Treyarch Dev Talks CoD Gun Balance and Why It’s Broken

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David Vonderhaar, Lead Gameplay Designer at Treyarch, has recently been talking with fans about a rather touchy subject: gun balance. He also had some very bold things to say regarding the direction Call of Duty seems to be going. He recently asked this question on Twitter: “True or False. Perks/ Proficiencies (like Steady Aim/ Quickdraw/ Kick) interfere with gun balance; get in the way of making game competitive.”

Apparently, Vonderhaar “feels like we could see greater gun diversity & less ‘OP’ weapons, if [he] could reserve those ‘properties’ to be part of the base gun.” He believes that “of course you have OP weapons if you can take any of the guns and make them fire faster, reload faster, be more accurate, and have less kick.” We can assume that an example of this could be the case of recoil-less weapons made even sturdier by proficiencies like kick. Instead, he suggests that “if every gun had the 1 or 2 things it did well and the 1 or 2 things it did poorly, you’d have better gun balance.” One fan asked if he considered the fact that perks and proficiencies might bring diversity to the game, which could level the playing field. Vonderhaar responded, “the guns don’t need Perks to be diverse. They can be diverse. Perks ensure they all have to be similar, so that the Perks don’t OP any one of the properties of the gun.”


Now, considering that proficiencies were introduced by Infinity Ward in Modern Warfare 3, could this be a critique of IW’s way of doing things? Or, perhaps even a critique of the direction Call of Duty has been going in general? It seems to be the case as Vonderhaar later boldly stated, “it’s the wrong way to think about it that’s comes from years of us abusing and conditioning you, perhaps, with crap gun tuning.” This also suggests that Treyarch’s next entry could be something a little different than what we’ve come to expect of the Call of Duty franchise.


Vonderhaar’s (much appreciative) transparency with Call of Duty fans is undoubtedly in preparation for Treyarch’s next title, be it “Iron Wolf” or “Black Ops 2.”


Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below. Do you feel perks and proficiencies can potentially ruin gun balance?

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Source: http://mp1st.com/2012/01/05/treyarch-dev-talks-cod-gun-balance-and-why-its-broken/

Comments

"Treyarch Dev Talks CoD Gun Balance and Why It’s Broken" :: Login/Create an Account :: 90 comments

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System32Posted:

If all guns need to be perfectly balanced, why have more than one gun?

BzAr_TriiCkzZPosted:

It Would Be Better, If There Was No Perks That Affected Your Gun, Or To Do With Your Gun!

PJOLLISPosted:

i dont like how treyarch nerfed everyweapon so it takes more than half the mag to kill one person...
it was better before i think =)

KraydexPosted:

Black ops is my favorite gun of all time.

And yes, Perks & Proficiencies do get in the way of making the game competitive.

theesilent750Posted:

freaking idiot, perks IS what made COD. if COD 4 followed the formula of COD 3 COD would of ended like medal of honor.

ImmortalTechniquePosted:

hmongkiller500
SgTDoPeY13
sackorice
Rozy I was a HUGE IW fan before black ops, but then treayarch showed they can make games.

1. Black Ops maps were the best ny call of duty multiplayer offered.

2. Guns were way more balanced

3. Modern Warfare 3, messed up because of sledgehammer.

4. IW and 3arc should combined to make a COD


Black ops had the worst multiplayer, no guns were balanced at all


just because the guns dont deal as much damage as MW2 or 3's do, doesnt mean they are unbalanced
Balanced guns on b/o? PLease every 1 used the famas why? its OP Also ak74 with rapid fire? COME ON oh and ak74 also with dual clips o.o


I would have to agree with him though because Black Ops Was Really Under Rated and it was a really good CoD. MW3 sucks now and it got really boring really quick and it's extremely unbalanced and MW2 sucked too but it was way better than MW3

hmongkiller500Posted:

SgTDoPeY13
sackorice
Rozy I was a HUGE IW fan before black ops, but then treayarch showed they can make games.

1. Black Ops maps were the best ny call of duty multiplayer offered.

2. Guns were way more balanced

3. Modern Warfare 3, messed up because of sledgehammer.

4. IW and 3arc should combined to make a COD


Black ops had the worst multiplayer, no guns were balanced at all


just because the guns dont deal as much damage as MW2 or 3's do, doesnt mean they are unbalanced
Balanced guns on b/o? PLease every 1 used the famas why? its OP Also ak74 with rapid fire? COME ON oh and ak74 also with dual clips o.o

xWarFighter504xPosted:

I hope they name it Call of Duty Iron Wolf BC it seems alot better then Black ops 2

TTG_LDDtPosted:

Black Ops was an Dissapointmen. i hope next Treyarch game wont do the same.

EcKoPosted:

To be fair I'd rather see a blackops 2 than some random game called iron wolf -.-