Treyarch up to the Call of Duty
by Xav de Matos 
{ Jun 24th 2008 at 11:30AM }
When it comes to public perception, Call of Duty: World at War developer, Treyarch isn't naive. Speaking with Develop Magazine, Treyarch senior producer Noah Heller discussed the developer's decision to bring the Call of Duty franchise back into the World War II setting that made it popular even though the series has found new success in a modern setting with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare -- developed by Infinity Ward."Call of Duty 4 comes along and it is a fantastic game, so how can we live up to that? How do we do World War II after that? We want to show people what we're capable of," Heller told Develop.
Call of Duty fans remember Treyarch best for Call of Duty 3 which, the team is quick to remind fans, saw a very short development cycle due to Activision's decision to make the series an annual franchise. "[Look at] BioShock, GTA IV, Modern Warfare of course ... what all these games have is a lot of love and polish." Polish -- which some point at Call of Duty 3 for lacking despite garnering generally favorable reviews.
Polish and love added to Call of Duty: World at War or not, fans and critics have labeled the latest installment of the franchise a step backwards but Heller says the team is aiming for the best WWII based title in the market, arguing, "there are stories in WWII we haven't told yet."
[via Next Gen]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
iLuvUrOpinion @ Jun 24th 2008 11:38AM
unlike some, i'm a fan of the WWII franchise. It's the only way I'll learn its history. :-)
Rick @ Jun 24th 2008 11:49AM
Yeah...
Um, yeah.
See you for COD6, dudez!
Big Filth @ Jun 24th 2008 11:59AM
riiiight treyarch. cod3 isnt your only bad game.
you try to justify your reasoning, but everyone has an excuse for their cop outs.
the gaming public is sick of ww2 cause its been done to death.
its a safe thing for you guys tho, cause its not like you would be willing to take a risk to do something new.
ill buy it anyway, but save the "ww2 hasnt been fully explored" story for the little kids.
pic2021 @ Jun 24th 2008 12:01PM
umm this game is going to be lame. i myself love world war 2. the pacific theater is a great setting for a game because so much happened that no one else knows about, but...... having treyarch develop another crappy game like cod3 throws me away instantly. i wish the rumors were right when it said that infinity ward is going to be the sole creator for cod. :/ bummer. they just reclaimed the cod name after a failure like cod3. now they are going back down into the pits of crappy games.
Kologa @ Jun 24th 2008 12:04PM
Agreed this is a step backwards no matter how its worded. I will probably be buying it anyway depending on what happens to the COD4 community. WW2 is so overplayed and I don't understand why they chose to go back to it. COD6 FTW?
mattclarkie @ Jun 24th 2008 12:06PM
CoD3 was fine, all it lacked was polish, which hopefully this will have.
WW2 is fun, stop bashing it.
CoD4 wasn't as great as everyone makes out. The story was fine, but the controls aren't perfect(sprinting is a chore), and it was rather short.
Just let Treyarch get on with it, if they do a good job the game will be fun, but if they make a mess I will be the first to say.
horngreen @ Jun 24th 2008 12:14PM
Well an 8 month development cycle is very short for todays games. Hopefully these guys will make you commies eat your words! There are plenty of ways they could improve it over COD4 if they have the talent. When you really look at COD4 is there really anything that sets it apart? Sure it's fun but is it so different? Spawn-die-spawn-die is what it does really well. You can call in an air strike or a chopper but you don't get any control of it. It has no co-op which is a pretty big no no today. Hell you can't even attach a silencer and a red dot sight at the same time! Prestige would have been really cool if it allowed you to get more than a stupid little badge. Maybe if it allowed you to use more perks at once then it would have been something really worth going for.
pic2021 @ Jun 24th 2008 12:51PM
in response to mattclarkie and horngreen... cod4 was a lot of fun. it is amazing. i still play this game daily. you can customize your gun in so many ways. who cares if you cant have a silencer and a red dot on at the same time. i never used the silencer cause it was pointless! the controls were amazing. every game should use them. these days every game has sprinting on the thumb stick duhhhhhhhh. and oh yeah cod4 did have coop. it is called LIVE. yeah thats right. you are working together with real people fighting against real people and not stupid ai that you can destroy in 1 sec.
JSBeckerist @ Jun 24th 2008 2:26PM
Not to pick you apart, but I have a few thoughts:
A) The silencer meant you wouldn't show up on radar...hardly useless.
B) Online matchmaking is NOT cooperative play. The fact I can't run through the campaign with a friend means I got about a third of the way through it and got bored. Seriously, check my achievements: beckerist.
C) It really would have been nice if prestige gave you some extra perks. I know it makes it tough, but come on...there's such thing as QA to balance the game, it wouldn't have been that hard.
D) Sprinting sucks. I know it's been a part of COD for a few installations now but why should I have to hold down a joystick to sprint, when the real estate for that button push could be used for ANYTHING else...always bothered me.
Don't get me wrong, COD4 is an awesome game, but it could have been a lot better. Here's hoping that COD5 is as good as it's sounding.
ConfederateRokr @ Jun 24th 2008 12:53PM
The onlly game by treyarch they i have ever liked was Spiderman 2. But the Ghillie suit climbing up a tree did intrigue me.
Boff @ Jun 25th 2008 10:04AM
I think there was a PERSON in that suit! :oO
Bmurph @ Jun 24th 2008 12:58PM
I've been really quick to dismiss this game, but all the news coming out about has me taking a second look. I think I will give it a chance when it drops - that's saying a lot more than I was saying just last week even.
Outinthedark @ Jun 24th 2008 12:59PM
I'm not forgiving you Treyarch for CoD3...
That trailer was not worth the 52 MB on my HD...what a lame teaser...
Dick @ Jun 24th 2008 1:11PM
Oh yes, Please, show us what YOU are capable of...
Funny, I thought I remembered them stating they would be basically using Infinity Wards "Eaaaaasyyy To use" dev tools, allowing them to jump right into constructing the worlds and characters without needing a focus on physics and effects.
Please, Please, bring up a war that (while important in historical contexts) has little relevancy in our modern world and the way things happen now.
Please, train our young (up and coming!!) soldiers with another sim involving weaponry and vehicle classes that will never see battle again.
Wait, on second thought...
Big Filth @ Jun 24th 2008 1:18PM
"CoD4 wasn't as great as everyone makes out. The story was fine, but the controls aren't perfect(sprinting is a chore), and it was rather short."
to the guy who said that ^
riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
you need more people.
MetalBLACKFOX @ Jun 24th 2008 10:03PM
maybe if he knew how to shoot he wouldnt have to run so much
Trekster_Gamer @ Jun 24th 2008 4:49PM
I think all you naysayers might be in for a silent cup of crow. WWII shooters can still be done. No matter the genre if the game is good I am sure FPS fans will eat it up. I have yet to seen anything from this game to come thats makes me not want to play it.
Boff @ Jun 25th 2008 10:04AM
...the team is aiming for the best WWII based title in the market, arguing, "there are stories in WWII we haven't told yet."
Yeah? Can't be fucking many, mate.