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[duckroll]

So recently, we found out Activision announced that with the departure of the Infinity Ward leads, Call of Duty is headed in new directions. One of those directions is an action adventure title in the franchise by Sledgehammer Games - an Activision subsidiary started by the Dead Space producer and technical director.

Because of the Tomb Raider thread, I did a little digging on Glen Schofield due to his history at Crystal Dynamics having directed Blood Omen 2. The writer of Blood Omen 2 was Brett Robbins, the creative director of Dead Space. So it's obvious they both left Crystal Dynamics to join EA. I was curious if he left EA as well, along with Glen. That was when I found this: http://www.joystiq.com/2010/01/07/interview-glen-schofield-on-dead-space-sledgehammer-games/

In the comments:

Well not all of Viceral...just most of the creative leads from the dead space team. in addition to glen schofield and mike Condrey leaving, so did a lot of ds1's creative leads. Myself the (Chris Stone) Director of animation, Conant Fong the cinematic director, the entire core animation team, Brett Robbins the creative director, Joe Salud the environment art director, Eric Pavey the technical director, Scott Whitney the Video director, Dave Blizard Lighting lead as well as many of Vicerals top engineers all have left to start Sledgehammer Games for Activision. So no...not everyone...but a powerhouse none the less.

Yes, this probably isn't new info to people following the team, but I think many people aren't fully aware that the entire core creative team that made Dead Space has left EA, and are now tasked with taking Call of Duty into the action adventure genre. Given the history of the crew, it's pretty certain that it will be a third person game as well which will be a major new direction for CoD.

Feel free to use this thread to discuss the possibilities this could mean for both Call of Duty and Sledgehammer Games. This thread is not about Activision politics or the termination of the Infinite Ward leads, so try to keep that out of here.

 

[Swag]

Honestly I don't see how a action / adventure call of duty would work, maybe I'm just too deeply rooted in the FPS CoD mentality.

Would just be extremely wierd for me

 

[RavenFox]

I don't know about this action adventure thing but I'll wait to see it first.

 

[Empty]

There is probably way more going on, but it seems on the surface quite douchey to reward EA for taking a risk by investing a lot into in their new ip by leaving as soon as you finish for their main rivals.

 

[Neuromancer]

Quite honestly I have more faith in Glen Schofield and his team than I do in Visceral now that he's gone. I have a feeling whatever Sledgehammer does will probably be pretty cool, whereas with Dead Space 2 I am very concerned about the directions Visceral seems to want to take it.

 

[Brobzoid]

best case scenario: something that sits between GRAW and Gears.

 

[Google]

Honestly I don't see how a action / adventure call of duty would work

You cant understand how a 3D action/adventure game in a war zone might work?

 

[JaseC]

Quite honestly I have more faith in Glen Schofield and his team than I do in Visceral now that he's gone. I have a feeling whatever Sledgehammer does will probably be pretty cool, whereas Dead Space 2 I am very concerned about the directions Visceral seems to want to take it.

I had no idea the core members of the team had left. I wouldn't be surprised if DS2 turns out to be another RE5.

 

[TTP]

Well, at this point it's fair to say that "Call of Duty" is Activision's "Tom Clancy's"

Honestly, I'm fine with that.

 

[LiK]

duckroll, you mean Call of Uncharted. It'll be a 3rd person game with Soap using his ice climbing skills to traverse a lvl and take out soldiers. Voiced by Nolan North with a British accent

 

[-viper-]

Honestly I don't see how a action / adventure call of duty would work, maybe I'm just too deeply rooted in the FPS CoD mentality.

Would just be extremely wierd for me

Just think of Uncharted 2. Except you play as Soap.

CALL OF DUTY: AMONG THIEVES.

Can't wait!

 

[Clockblockers]

The pedigree is good for a solid 3rd person game, but I don't know if this is a good thing for call of duty. In the short run the name alone will guarantee sales, but if the quality doesn't stay high people will abandon it pretty quickly. We've seen it in games like Sonic and Need for Speed (kinda); and I look at some movie "Franchises" like National Lampoon and American Pie.

I'm excited about the people making the game, I'm just not excited about the Call of Duty name being slapped onto it........assuming it's in 3rd Person.

 

[xIvSlowDeath420]

I knew within the first 2 mins of trying that MW2 3rd person mode that we where gonna see COD:Ghost Recon Squad.I had no idea however that such games fell under action adventure.

 

[Zoc]

Huh. Wonder if they'll use the WWII setting Activision seems to prefer for CoD, the Modern War setting, or something different. People were also talking about a futuristic CoD, wonder if they'll take it there.

By the way, for the purposes of this discussion, is Dead Space considered an action-adventure?

 

[Neuromancer]

On the topic of franchise IPs, EA hasn't given up on the Dead Space brand -- there's the Wii game that has been met with lackluster sales and now the revelation of a full-on sequel in Dead Space 2. Did you have your thumbs in any of those pies before leaving EA?

Schofield: Yes, I was the GM on Extraction and one of the people responsible for the concept. Although my name was reduced to "Special Thanks" after I left Visceral, I worked closely with the EP and team until the game was at BETA.

Daaaaaamn special thanks indeed!

 

[kaskade]

Why don't they just call it something else instead of Call of Duty? I guess this is Activision so it's out of the question to make it a whole knew IP.

 

[Alucrid]

Why don't they just call it something else instead of Call of Duty? I guess this is Activision so it's out of the question to make it a whole knew IP.

The name sells, simple as that.

 

[eznark]

Why don't they just call it something else instead of Call of Duty? I guess this is Activision so it's out of the question to make it a whole knew IP.

Where is the benefit to dropping arguably the most profitable moniker in gaming?

 

[Swag]

You cant understand how a 3D action/adventure game in a war zone might work?

All I'm going to be thinking when I play this game is "Why am I playing Third Person Tactical?"

 

[kaskade]

The name sells, simple as that.

I know that. I just wonder if people are going to be pissed if they just buy the game and it's not the CoD they are used to. I guess if it's awesome it won't make a difference.

 

[MikeE21286]

I'm always ready for more Dead Space

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

The brains behind Dead Space are probably more suited to creating another new amazing IP, but I'll be interested into seeing what they do with the series, I guess.

I'm still way bitter about the IW situation, so probably not the best time for me to imagine what a third studio will do with it. :lol

 

[teh]

my friends are the most casual gamers in the world, and even they know CoD was made by INFINITY WARD. they won't give a shit when this game comes out because they'll know IW wasn't a part of it. that's why they didn't give a shit about world at war. Call of Duty's officially dead now imo,, thanks a lot Activision

 

[Linkified]

Honestly I don't see how a action / adventure call of duty would work, maybe I'm just too deeply rooted in the FPS CoD mentality.

Would just be extremely wierd for me

Ghost and his Gears of War shakey cam - thats the only thing I can think of though.

 

[eznark]

my friends are the most casual gamers in the world, and even they know CoD was made by INFINITY WARD. they won't give a shit when this game comes out because they'll know IW wasn't a part of it. that's why they didn't give a shit about world at war. Call of Duty's officially dead now imo,, thanks a lot Activision

Exactly. This is the reason World at War was such a colossal failure in the market. Everyone knew it was IW so no one bought it. Right on!.....sigh

 

[ultim8p00]

Everytime I hear action adventure, I think of Splinter Cell, Zelda, God of War, Tomb Raider, RE4 etc. I have no idea how they are going to do this.

If they mean they are making it a third person game, then it's still going to be a third person shooter like GeOW or Ghost Recon. Modern Warfare is a war game about war. How do you have a sense of "adventure" like in action adventure games in a war game? Maybe it will go the Splinter Cell route, but then it's not modern warfare anymore.

 

[Y2Kev]

Will this be on the wii?

 

[duckroll]

Modern Warfare is a war game about war. How do you have a sense of "adventure" like in action adventure games in a war game? Maybe it will go the Splinter Cell route, but then it's not modern warfare anymore.

But... it's not Modern Warfare.

 

[WrikaWrek]

You better crank that story up if you gonna do an Action Adventure game.

 

[duckroll]

You better crank that story up if you gonna do an Action Adventure game.

That will not be a problem based on the staff.

 

[Dyno]

I'm curious to see how it will work out. I love third-person/over the shoulder games but all of them, from Uncharted to RE to Gears and even Dead Space have this cartoony vibe. They can be all over the place emotionally but they're essentially an action figure romp.

COD and other FPS by comparison tend to carry a far more serious tone. Perhaps that's because you can't see yourself.

This news gives me additional concerns over Dead Space 2.

 

[Struct09]

I don't care what IP is attached or who the publisher is, if it's a good game I'll play it. I loved Dead Space, so this game will be on my radar.

 

[eznark]

That will not be a problem based on the staff.

I hope they retain the MW2 story writers. Think of it, we could get like a dozen nukes and our lead characters might die twice as often!! That sounds fucking Visceral!! to me.

 

[ultim8p00]

But... it's not Modern Warfare.

Sorry I meant Call of Duty. But yeah, I dunno how they are going to do that.

Well, at this point it's fair to say that "Call of Duty" is Activision's "Tom Clancy's"

Honestly, I'm fine with that.

Tom Clancy's Manly Chest Wrestlemania

 

[whatevermort]

People can't get their heads around this whole 'Call Of Duty' = Brand thing, I guess. It's basically Activision's 'Tom Clancy', right? So this'll be their... Splinter Cell?

 

[Draft]

As developers of GOTY2008, I'll buy whatever they make.

 

[duckroll]

I hope they retain the MW2 story writers. Think of it, we could get like a dozen nukes and our lead characters might die twice as often!! That sounds fucking Visceral!! to me.

I don't think you understand. This game has nothing to do with Infinity Ward. It is not Modern Warfare, it is not developed by Infinity Ward under new management. It is a completely different Call of Duty game developed by a completely different studio.

 

[eznark]

I don't think you understand. This game has nothing to do with Infinity Ward. It is not Modern Warfare, it is not developed by Infinity Ward under new management. It is a completely different Call of Duty game developed by a completely different studio.

I understand, I was just forcing a joke. That's why I said I hope they get those writers.

Seriously, I am looking forward to this since I really liked the mechanics and style of Dead Space but (and I'm ashamed to say this as a 28 year old grown ass man) the game was too scary for me.

 

[Neuromancer]

Call of Duty's officially dead now imo,, thanks a lot Activision

Oh the drama :lol

 

[pr0cs]

interesting info. I was surprised to hear the core of the DS1 team left. I suppose that may explain why I didn't recognize any of the people in the Dante's Inferno dev videos from the DS1 dev videos.
This bodes well for the game that they might make, I really loved the atmosphere, story and game inside DS1. I just don't like how they have to destroy the Call of Duty series. I guess they figure the casual gamers won't buy it unless it says Call of Duty on it.
At least it bodes well if they have a good team working on it.. unlike the Tony Hawk/Guitar hero rehashes.

 

[indigo-cyclops]

I didn't realize so many important members of the Dead Space team are now gone, most with Sledgehammer. I mean what are the chances that Activision green lights a Call of Duty game that isn't of a similar formula to the others? I'm weary to support Activisions' antics and practices, but depending on how the game looks, I may reconsider. I loved Dead Space. I'm even more worried for Dead Space 2.

 

[LosDaddie]

I'd definitely play it.

MW2 is the best FPS on consoles and Dead Space is the best action/horror game this gen. A combo of the 2 sounds very interesting.

 

[Kos Luftar]

Is this a way for them to try and get into the 3rd person, cover shooter market?

 

[Neuromancer]

I hope they retain the MW2 story writers. Think of it, we could get like a dozen nukes and our lead characters might die twice as often!! That sounds fucking Visceral!! to me.

Yeah, and more cutscenes where you're being assassinated in 1st person! Those are the coolest!

 

[WrikaWrek]

That will not be a problem based on the staff.

Yeah, but the whole "Silent protagonist", "Barely any story to tell", "Let's just trust on atmosphere" thing they did with Dead Space won't fly here.

Imo

 

[TONX]

I don't think anybody's ready, let alone GAF.

 

[duckroll]

People can't get their heads around this whole 'Call Of Duty' = Brand thing, I guess. It's basically Activision's 'Tom Clancy', right? So this'll be their... Splinter Cell?

I think that's exactly the problem here. Since up until now Call of Duty has been a series, and even under different developers it was still a mission based FPS, it is hard for some to imagine it as a franchise brand. But ultimately to Activision, Call of Duty is a brand for war themed games and now they are exploring other directions for the franchise. As long as the scenario and theme is related to war and soldiers fighting the war, it will be Call of Duty, regardless of the genre.

Yeah, but the whole "Silent protagonist", "Barely any story to tell", "Let's just trust on atmosphere" thing they did with Dead Space won't fly here.

Imo

That's okay. Blood Omen 2 didn't have any of that, and Brett Robbins wrote that.

 

[Vinci]

It'll be a good game. Many people, even the naysayers and Activision haters here on GAF, will buy it. Life will continue as normal.

 

[WrikaWrek]

That's okay. Blood Omen 2 didn't have any of that, and Brett Robbins wrote that.

I don't remember Blood Omen 2 very well, but i do remember feeling good about the story and bad about the combat.

 

[eznark]

Activision needs to get as much of Ensemble Studios back together as they can and make a CoD RTS. It would probably be simplified and consoles only, but hell console players deserve decent RTS's as well.