Call of Duty producer talks Ghosts multiplayer development process

4.5
Call of Duty is getting to be a bit of a drag. A yearly release cycle is bound to do that to a franchise. After all, how much innovation can there actually be in a setting where the main focus is on keeping to a tight production schedule?

The pressure’s been on Infinity Ward and Activision to bring innovation to a series that’s been a bit bereft in the creativity department. At the Call of Duty multiplayer event last month, Infinity Ward unveiled a boatload of new stuff: multiplayer modes, perks, and the ability to play multiplayer as a female soldier.

In a short interview with Game Informer, executive producer Mark Rubin explained the team’s process behind crafting new multiplayer modes. “We took the list of game modes and we cut them all way,” he stated. “Every single mode we’ve ever done, let’s take off the game board for me.”

Team members would, rather than simply pitching their new ideas, implement prototypes of their ideas and then have team members play them out. The prototypes would be implemented into previous games’ maps as test maps. Every night, team members would playtest the new multiplayer modes and discuss what features to implement or cut.

“I feel like with Ghosts, we didn’t bloat. We cut a lot. Fans are going to like that. Some people won’t. And we know that,” stated Rubin. “We wanted it to be its own game.”

Refreshingly, Rubin owned up to some of the reasons behind Call of Duty’s multiplayer flaws in the past. “We were a little too serious about multiplayer and we concentrated too much on making sure it was super competitive,” he stated. “Then, for Modern Warfare 3, we introduced this idea of community playlists, community maps, and community modes.” It’s the community modes that inspired Infinity Ward to focus more on fun than seriously, competitive play for its maps.

Ultimately, the difference between Call of Duty: Ghosts and the previous Call of Duty iterations seems to be the team’s change in development philosophy. “Let’s not worry about whether or not this game is fair, competitively,” stated Rubin. “Let’s just make it fun.”

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Related Forum: Call of Duty Forum

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/09/28/call-of-duty-producer-talks-ghosts-multiplayer-development-process/

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Dr-PonyfilePosted:

People hate on COD Battlefield GTA the lot all the time. Either way its out there and no one is FORCING YOU to buy any of the games if you think it is a copy and paste then don't buy the game simple. That's all I have to say on this matter but OT I think they have changed a lot from what I have seen and I am interested in seeing what they have changed and how the game worked I enjoyed BO2 but I didn't MW3 so I am eager to see what they have changed and whether the multiplayer is good enough to keep me entertained for a while.

FLipNoTiiCPosted:

To me, it looks almost like a completely different game which in my opinion is GREAT.
I think Ghosts is make or break of CoD and I think it will make it! I can't wait!

MonokumaPosted:

hopefully there has been improvements

HayslurpPosted:

sir_greco
blakie77
iCustom
VEVO
sir_greco
Dr-J
VEVO In a nutshell: We added reskinned guns and maps, renamed the perk systems, added a few new gamemodes that will reel in hardly any players, and still kept the $60 pricetag.


Thank you, they should at least make it 40$ or maybe even an arcade game tbh


isnt this how all sequel games are... seriously ppl. think about it. are you gonna watch a harry potter movie then expect the 2nd harry potter movie to be about baseball? didnt think so. if you dont like call of duty, go to a DIFFERENT FRANCHISE FOR A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. its called (un)common sense


You can't compare the sequel of a movie to a game. That's not how it works. That's based off of STORYLINE. Not multiplayer. They don't create sequels to multiplayer as it doesn't have any storyline whatsoever. It's just point and shoot. There is zero story to it. That is a terrible excuse. What we pertain to is the multiplayer experience. Something totally different... that has yet to see any worthwhile change. Is that what you call common sense? Or Illogical?


Battlefield 3 and 4 are almost the same, pretty much Assassin's Creed 1 to 3 are almost the same, Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor Warfighter are almost the same, Super Mario Bros (almost all) are almost the same, Super Smash Bros (all) are almost the same, Donkey Kong Country (all) are almost the same, all sport based games (FIFA, NBA, MLB) are almost the same, Do you still want me to continue? Asking Activision to change Call of Duty is like asking RockStar Games to make GTA a first person only game.


You my friend have just hit the nail on the head :). Its an Online First Person Shooter, what do you people want them to do put a bit of fishing into the games ? maybe go down to the bar and have a few drink and play some poker ? if you have your own ideas go out and make it happen.


finally some comments that are actually smart lol. and about that gta thing, i love how not one person complains that it is the exact same game. sure its different missions with some updates and what not, but that is exactly how every other game sequel is. its just the fact that COD is released every year, ppl complain about it. IF GTA was released yearly, ppl would get sick of it real fast too. (only using GTA since that is a new game and i never hear anyone complain about it)


Totally agree, the main reason for most people not complaining about GTA being the same is because it isn't a yearly release and I guarantee over 50% of the people who have GTA V have never even played another GTA game. They just hopped on the bandwagon.

Dr-JPosted:

ODST Multiplayer dev team: we need an idea for a different CoD feeling. How about Fish AI.

OT, from the gameplay I've sen and the little I've played,It's the same CoD but with little tweaks here and there. While "destructible" are now somewhat apparent, they still are very scarce and not frequent enough to change the gameplay.


The game would be better if they made like a fish killstreak.
And cod will never have good destruction

sir_grecoPosted:

blakie77
iCustom
VEVO
sir_greco
Dr-J
VEVO In a nutshell: We added reskinned guns and maps, renamed the perk systems, added a few new gamemodes that will reel in hardly any players, and still kept the $60 pricetag.


Thank you, they should at least make it 40$ or maybe even an arcade game tbh


isnt this how all sequel games are... seriously ppl. think about it. are you gonna watch a harry potter movie then expect the 2nd harry potter movie to be about baseball? didnt think so. if you dont like call of duty, go to a DIFFERENT FRANCHISE FOR A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. its called (un)common sense


You can't compare the sequel of a movie to a game. That's not how it works. That's based off of STORYLINE. Not multiplayer. They don't create sequels to multiplayer as it doesn't have any storyline whatsoever. It's just point and shoot. There is zero story to it. That is a terrible excuse. What we pertain to is the multiplayer experience. Something totally different... that has yet to see any worthwhile change. Is that what you call common sense? Or Illogical?


Battlefield 3 and 4 are almost the same, pretty much Assassin's Creed 1 to 3 are almost the same, Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor Warfighter are almost the same, Super Mario Bros (almost all) are almost the same, Super Smash Bros (all) are almost the same, Donkey Kong Country (all) are almost the same, all sport based games (FIFA, NBA, MLB) are almost the same, Do you still want me to continue? Asking Activision to change Call of Duty is like asking RockStar Games to make GTA a first person only game.


You my friend have just hit the nail on the head :). Its an Online First Person Shooter, what do you people want them to do put a bit of fishing into the games ? maybe go down to the bar and have a few drink and play some poker ? if you have your own ideas go out and make it happen.


finally some comments that are actually smart lol. and about that gta thing, i love how not one person complains that it is the exact same game. sure its different missions with some updates and what not, but that is exactly how every other game sequel is. its just the fact that COD is released every year, ppl complain about it. IF GTA was released yearly, ppl would get sick of it real fast too. (only using GTA since that is a new game and i never hear anyone complain about it)

blakie77Posted:

iCustom
VEVO
sir_greco
Dr-J
VEVO In a nutshell: We added reskinned guns and maps, renamed the perk systems, added a few new gamemodes that will reel in hardly any players, and still kept the $60 pricetag.


Thank you, they should at least make it 40$ or maybe even an arcade game tbh


isnt this how all sequel games are... seriously ppl. think about it. are you gonna watch a harry potter movie then expect the 2nd harry potter movie to be about baseball? didnt think so. if you dont like call of duty, go to a DIFFERENT FRANCHISE FOR A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. its called (un)common sense


You can't compare the sequel of a movie to a game. That's not how it works. That's based off of STORYLINE. Not multiplayer. They don't create sequels to multiplayer as it doesn't have any storyline whatsoever. It's just point and shoot. There is zero story to it. That is a terrible excuse. What we pertain to is the multiplayer experience. Something totally different... that has yet to see any worthwhile change. Is that what you call common sense? Or Illogical?


Battlefield 3 and 4 are almost the same, pretty much Assassin's Creed 1 to 3 are almost the same, Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor Warfighter are almost the same, Super Mario Bros (almost all) are almost the same, Super Smash Bros (all) are almost the same, Donkey Kong Country (all) are almost the same, all sport based games (FIFA, NBA, MLB) are almost the same, Do you still want me to continue? Asking Activision to change Call of Duty is like asking RockStar Games to make GTA a first person only game.


You my friend have just hit the nail on the head :). Its an Online First Person Shooter, what do you people want them to do put a bit of fishing into the games ? maybe go down to the bar and have a few drink and play some poker ? if you have your own ideas go out and make it happen.

iCustomPosted:

VEVO
sir_greco
Dr-J
VEVO In a nutshell: We added reskinned guns and maps, renamed the perk systems, added a few new gamemodes that will reel in hardly any players, and still kept the $60 pricetag.


Thank you, they should at least make it 40$ or maybe even an arcade game tbh


isnt this how all sequel games are... seriously ppl. think about it. are you gonna watch a harry potter movie then expect the 2nd harry potter movie to be about baseball? didnt think so. if you dont like call of duty, go to a DIFFERENT FRANCHISE FOR A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. its called (un)common sense


You can't compare the sequel of a movie to a game. That's not how it works. That's based off of STORYLINE. Not multiplayer. They don't create sequels to multiplayer as it doesn't have any storyline whatsoever. It's just point and shoot. There is zero story to it. That is a terrible excuse. What we pertain to is the multiplayer experience. Something totally different... that has yet to see any worthwhile change. Is that what you call common sense? Or Illogical?


Battlefield 3 and 4 are almost the same, pretty much Assassin's Creed 1 to 3 are almost the same, Medal of Honor and Medal of Honor Warfighter are almost the same, Super Mario Bros (almost all) are almost the same, Super Smash Bros (all) are almost the same, Donkey Kong Country (all) are almost the same, all sport based games (FIFA, NBA, MLB) are almost the same, Do you still want me to continue? Asking Activision to change Call of Duty is like asking RockStar Games to make GTA a first person only game.

-BlitzKrieg-Posted:

People are now judging the game because they're starting to realize they've been playing the same game for the past 5/6 years (in my case). The franchise is beginning to lose the market. Great game up to MW2 imo.

VEVOPosted:

sir_greco
Dr-J
VEVO In a nutshell: We added reskinned guns and maps, renamed the perk systems, added a few new gamemodes that will reel in hardly any players, and still kept the $60 pricetag.


Thank you, they should at least make it 40$ or maybe even an arcade game tbh


isnt this how all sequel games are... seriously ppl. think about it. are you gonna watch a harry potter movie then expect the 2nd harry potter movie to be about baseball? didnt think so. if you dont like call of duty, go to a DIFFERENT FRANCHISE FOR A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. its called (un)common sense


You can't compare the sequel of a movie to a game. That's not how it works. That's based off of STORYLINE. Not multiplayer. They don't create sequels to multiplayer as it doesn't have any storyline whatsoever. It's just point and shoot. There is zero story to it. That is a terrible excuse. What we pertain to is the multiplayer experience. Something totally different... that has yet to see any worthwhile change. Is that what you call common sense? Or Illogical?


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