Call of Duty games have generally featured epic, chaotic single-player campaigns, but few have attempted to make a deep and expansive narrative. According to developer Treyarch, the upcoming Black Ops 3 will try to change that
In an interview with Polygon, studio head Mark Lamia and campaign director Jason Blundell spoke about how the team is crafting a story that’s more comprehensive than the past two Black Ops games. They are creating a story so big, in fact, that there will be an in-game encyclopedia of sorts for Black Ops 3’s lore.
“We have a detailed wiki-like thing in the game,” Lamia explained. “We have detailed out the world. We have a full history of where the EU goes. It’s our fiction, but it’s as we have projected it out, literally, in more detail than we’ve ever done.”
He continued: “We’re giving [the lore] to the player this time. This is stuff we usually do anyway, with our research. How do we come up with these settings? We literally just did our research and project out. We’re fortunate to have experts we can talk to. We’ve become futurist experts ourselves, living in this subject matter for so long. That’s going to be there for the player. It’s important.”
With its heavy emphasis on futurism and advanced technology, it might be difficult to create a grounded narrative, relatable to players. Blundell acknowledged this difficulty and stated that the team is also trying to focus on the parts of their high-tech futuristic world that are the same in the present.
“People are still people, in Elizabethan times or today,” he said. “Still the same drives, still the same anger and frustration. These things are all universal. They haven’t changed since back in the old days. When you mix geopolitics or technological enhancements, be it the DNI or the invention of gunpowder, it’s the same concepts, the same drives, the same fears that come out. That helps us keep in line when we’re moving the story forward.”
Finally, Blundell mentioned the possibility of historical set-piece levels in Black Ops 3. Although he didn’t confirm anything, Blundell hinted that the team has not revealed all of where Black Ops 3 will take place.
“We like to go back in history,” he responded. “Black Ops 1 even has a few World War II moments. Black Ops 2 had some levels in the ‘80s, taking on that part of the Cold War. We haven’t talked about all of where Black Ops 3 takes us. But if the setting is meaningful to the story, you’ll understand. It’s just a creative place for us.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 launches on November 6 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC. You can check out our impressions of the multiplayer here and here.
Powered by WPeMatico
