion, tells his Sony handler to "go fuck yourself. Go to the Grotto and fuck yourself, because no one else there is going to" is deserving of plenty of admiration.

The morning after Jaffe had some major reservations about the interview. But it turns out things went OK for him, at least judging by his Sunday blog entry:

The other bit of press is from last month's Playboy Mansion Party. This is the video I thought would kill my career as I did it while shit-faced. I also did it at the URGING of Jeff Reese, the marketing guy I share the scene with in this clip. But gametrailers did a nice editing job and made me look- I think- not like an ass! Thanks GameTrailers! :)

Come to think of it, maybe he's more the Woody Allen of developers than the Everyman. Brian Crecente

SICK NO MORE! [Jaffe's Game Design]

David Jaffe is my new hero.

Anyone who, while roaring drunk at the Playboy Mansion, tells his Sony handler to "go fuck yourself. Go to the Grotto and fuck yourself, because no one else there is going to" is deserving of plenty of admiration.

There are some other interesting tidbits in this recently posted, but oddly dated, impromptu interview. Jaffe is, shocker, working on God of War 3 and has been for almost a month now. No, not development, just thinking long and hard about it.

Jaffe also talks about how he "fucked up" his PSP game and says he believes Sony's online service will eventually become just as good as Microsoft's Live. All this while a bleary-eyed handler looked on.

Wait a second isn't someone supposed to be sober in the pairing? The whole point of PR people is that they can become designated talkers if their charge gets too, how should I put it, shit-faced. Brian Crecente