Game
Concept:
As opposed to
earlier games in the Call of Duty Series, the game features modern
equipment and new features, many exclusive to the multiplayer part of the game,
such as "killstreaks"; killing a number of enemies without the player
dying in between kills allows access to various assets including airstrikes and
helicopter support. A character can be positioned in one of three stances:
standing, crouching, or prone; each affecting the character's rate of movement,
accuracy, and stealth. Using cover helps the player avoid enemy fire or recover
health after taking significant damage. As such, there are no armor or health
power ups. When the character has taken damage, the edges of the screen glow
red and the character's heartbeat increases. If the character stays out of
fire, the character can recover. When the character is within the blast radius
of a live grenade, a marker indicates the direction of the grenade, helping the
player to either flee or toss it back to the enemy.
Research
and Development:
Call of
Duty 4 was
developed by a team of a hundred people, over the course of two years. After Call
of Duty 2, the Infinity Ward team decided to move away from the World War
II environment of previous games in the series. This resulted in three
game concepts: Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of
Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. While
developing the story for Call of Duty 4, Infinity Ward chose to
avoid referencing current, real-life wars, and keep the series' common theme of
two opposing forces of similar strength. To enhance the realistic feel of the
game, the development team attended a live-fire exercise at Marine Corps
Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, a training facility in the
California desert. This helped the developers to simulate the effects of being
near an Abrams tank when it fires. The team also talked with United States
Marines who were recently in combat to get a feel for the background, emotions,
and attitude of Marines in combat. Veterans were also recruited to supervise
motion capture sessions and the artificial design of the game.
The
development team designed the online multiplayer component to be balanced and
rewarding for new players while still offering something for experienced
players. An early idea to implement air support (air strikes and attack
helicopters) involved players fighting over special zones to access a trigger
for air support against enemies. This idea was discarded because it discouraged
the type of deathmatch gameplay they intended. The kill streak reward system
was put in its place to encourage the improvement of player skills. Players
were allowed to select weapons before matches to get accustomed to weapons more
easily and minimize weapon hunting. Maps were designed primarily for deathmatch
games—the developers felt such designs suited other types of gameplay as well.
Map layouts were designed to minimize locations players could hide from enemy
gunfire.
Starting
the Design Process:
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