Kratos from the "God of War" franchise has become one of the more fascinating and recognizable video game characters over the past decade or so. Like him or not, he has become a video gaming icon. His gruff, no-nonsense demeanor, along with his pale white skin (they don't call him "The Ghost of Sparta" for nothing) and awesome Blades of Chaos, make him a hard guy to ignore. That's why it's always interesting to see concept art and sketches as to how these iconic characters developed through various iterations.
One such opportunity arose during the "Inside the Dev Studio" panel at PlayStation Experience. "God of War II" Game Director Cory Barlog showed of how Kratos used to look before his final version was set in stone.
Barlog explained that in these early sketches (some of which even pre-date his joining the "GoW" team) Kratos had a companion canine and even a child on his back. When they got closer to the final version it seems at some point his tattoos were blue, rather than blood red. If you know anything about the origins of Kratos, you will surely understand why the sanguineous red works much better than basic blue.
You can check out the pictures below to see what the artists and developers were thinking as the character evolved. Thanks to DualShockers for the tip.
