We spoke at E3 to Robert Bowling, creative strategist at Infinity Ward, about the next Call Of Duty.
When you guys were making Spec Ops, what is it you wanted to do?
Well, you know, Modern Warfare 3 is massive, its about something for everyone. So Spec Ops, its our dedicated co-op mode. Its all about co-op. So you still have your mission based modes, your objective missions, but Survival is all about introducing players to lots of mechanics, constantly introducing replayability.

This section in New York already looks fantastic.
Allowing them the chance to change tactics throughout the entire game. It has the progressive ranking, it has the match-making, and hour one of Spec Ops is completely different to hour 10. It has weapons, gear, killstreaks and multiplayer maps. Every multiplayer map will be playable in Spec Ops.

Did you learn any lessons from your experience making Modern Warfare 2 Spec Ops?
Well definitely. We introduced Spec Ops in Modern Warfare 2. It was sort of the beginning and there was so much more we wanted to do with it. Thats what we executed with Modern Warfare 3. We got a lot of feedback because people loved Spec Ops.
Every platform has its own thing and there are so many good games coming out this year
We added to the mission modes and we took that feedback people wanted to play on multiplayer maps, they wanted more locations, they wanted to do things they couldnt before, they wanted matchmaking and now weve got that so you dont have to bring a friend, you can jump right into a game.
People wanted to customise their class so were giving them the ability to change them up on the fly, you can buy your weapons and gear, you can buy claymores, sentries, turrets, you can call in a squad and have them come in and protect you. Weve been listening to what everyone has been saying and adding and adding to it.
Spec Ops will make use of multiplayer maps, so expect plenty of content.

When you looked back at Spec Ops at Modern Warfare 2, do you wish that you had included any of these features in that?
Well, game design is all about iteration, you know? Spec Ops from Modern Warfare 2 is exactly what we wanted. That was our first time introducing co-op in our franchise. So we put co-op in there, it worked out fantastic, it was a great prototype for what we wanted in Modern Warfare 3.

Do you think this will offer something over other co-op FPS games?
I think it definitely does. It definitely innovates on the co-op genre. I mean, not only are you playing together as a team but you have all these features of multiplayer and youre fighting against AI. Especially in Survival mode because it never stops going until you die. So you can go for an infinite amount of waves. The better you get, the longer you can play.

Any games you looked at for inspiration?
We take inspiration from everywhere. Were playing everybodys games. They do this really cool, we like that, how can that work in Modern Warfare So were looking at all types of games. Treyarch does a great job with their zombies mode in Black Ops but this is a completely different take because this is far from zombies. Youre playing on completely open maps. Youre in control of the routes you take. You upgrade your weapons. You call in killstreaks.
The enemies are fighting back with weapons, youre up against standard infantry, to infantry with better guns, to kamikaze dogs, to standard dogs, to helicopters coming in, to juggernauts with explosives, to juggernauts with riot shields, were constantly throwing something new on you. So we definitely looked at how can we put the Modern Warfare twist on Survival gametype.

The Spec Ops maps in Modern Warfare 2 were based on the game but Suspension was unique. Where did that come from?
Well, Suspension was a level we did thats just unique to Spec Ops. Thats the beauty of Spec Ops because the campaigns are all about the story, with very specific pacing. So sometimes we want to do something cool and its like, oh, that doesnt fit in the story.

Nuclear submarines in the waters surrounding New York? Hmm...
Spec Ops is the place where that stuff can live. Spec Ops is cool because you can do anything. You dont have to worry about the campaign or the characters. Its just all about the gameplay, all about the fun.

Are the Spec Ops maps especially created or are they taken from multiplayer?
Spec Ops has both. So you have mission modes that take place in single player locations and may have some unique ones like last time and Survival mode is playable on all multiplayer maps.

Have the maps been tweaked for Survival or are they put in as is?
No, no, they definitely need tweaking. You got to figure out the placement of the killstreak box, the gear box, the weapon box, the path that the AI is going to take. So theres definitely a layer of work put over the multiplayer maps before its turned into a Spec Ops map.

This is the final day of E3 so what have you been asked most about Spec Ops?
[laughs] The question Ive been asked most about Spec Ops. Erm thats a good question.

There must be one that stood out.
Honestly, I think the number one question is whats the highest wave that people have got to. As soon as people come out the room, they want to know how they stacked up against everyone else.

The engine has seen the obligatory upgrades, and is certainly looking good.
Now Im disappointed its the first thing I asked when I left the room. Ive fallen into the trap.
[laughs] No, no, its good! Thats why we added leaderboards in Spec Ops. Thats something people wanted from Modern Warfare 2, is to be able to see how they stack up against other people. And heres whats really cool, which I dont think weve ever talked about it before but youve made me think about it, but you get paired with your team.
So me and you could play Spec Ops and well be inserted in the leaderboards as a two-man team. Now you and somebody else could go play and youll be inserted as a separate leaderboard entry. So youre not actually competing with other people, youre competing with yourself with other partners.

So if Im teamed up with you, itll show up our combined score?
Yeah. Its like, me and you got to wave this and heres our individual stats. Then you play with another buddy and you see me and you are clearly a better partner than you and whoever you chose to team up with.

In terms of competition, its not just Battlefield 3, is it?
No. Not at all. We look at every game that comes out as competition. Every platform has its own thing and there are so many good games coming out this year, Im really excited.

Do you look at what Treyarchs doing with Call of Duty or do you work isolated from them?
We listen to feedback from our fans on everything. As we talked about earlier, not only do we look at our own games and how we want to build on that but we look at what Treyarchs doing, we look at what Epics doing, we look at what everybody is doing to get feedback and see what their audience is thinking. Were constantly building and theres so much great stuff out there, we want to make sure were looking at everything and getting inspiration from everywhere.

Will we see underwater sections in Spec Ops?
Do you talk about Call of Duty with Treyarch? Is there communication with them?
There's communication with Treyarch. The two studios are pretty close. We'll trade builds and check out what they're working on, they'll check out what we're working on. We'll talk back and forth. In terms of design philosophy, we both have our very own different tastes and how we design, we do that separately. But there's definitely open communication and friendly dialogue.

How many maps can we expect in Spec Ops on launch day?
Cant give a number because the games not done yet. Were still building maps right now. So I cant give a number but there will be a lot.

How many times have people asked you if there will be DLC?
None actually!

Nooooo.
Yeah! I think its too early.

How many interviews have you done so far?
Erm a lot? [laughs]

I know its early but its the stock question that always gets asked.
Yeah, I know. Im surprised.

Okay, lets get the official Robert Bowling response then will there be DLC for Spec Ops?
I dont know yet [laughs] Were not even done finishing the actual game. We want there to be a lot of maps in Spec Ops because its all the multiplayer maps and its single player locations, so theres a lot of content there.