Call of Duty Warzone came to our consoles and computers just over a month ago, championed by a word that we did not believe that by now it would be the identity of the Activision franchise: innovation.
At this point the minimum that is asked of the veteran saga of war shooters is spectacular and an impeccable technical finish, but the originality has been left for its surprising contribution to an industry sector that seems to suffer a certain saturation from time to time. this part: the battle royale.
With ‘ Fortnite ‘ or ‘ Apex Legends ‘ as the genre’s greatest hits, ‘ Call of Duty Warzone ‘ decided to maintain not only the realistic setting that characterizes its current war epics, but continues the narrative of its campaign and multiplayer modes. from the main game. To talk about it all, we chatted with Taylor Kurosaki, the game’s narrative director. This is what he has told us about the title and in which sections they have decided to distance themselves from the franchise fees.
Lets start by the beginning. We asked Kurosaki about how he has recognized in some interviews that he is not the typical massively multiplayer player, but whom ‘Warzone’ has nevertheless managed to hook. What do you think, then, that differentiates this game from other similar ones? He tells us that “in this particular one, I don’t feel like I’m playing something for kids. It’s more like I’m the star of my own action movie, it ‘s that fantasy: bringing military authenticity to something more like James Bond. It is exciting and spectacular and you are part of this story that unfolds with your squadmates. “
It seems the typical phrase to sell us the game, but the truth, and that is something that is detected from the first game, is that “Warzone” has a more cinematic, more linear narrative air, far from the uncontrolled chaos of its rivals in the Genre : “You think you have everything under control and suddenly everything ends badly in a fraction of a second, or vice versa, from a terrible beginning. The way it has been designed makes for exciting endings and unpredictable endings.”
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This more “peliculera”, more ordered narrative, can obey several reasons. One is to approach the main games in the franchise, essentially blockbusters military action that seem to Hollywood blockbusters. The other is to create a game that is more accessible to all audiences. More accessible modes can be framed there, such as Loot, where you only have to collect as much money as a team and extract it in helicopters that you have to call from certain areas.
Kurosaki tells us, in this regard, that “we knew that in 2020 we could not offer one more Battle Royale game. We knew that we had to give it our own style, we had to make it different without ceasing to be a Call of Duty. general feel of the game, the weapons, the typical weight of the classic ‘CoD’ arsenal … But we also needed something more, we wanted it to appeal to a wider audience, and I think that’s the idea behind Botín.
Kurasaki alludes in this way to the idea of ’Call of Duty’ as a multiplayer that can be demanding and you have to spend hours, but also one in which “sometimes you just want to be . Those days you just want to hang out with your friends, talk and do teamwork and these modes are the perfect way to do it . I usually end my gaming sessions with a couple of loot games just to ease the tension of the toughest battles. “
In 2020 we couldn’t offer one more Battle Royale game. We knew we had to make it different without ceasing to be a ‘Call of Duty’
Obviously, this is reminiscent of previous games that Kurosaki has worked on, such as ‘Uncharted’ or ‘The Last of Us’, both by Naughty Dog. Aside from the obvious fact that they are games that work from a story, they also distinguish themselves from multiplayer like ‘Warzone‘ in the way that narrative experts have to approach their work . We asked him if he has to work more closely with the people who develop mechanics, and his answer is blunt: “Yes, without a doubt.”
“The best thing about ‘Warzone,'” he continues, “is that since it is a game that is alive, we can continue to improve it even after it is in the hands of the players .” This narrative that goes through the game refers not only to the plot, but to aspects apparently as inconsequential as the terminology. “You know,” he tells us: “There is a” cash deposit helicopter. “There are” contracts. “Terminology that sounds military, but is also clear to players who do not speak military language, but do not want to lose the trick. of playing a military man. It was one of the many points where you had to work closely with the designers. “
The gulag moment in Call of Duty Warzone
One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the gulag, a way of giving narrative to a part of the games of the genre that are normally only a transition . It is an interlude when the player is eliminated in which he is sent to a prison to face random weapons with another opponent who is also dead. If you beat him, go back to the game. If not, you have to wait, perhaps to the rescue of a partner. Instead of a waiting screen, you can continue playing … without losing the violent, dark and military tone of the adventure.
Kurosaki clarifies that the design is not his, but that he likes that the game “gives a second chance”. The gulag was born “as a kind of miniversion of the Gunfight mode of ‘Modern Warfare’. We went from large scenarios where you can see enemies in the distance and we have vehicles to this incredibly narrow scene. Set it in the showers of some prisons me also seemed brilliant. “
One of the most interesting aspects of the game is the gulag, a way of giving narrative to a part of the games of the genre that are normally only a transition . It is an interlude when the player is eliminated in which he is sent to a prison to face random weapons with another opponent who is also dead. If you beat him, go back to the game. If not, you have to wait, perhaps to the rescue of a partner. Instead of a waiting screen, you can continue playing … without losing the violent, dark and military tone of the adventure.
Kurosaki clarifies that the design is not his, but that he likes that the game “gives a second chance”. The gulag was born “as a kind of miniversion of the Gunfight mode of ‘Modern Warfare’. We went from large scenarios where you can see enemies in the distance and we have vehicles to this incredibly narrow scene. Set it in the showers of some prisons me also seemed brilliant. “
But there is more: the gulag is also a space for experimentation for dead players who are spectators of other combats: “The really impressive thing about the gulag is that we are not sure how the players are going to combine and use the tools that are there . Yes You are playing with a team, sometimes one or more of your teammates die with you. And when you are in the gulag, there may be a teammate on the balconies, or vice versa. And with voice chat you can help each other. I’ve seen people throw rocks from the observation deck to help their squad mates. “
“And the other thing that I thought was brilliant,” he continues, “is that, when you’re on the balconies, you’re with the other players who will soon face you in the gulag. And there are some sprays to leave your signature on the walls. Well, people spray other players on the balconies and when they go down to fight, if one of those they have sprayed is their opponent, he looks much better in the shadows. I’m not sure if that was something that I wanted to. It’s one of those things where you put 50 million people to play and they’re dating. I love how creative people are. “
Apart from these narratives at unexpected moments, ‘Warzone’ is feeding its history of the different game modes of the main game , ‘Modern Warfare’. That story is not told only with the introductions, but through the mechanics themselves. Everything obeys, according to the designer, a very large-scale plan: “we have a macro plan that extends beyond the end of the game, or rather should say from the end of the ‘Modern Warfare’ campaign
The ambition of the plan is very remarkable: “The interesting thing is that we set the dates of the campaign to coincide with the moment in which ‘Warfare’ was going to come out . And some of the events of the campaign occur a few days before the date of appearance of the game. And so the timeline of the campaign extends to both sides of the launch window of the game, in a kind of real time . “
Normally, games like ‘Warzone’ are designed for a very different player style than those who enjoy ‘Modern Warfare’ campaigns. One of the team’s purposes was to blur those barriers: “Some fans like the story and others want to play multiplayer directly. We want to have omnivorous players who are interested in the different modes and reward them. So when you play the campaign you are unlocking weapons and operators that you can use in multiplayer. For the same reason, if you’re a fan of campaigns and history, we want to give you content that will continue as we get updates to the game. “
History of a city
At this point, the question that arises is inevitable: what story can be told in a more or less pure action game? Very simple, and at the same time, very ingenious: the background of the action scene. Kurosaki clarifies first that “in a game for one hundred and fifty players, the type of narration is emergent, where I am the hero of my own story and I am on the verge of defeat , but in the end I am victorious. That is most of the narration “
“But also,” he continues, “we are talking about our fictional city of Verdansk, where the ‘Warzone’ map is located. It has a history that fits in with the global conflict between Western and Eastern substitutes, and other concepts stemming from the Cold War. Because as we know, there are still superpowers vying for power today. So the story of Verdansk will continue to play a role in the events of future game updates . The player and his teammates will want to find out what’s going on and who’s behind of the intrigues of the game. “
We are in doubt as to whether the history of ‘Warzone’ was ever considered to be different from that of the main games. What options did they have on the table? “Pat Kelly, one of our studio bosses, raised what he calls our dogma for the game in late 2016 or early 2017. One of the foundations of that dogma was a consistent narrative across all playable modes.” That is, all modes, from Battle Royale to single player campaign would be one: “We didn’t want to make three separate games that we put in the same box . So we never considered a separate story for ‘Warzone’. We wanted this to be perceived as a consistent universe. “
Finally, and in narrative terms, it is inevitable to talk about the competition: in recent days there has been talk of the intention to do with the game something similar to what ‘Fortnite’ does, great events in the style of the famous eclipse. We asked Kurosaki about it, but he clarifies that “the kind of things that ‘Fortnite’ does are quite unique and typical of that game, in the sense that they happen in an appropriate setting: an eclipse, a black hole … Obviously, all that would not happen in a realistic and military title like “Modern Warfare.” What I can say is that our players are already discovering some of the secrets that lie within Verdansk .
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