"We basically make the games that we want to make"
Mention the phrase ‘Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2' and you'll see a dazed look on the faces of those who are first-person shooter video-game freaks. Well, and then some salivating. This is a game that has publishers that aren't named Activision a little nervous - so much so that some titles have slid their release dates so as to not compete with the highly touted title.
Over the past months, GameZone.com has had the opportunity to see the game up close, beginning with the demonstration of some single-player action at E3 and continuing with multiplayer gameplay at a recent Activision media event. It was during the latter that GameZone caught up with one of the lead designers at Infinity Ward, Todd Alderman, for a roundtable discussion about the game.
Alderman prefaced the roundtable discussion by stating that at Infinity Ward, "We basically make the games that we want to make. There is nothing that gets in the way of that."
Q: How did you feel about the prefix "Call of Duty" being added to Modern Warfare 2?
Todd: This is a different game - it's not just a sequel, it's not just another Call of Duty game. It is a big, new thing. And we want people to associate it with Modern Warfare 2; and it is the same story so it is in the Modern Warfare universe.
People who are in the know know what Modern Warfare is; people that know what Call of Duty is may not get it right away. But establishing that identity and making sure that this is Modern Warfare 2, it's not just Call of Duty, we are not denying this is Call of Duty.
Q: At Infinity Ward, when you get ready to create a new title in the franchise, do you sit down and think ‘how do we top ourselves?'
Todd: That's exactly what we do when we start working on the game. I mean, how do you not? When we released Call of Duty 4, to us it was the best thing. But there is the next one. You have to figure it out; it's a daunting task, but I think we were able to do it. If it is easy to do, it's never that fun. The fact that we were faced with this mountain and we were able to figure out with something new, and it was in the same universe, that was great.
How did you top multiplayer?
Todd: Multiplayer that is definitely much bigger and deeper than before. There are just so many more elements and variables. We are all big on customization. We want it to be accessible, but we want everyone to be able to have their own play style. There are things in there for people who like to snipe, and there is even something in there for people who don't like to shoot. If you get the riot shield, your job is to help your team - it really changes the way you play the game.
(The riot shield) It is a primary weapon so you can choose to take an M4 or you can choose to take a riot shield. When you have the riot shield out, you can't shoot, all you are doing is blocking. You can kill the other guy with melee, but it takes two hits. With the knife, it's instant kill, but with the riot shield you bash them and then you bash them again and they die.
You are shield only while you have it out - you can swap to another weapon.
You added Spec Ops ...
Todd: When we were making Modern Warfare 2, we wanted to cover as much ground as possible. We wanted to have the coolest story that you could possibly have, we wanted to have the deepest, longest multiplayer that you could have. There is also that middle ground for people who might be intimidated by multiplayer or they just want to play the game, unlock things, work their way up and just have fun. You can play it by yourself, you can play it with a friend, there are so many different Spec Op missions with different difficulties that you can be busy for a while and it's a lot of fun.
Spec Ops is ... you have your campaign, which is the story, you have multiplayer; these are like stand-alone missions that you can play on your own or with a friend. Every Spec Op mission is treated as its own game. It follows the rules of Modern Warfare 2, but everything is like a different mini-game, almost. There is a huge variety of ways to play it.
So much is made of multiplayer and online game. This sounds like it is almost two games in one - the single-player game and the multiplayer. Where these elements being developed simultaneously or was the emphasis on single player and then you started to add in multiplayer and evolved it off the single player?
Todd: We've been working on multiplayer from day one. There is a lot of interconnectivity with the single-player guys and the multiplayer guys. People are doing double duty. My job is to make sure multiplayer is what it is.
Does that include the DLC?
Todd: When we were doing the DLC on the last game, it was right after the game had shipped. So there is a lot of figuring out what the next thing is. It's back and forth - sometimes I'm working on single player, sometimes I'm working on multiplayer, sometimes I'm working on DLC.
A question was raised about the lag issues for people living far from the servers ...
Todd: There are a lot of improvements to the matchmaking system. There are new things in place to try to prevent that - we know exactly what you are talking about.
Have you announced how many multiplayer maps will ship with the game?
Todd: No, but there are lots. It's bigger in every way.
