Whenever I ask a question about game development in an online forum I always get suggestions like learning line drawing algorithms, bit level image manipulation and video decompression etc.

However looking at games like God of War 3, I find it hard to believe that these games could be developed using such low level techniques.

The sheer awesomeness of such games defy any comprehensible(for me) programming methodology.

Besides the gaming hardware is really a monster now days. So it stands to reason that the developers would work at a higher level of abstraction.

What is the latest development methodology in the gaming industry? How is it that a team of 30-35 developers (of which most is management and marketing fluff) able to make such mind boggling games?

If the question seems too general could you explain the architecture of God of War 3? Or how you would go about producing a clone? That I think should be objectively answerable.