George Mawle, a former gameplay engineer at Sony Santa Monica Studio who is credited with the handling behind God of War's Leviathan Axe and Blades of Chaos, sadly passed away last Thursday. Tributes have been paid across social media since, with combat design lead Mihir Sheth crediting him with playing a large part in the engineering behind the feel of the two iconic weapons.
"At SMS he worked on Kratos' weaponry, navigation, RPG systems, a myriad of combat behaviors, improvements to the scripting system to empower designers, and SO much more. He was a veteran on the team who played a huge role in closing out the game and squashing bugs." George picked up the nickname "Furious George" thanks to his commitment to seeing an idea through to fruition, as Sheth explains how he would pursue side projects in cooking, carpentry, and homemade movies.
It appears George considered God of War the peak of his working career, as Sheth explains how "he never thought he'd work on a game and feature so beloved in his career of ups and downs. He would repeat this out of the blue, two years after. "We really did alright didn't we"." George's career in game development spanned more than 20 years, but left Sony Santa Monica Studio some months ago.
Alongside God of War, he also worked on Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z, Prototype 2, Crash of the Titans, and Scarface: The World Is Yours, among others.
R.I.P George Mawle.
[source twitter.com]
Comments 32
Rest in Peace man, you helped make one of the best games ever made.
Oh man, what a real shame. Itβs tough to see veteran devs pass away. Iβm just glad that in this age of social media, these devs get the credit and send-off they deserve, from the fans of their work.
rest in peace.
seems like such a joyfull man aswell.
One of the great thing about this game is the 'thwap' as the Leviathan Axe returns to Kratos' hand.
This man was a maestro.
And he looked so young too. Deserved a much longer life.
He can Rest in Peace knowing he contributed in creating one of the most fun and truly badass weapons in Gaming History, and getting to wield the Blades of Chaos outside of Kratos's house, was truly an incredibly gratifying and nostalgic moment, cementing once and for all; that this is still the God of War we remember, and George Mawle... your legacy and your memories will live on through these two amazing weapons you forged for a new generation of God of War fans, Rest in Peace brother.
"we did alright didn't we"? No not alright... you did beautifully.
Sh**, this one "We really did alright didn't we" hit me really hard! Thanks for helping make one of my favourite games ever, Rest in Peace Furious George!
R.i.p. George. π king kratos lives in your heart.word up son
Too young. Real shame. My heart goes out to his family.
Rest in peace.
What a legend. R.I.P. George.
Removed - unconstructive
That sucks man. I loved the God of War's combat system, and it's a big shame he passed away. My condolences to his loved ones. Rest in peace, my man.
Horrible news. Rest in peace, sir!
Enjoy your trip back to the light, George. Looks like he had a happy and positive life. Happy life, positive mind, positive trip. We'll celebrate your work when we play GoW! I'm soon to play it myself.
This one hits pretty hard as he worked on so many games that I absolutely adore. Thank you for everything, George
This is really heartbreaking for me...best wishes to his family and the team.
These last two years have taken too many away. Rest in peace man.
@get2sammyb
Yes I agree.
God of War will remain a classic forever so in a way he will live forever. Hoping someone on the dev team for the new God of War puts in some kind of secret or Easter egg to honor him. Rest In Peace bro.
Rest in peace king.
@Gaming_Heretic_Aoife
1. Definitely not the article to be talking about this.
2. Pretty unnecessary to just insult nessisonett for having different opinions, he's not purposefully getting people's comments deleted.
Also don't even think about saying that I'm supporting anyone or anything, I see what you mean, it's just not really fair to attack nessisonett for little things like this that aren't his fault.
Also I doubt that you'll be banned for this. And what makes you think that the deleted comment on here had to with nessisonett. Wouldn't it had made more sense to not make this comment on a article announcing the death of a respected developer (without even commenting on the actual topic) and instead on another article or a forum?
Rest in Peace George, you shall be missed. I didn't know you at all, but enjoyed using both weapons alot in the game.
May you find a place in Valhalla...
RIP.
I loved the way the Leviathan Axe worked in the game. It was so satisfying just throwing it and recalling it. I think I spent way too much time just randomly doing it.
@Gaming_Heretic_Aoife i've never seen him saying any of those things and i think you have a chip on your shoulder..grow up..i've always found him to be pretty amicable and generally a well spoken,cultured and educated person..back to the subject at hand..sad news indeed..
Sad to hear, Rest In Peace
It was no small thing changing up not only the camera viewpoint but changing things up entirely with the Axe as your go to weapon & how the combat worked...& then the iconic return of the blades was such a chef's kiss moment! Far too young,RIP π
Way to young i wish all the strenght to his familily is these hard times. Rest in Piece. π
Sad news,even sadder when someone goes to early. Rest in peace and my condolences to family and friends.
Rest in Piece, George. God of War is easily one of my favorite games of the generation. Thank you for that.
Did someone see the Centaur lady with the bow fighting Kratos ?? Could it be ?? Artemis is hunting Kratos ??
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