Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Black Ops 2 And The State Of Activision.

I asked my friend Matt to join me in this blog. We put together some questions that we both answered interview style. Without further ado here is the interview:

Q: Where are we heading with this new entry into the COD franchise?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: The future of COD is the future. I'm curious how old I will be looking back at the COD franchise and say to myself, "Man that was a great franchise that ended strong." More than likely I will be saying to myself, "Man they beat that franchise to death." The stories are becoming less and less compelling too. In an age where Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down, Band of Brothers, The Pacific, and Generation Kill exist there leaves much to be desired from the storytelling rather than just playing the Nicolas Cage movie The Rock over and over again in different settings. It's time for consumers to demand more from their games.

Matt: Via Infinity Wards' rights to current warfare, Treyarch is taking COD to the future.  Seems like a good move in my eyes, I don't know how many more times we can play other old wars that most people just want to forget about.  The possiblities of future tech in a COD title could really open up some new gameplay features, but remember that this is Treyarch we are talking about so do not expect to much.  The real question is do you want to change COD or take the Activision stance of if you ship it they will buy.  We need to demand more if we ever want true innovation in our games.

Q: Is changing the setting enough for us to keep coming back and shelling out our $60?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: So far this has worked for me personally. The graphics have pretty much been the same since COD 2 yet I still play each new edition of the Infinity Ward titles. The bottom line is the graphics are good. And until we get the next generation of XBOX I don't see myself making graphics the deciding factor on my next COD purchase.

Matt: I find myself at a point in my life where gaming time is at a premium and trying to dedicate myself to a game takes careful planning.  To this point I find myself many times not jumping straight into a single player experince in a shooter like COD due to the fact that time is short and multiplayer is where the real challenge is to me.  Along those lines a change in setting with a few new kill streaks does not do alot for me.  The graphics are what they are and have been that way with tweaks since COD4.  I remember that "OH SHIT!" feeling when I played COD4 the first time when you board the boat and all the water effects, it was amazing.  Is it too much to ask that another COD title for this generation of consoles could do the same thing.

Q: Where does the Infinity Ward vs Treyarch battle lie?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: Infinity Ward has the perfect balance of fluid gun movement and satisifaction of gun simulation. Treyarch does not. Becuase of this I am always disappointed with the Treyarch titles.Since the Treyarch titles sell so well, the studio is here to stay.

Matt: Infinity Ward are the experts of gameplay and to this end they normally win the battle.  Treyarch made huge strides with Black Ops and truly believe that they won quite a few fans in the process.  If Treyarch could clean up their gameplay and fine tune the way you move and the way your gun feels I believe they could finally compete with Infinity Ward for the best COD title.

Q: Will Activision inevitably ruin this franchise with endless sequels like Guitar Hero?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: Does Activision like making money?

Matt: Activision will find a way to save it by possibly not having titles made as frequent but will shove DLC at you at an alarming rate.  This could be looked at as a good or bad thing but Activision will be making their money either way.  In the end the fans really will determine the future of the franchise; and right now the future looks bright.

Q: How much longer will gamers go on being satisfied with mediocre features when other current franchises have premium features?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: It's an underlying issue I hear from all of my COD gaming friends: no dedicated servers, same graphics, no team work rewards, and lobby trapping. These are simple fixes that are decisions made by Activision. Graphics and dedicated servers are fixed with more money. Have we not given them enough money already? Team work and lobby trapping are design choices that need to be reconsidered.

Matt: This is the question I think many have asked but no one can answer.  As of CODMW3 it is the only major multiplayer shooter that is still using peer to peer networking instead of offering a dedicated solution, Why!?  It is the only major shooter that has not made a major overhaul of its game engine to get the most out of the graphics that the current systems can provide, Why!?  The COD titles continue to break sales records but that money does not seem to be making its way back to future projects.  Until we gamers stop fulfilling the "They will ship it and we will buy it" cycle this may never change.

Q: How long do we have until the graphics aren't enough?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: The graphics are good enough right now. How long will good enough be though is the question I like to ask. It may very well be until the next generation of consoles which is fine by me. Not to say that I wouldn't mind better graphics. Time goes on and graphics should always be getting better as 
computer gets better.

Matt: The graphics are just enough to keep the game in this generation which is sad given CODs history in gaming.  In the past Infinity Ward set new standards in graphics and presentation, and now they seem stuck in a rut.  Graphics are not everything but it is time for COD to evolve.

Q: Is Accuracy no longer required or rewarded?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: It is noticeable that some guns don't require any accuracy (FMG's I'm looking at you.). Other than this I don't really have a problem with the accuracy in COD. I do have a problem with headshots though. Any one shot from any gun in COD should equal an instant kill. And it is a balancing act to pull 
this off. How many shots to each limb to get a kill. 3 shots from a silenced pistol to the head to get the kill is unacceptable.

Matt: How good does it feel when you get that nasty headshot on someone and drop them in their tracks?  How does it feel when you watch a kill cam and see someone not even aim and just spray bullets into your legs?  COD has slowly over time lost the need for accuracy and become a spray and pray haven. Understand that I do like that they account for a head shot but why does it take 3-4 shots to the head with anything other then a sniper rifle to get a kill. I would make more if the character models were super detailed and larger which would make a headshot in a split second situation much easier.  My main issue with the change of the accuracy importance in COD is that it seems to be turning the game into a "who can fire the fastest contest".  If you are sitting back thinking that is not true then why is it that you see the same guns used over and over on each COD by more and more of the community, can you say PP90M1. I am not saying you should not be able to run and gun I just think that someone using a slower firing weapon should be able to have a chance if they choose accuracy over fire rate and are aiming for the head.

Q: Is Activistion able to see past the profits and allow Infinity Ward and Treyarch enough liberty to produce something better or different? 

Joshhwwaaaaaa: History would tell us that Activision has given the studios a sandbox to play in and in this sandbox is a given budget that doesn't allow much more freedom than the setting and time.

Matt: Activision is trying to ride a money train and with that I believe that there are deadlines that really hinder the way the COD titles are made and changed from title to title.   I do believe that unless the COD franchise is ran into the ground that you will see longer development cycles in the future with more DLC.  Hopefully this will allow the franchise to stay fresh and at the same time allow the customer more bang for their buck.

Q: Will more realism be added into COD such as bullet drop, destructable enviornments, and gore?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: War is hell and to play it off the way COD serves no real justice when it could. The gore should be introduced with limb and head wounds that would provide some sort of sense of realism that war actually is. I say this so we can be more aware of the sacrifice of the Men and Women who risk their lives every day protecting this country and the ones who have given their lives to protect this country. COD plays on a fine line with this.

Matt: Call me crazy but when I play a Mature title I want it truly illustrate mature content.  Will COD ever push past the just bearly Mature nature of its games or will they continue to allow parents to say its not that bad.  It is an injustice to not have a more realistic graphic and gory sense of war while playing this war game.  I know its not easy and it may take a few tries and some trial and error but make us feel and understand how much our Armed Forces really put on the line for our freedom.  Just give me 1/4 of the feeling of when I watch Saving Private Ryan and you would be going in the right direction.  As a parent and a person that has nothing but the utmost respect for our Brave Men and Women in the Armed Forces I want to see things that would ensure I would never want my young child to play the game until he is old enought to understand. 

Q: Will kill streaks be the only thing to keep people interested?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: This does seem to be the main draw of COD. If this stays fresh and balanced and isn't the ONLY draw I can see this continuing to be a good thing.

Matt: Kill steaks are the major draw every year and for good reason.  Nothing feels better then getting that AC-130 and tearing the other team up.  I like that Infinity Ward took strides to help include other packages with Support Strikes and Specialists.  Hopefully that trend will continue and new ideas will continue to be added to reward plays for positive things that they do in the game.

Q: Will Team Work ever have a rewarding system to encourage it?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: COD has for as long as I can remember been a game that rewards the 25-0 player. Rewards for assistance kills has been improving. As far as getting team mates to actually help out and roll with you through the whole match that has never been a focus of COD unless you choose that specific match type.

Matt: I think we all know that COD will always be the kind of game where kill-to-death ratio is king.  I think they are slowly adding things that help reward those that do not have high kill-to-death ratios but it would be good to see new ideas put in place to make team work a real advantage. Just imagine that instead of ballistic vests being a streak and something that you deploy and put on; that instead as long as you are in a certain proximity of a certain number of your team you all have armor.  Gameplay tweaks like that could really change the way the game is played.

Q: Will the spawning issue be resolved?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: Safe spawning has been a plague of MW3. This needs to be addressed. 

Matt: In a world of instant gratification and now patience developing a spawn system must be a very tough job.  The spawn system in COD must be addressed and if that means making the gamer wait a few seconds before spawning them randomly behind the enemy then I say make them wait; trust me they will keep playing.

Q: Will the elite service ever really be a fully featured tool that would allow clan matches against each other and not just random contests and half working features?

Joshhwwaaaaaa: COD Elite had a rough start. And it is still rough. The only feature I enjoy 100% right now it being able to save my matches to youtube. Although I can only save two minutes at a time. I paid $100 for my COD MW3 + Elite Membership. I should be allowed to save my entire match to youtube.

Matt: Oh COD Elite how I loved the idea of you, the way you teased me with great content, actual organized clan funtionality, and many cool bonuses.  Why did you have to break my heart and totally suck?  Hopefully one day this can be fully realized to allow true clan matches and have more frequently updated 
content.  Great idea, good try, now get to work on making it what it really should have been.


Activision has some work ahead of them to keep the fans happy.


To add me on XBOX search for my gamertag: Joshhwwaaaaaa.
Find me on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/joshhwwaaaaaa

To add my friend Matt on XBOX search for his gamertag: FomundaFatty.
Find Matt on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000746372264

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