Bungie admits they can learn from CoD4
by Dustin Burg 
{ Aug 6th 2008 at 12:15PM }
Talking to GamesIndustry.biz, Bungie Studios' Lead AI Programmer, Damian Isla, talked about Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4's Xbox Live rivalry, admitting that they can learn a lot from CoD4's scripted single player experiences."We have a lot to learn from their success too," Isla admitted, "they [Infinity Ward] did some very innovative things to keep people going and their experience-rewards system was something that we paid a lot of attention to." Talking specifically about CoD4's single player events, Bungie's Isla mentioned that "it's a great game and single player obviously is fantastic" even going as far as to say that "the way that they use those moments to craft the player experience...Halo has a lot to learn from." Learning from CoD4? Yeah, why not? We don't think anyone could keep a straight face while calling either CoD4 or Halo 3 craptacular games as each has something to offer. Group hug!
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mattclarkie @ Aug 6th 2008 12:28PM
I think that Rainbow Six Vegas 2 expanded upon the CoD4 system wonderfully, and IMO has the best ranking system of any game.
Rygar @ Aug 6th 2008 1:18PM
I agree, good post!
rhaynes10 @ Aug 6th 2008 12:34PM
It is about time , yes I am going to say it HALO 3 SUCKED! The 4 player CO-OP pure chaos. The running back through the level in reverse sucked. Every time you die you lose the cool guns you had. CO4 story was so good it we all played the single player to the end. HALO 3 none of us cared if we finished it or not.
kastonie @ Aug 6th 2008 2:30PM
i cared if i finished the fight!
T-BoNe254 @ Aug 6th 2008 2:44PM
how does the top game on xbox live suck? You're just made it's more popular than your favorite game...
HK @ Aug 6th 2008 12:56PM
hmmm i think bungie should allow infinity ward to make a halo universe/cod game where you play as normal marines and such with all the perks and goodies. no master cheif or arbeiter. kind of like a prequel to the master cheif prequel. im sure ill get flamed for this but hey $$$$$$$ decides all. halo/cod game would outsell everything
Raul @ Aug 7th 2008 9:31AM
Halo3 SUCKED ! Running though the levels in reverse sucked , losing your gun when you died sucked. COD4 and Gears did it right the story holds you and make you want to play the game. Halo 1 Great, Halo 2 Ok , H3 crap.
Neuromancer @ Aug 6th 2008 12:40PM
God I can't wait to see how the next Halo incorporates a first person interactive assassination cutscene. That was pure design genius!!!
Fire Fawkes @ Aug 6th 2008 12:47PM
It's nice to see the developers (or at the very least Bungie) don't hold the same foolish fanboy debate between Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4. Both are great games that could borrow from their competitor to make their own games even better. I've never understood why it has to be Halo OR Call of Duty 4. I switch between the two all the time. (currently on a Halo kick)
SadisticHam @ Aug 6th 2008 12:50PM
I bump between gears/COD4/Halo 3 and they all have there up's and downs, wish a dev could make one perfect game with all the good parts of those 3 and none of the bad.
LongshotX @ Aug 6th 2008 12:54PM
I want to launch my grenades 150m like I can in Halo 3.
TheBlahMasta @ Aug 6th 2008 1:35PM
Dude...It's a fantasy game. If that was a diss towards Halo 3, try reading the books, or have a better understanding who/what "Master Chief" is. Otherwise, ignore this comment. =]
SugarDaddy @ Aug 6th 2008 1:19PM
Personally I thought CoD4's single player campaign was annoying. It was the multiplayer that made that game great. Although, the sniper missions in CoD4 were top notch.
Halo is great because you fight against one of the most intricately developed alien species in any game.
Whichever you like is a personal preference but I do think both dev studios have something to learn from each other. It's nice to see Bungie admit that. That's very big of them.
Doug @ Aug 6th 2008 1:58PM
Bungie gets it wrong again.
The scripted feel of COD4 was its WORST point. They force you through the story like a ride at Disneyland.
What is great about COD4 is that it's dynamic. Bungie could learn about storytelling... Cortana's dialogue is horrible... and the Halo universe is unintelligible.
But playing COD4... there's mojo to the experience.
Dragod @ Aug 6th 2008 2:00PM
CoD4's campaign was okay.. but I liked Halo 3's much better. I can tell you exactly what happened and why in the Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 campaigns. I don't even remember why I was running around like I was in CoD4. I finished the campaign just to finish, then I went back to Halo 3 for a few months...
CoD4's campaign was kind of annoying, though some parts were cool. I hate the stupid stuff like "Wait here and hold off hundreds of guys because I said so". Though I do agree CoD4's campaign is better than Halo 3's standalone campaign, but combined with Halo: CE and Halo 2's campaign, and nothing can touch it. I never thought of each game as its own campaign.. It was just a continuation of the previous game, and should be treated as a single campaign.
Shashwat @ Aug 6th 2008 3:07PM
play through Cod4 again on veteran and then tell me if you like it. That game on veteran is an amazing experience.
Legendtaker117 @ Aug 6th 2008 8:53PM
Amazing? Veteran mode on any of the COD's are horrible, with stupid AI, and stupider AI.
But dont get me wrong, I thought the campaign was fantastic. Infinity Ward just needs to learn from Bungie how to do a veteran/Legendary difficulty.
Larry @ Aug 6th 2008 2:06PM
I preferred both Halo 3's multiplayer and singleplayer. I think the ranking system in COD4 is neat, but I detested the mechanics of the game. There is somethings to incorporate in terms of storytelling, but the gameplay in Halo 3 is much better.
ZEBRA NINER @ Aug 6th 2008 2:08PM
I would like to see Halo's matchmaking in Call of Duty. I would also like to see 4 player co-op in EVERY game.
The unlocks in COD are great, and the perk system is also fantastic.
Steal those ideas from each other and I'm happy.
Slammed I Am @ Aug 6th 2008 2:29PM
i do like both games but I prefer halo single player better because in COD4 all the enemies focus on killing you almost like your team is invisible, and the fact that I get a checkpoint in the the worst possible spot
horngreen @ Aug 6th 2008 2:59PM
Just don't turn Halo 4 into a COD4 clone. COD has much to learn as well. That ranking system seemed great at first but Prestige is pointless. If I go through the rank twice I should be able to use two perks at the same time (silencer and red dot) for example. I'd still be playing it if that were the case.
DjDATZ @ Aug 6th 2008 3:08PM
This is the first step to creating a better game. Bravo Bungie. ;)
gnik eltrut @ Aug 6th 2008 3:37PM
Dustin, does this mean you are actually going to try the game now?
Teabag @ Aug 6th 2008 8:01PM
Yea, Bungie has like bucketloads to learn from IW. Story telling, direction and screenplay, better tighter and exciting scripted events, subtle innovations that changes the game's experience, those wow moments.
I found COD4 SP to be one of the best ever created. One day, if i ever get some time, i will switch it to easy mode and play again. I actually stood up and applauded in some of the COD4 moments. Incredible. Halo 3 was quite dull compared to COD4.
I find Halo 3's MP to be funner than COD4. I guess it has to do with the console exclusive playlist system that Halo 3 uses as i have COD4 for PC. But COD4 MP is not lagging behind at all. It's just some much fun.
Boff @ Aug 7th 2008 6:01AM
I was reading through these comments waiting for the backlash from the Halo fanatics but have been pleasantly surprised by the mature, rational opinions of people! Keep it up readers!!
I enjoyed some of the scripted events in COD4 but detested the constant spawning of enemies until you reached a certain point. As for MP, it's the only game I still regularly play online and the challenge/reward system is a winner, imho.
Doll @ Aug 7th 2008 9:45AM
I enjoyed the story for H3. CoD4 did a great job but in the end, it comes down to multiplayer. People don't jump on their xbox time and time again to continue playing through campaign.
Robert Aitchison @ Aug 7th 2008 11:12AM
What I hope is that IW learns a bit about co-op gaming from Halo.
Who Flang Poo @ Aug 8th 2008 2:13PM
Yea there is not much bungie could learn from IW but maybe a little on there story telling. COD 4 multiplayer is a NOOB game thats mainly the main reason for its success. The single player wasnt bad thats the part of the game i actually liked, but it was so repedative, there was little to no variety accept maybe wen you use the javelin or sniper rifles, the rest of the game is pretty much the same thing the whole way through. It was fun, but i only played through it about 3 tmes then i got tired of it. Now halo on the other hand had tons of variety with vehicles, weapons, enemies, scales of the levels and more. Now COD4s multiplayer is what i didnt like about the game mainly because it was way too easy, it wasnt skill based it is way to easy to kill other people and it just wasnt that good its just so addicting to most people because its one of the only games they feel there good at. Halo 3 on the other hand takes skill, it has multiplte ways to get out of different situations and most of the time doesnt take one pull of the triger to get a kill the way it does in COD4. In halo 3 your rank actually means somthing because you dont get a high rank just for playing a lot, you have to play skill based games and prove that youre better then ohers not just sitting around and playing like shit and still climb up ranks. I was done with COD4 about 3 months after it came out sure i thought it was the shit at the time but i got tired of it because it was too damn easy and didnt mean anything, it was just a waste of time. To this day i still play Halo 3 because there is so much to do with forge, custom games, saved films, playing with skulls on campaign, climbing ranks, earning armor, achevements, 4 player co-op, and the fact that bungie extends the games life with coming out with new maps, different double exp weekends and events, and they reward people for doing kool stuff. I think IW could use a few lessons from bungie.