Call of Duty: The Inevitable Consequence of ‘Progress’

How multiplayer purity was lost…and can be found

by David Hilton

© 2012 David Hilton

Poor Call of Duty.

I really do feel sorry for the franchise sometimes.  It is held up as the example for everything that is wrong in gaming right now.

While laziness of design leading to more of a ‘interactive blockbuster movie’ experience and a multiplayer that is accused of rinsing and repeating may be valid criticisms, it cannot be denied that the game has become a juggernaut in gaming, with so many gamers who wouldn’t normally play games joining in the fun, particularly the multiplayer.

It is a victim of success and massive sales.  Who would seriously be silly enough to change too much of a thing that is working?  Where is the incentive?  Build it and people will buy.

In multiplayer the Call of Duty franchise found the key to gamers’ wallets: from its great beginnings it progressed, was imitated to death, and then slowed innovation, because the consequence of progress and success was a lack of need to progress and change.

But innocence of another age was lost.  Something pure has gone missing, replaced by a cleverly addictive system of perks and customisation.

It may, however, not be lost forever, and it would be easy to restore the old while keeping the new.

What was lost from Call of Duty here

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