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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's biggest fight is in the studio
When Infinity Ward head Patrick Kelly introduced the single-player portion of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare to journalists in May, he sat at the front of a dim, intimate theater in the heart of his studio, and spoke as if he were divulging a delicious secret. This Call of Duty was going to be different than the 15 iterations that had come before, he said. It was going to be real. He showed off a preview of the solo campaign that began under a pile of rubble, right after a bombing in the fictional country of Ursekstan. The main character, a young girl named Farah, heaved at the debris and screamed as she found her mother crushed to death beside her. By the end of the demo, Farah had witnessed her father's violent murder, stabbed and killed a cartoonishly homicidal Russian soldier, run through poison gas, hidden from mass execution squads, and fired her first gun. "The vision for the game, the first thing we're trying to do is, we're trying to reflect the world we all live in," Kelly said at the beginning of the presentation. "We talk about like, you could see the story unfolding on CNN or a Frontline talking about it. Because we want this game to be as relevant as possible in the world that we live in, and a lot of the events, and a lot of the things that shaped the game, are based on the world that we live in."
Gameloft releases an impressive trailer for Modern Combat 5
You can say what you will about Gameloft (and lots of people do, as the company has earned a reputation for essentially copying HD console games onto Apple's iOS platforms), but this is at least true: The developer knows how to put a game together. Modern Combat is Gameloft's take on the extremely popular Call of Duty: Modern Warfare series, and the company has just released a trailer for Modern Combat 5, which serves as the latest and greatest full first-person shooter on iOS. Thanks to the success of Angry Birds, most iOS trailers consist of a series of cute animals playing around to some overly sweet music, but not this one. As you can see below, Gameloft has figured out how to draw a whole lot of realism out of the iPad and the iPhone. Modern Combat 5 is set for a release in the fourth quarter of this year, so we do have a while yet to wait. But Gameloft should be showing it off next week at E3, so I should have some hands-on time with this title and whatever else the developer is working on. So stay tuned to hear more about this already very impressive title.
Activision sweeps up China-related Call of Duty domains
Activision has treated itself to 17 domain names, all related to Call of Duty and China; in Black Ops 2, set to drop in November, part of the storyline spans a future cold war between the United States and China. It may be that these domains are related to that facet, as the registrations include blackopschina.com, bochina.com and callofdutychina.com, Fusible reports.The other domains span from modernwarfarechina.com to heisexingdong.com, and include a few other Chinese phrases. This could be Activision protecting its brand, or it could even have something to do with Activision's online, free-to-play Call of Duty title in China. Activision secured the names, as it generally does, through brand-protection service MarkMonitor.
Activision v. Infinity Ward court date delayed
Former Activision employees and Infinity Ward founders Jason West and Vincent Zampella are taking Activision to court on May 29, after a few years of legal back-and-forth negotiations and counter-suits from Activision. The date was initially set for May 7, but was pushed back at Activision's request.West and Zampella claim Activision owes them $125 million in unpaid royalties, and they seek the rights to the Modern Warfare brand.Activision's counter-suit is free to move forward as well, where Activision is asking for $400 million from EA, claiming EA stole its employees and that West and Zampella were consorting secretly with the competitor while still Activision employees.Zampella and West were fired from Activision in 2010 on the grounds of these supposed secret meetings. They soon after founded Respawn Entertainment and now have 40 former Infinity Ward employees in their ranks.
Canned Call of Duty: Devil's Brigade was like Inglourious Basterds on steroids
In 2007, while Infinity Ward was building the first Modern Warfare, Underground Development began working on a top-secret, third-person shooter in the Call of Duty franchise, titled Devil's Brigade, Vox Games reports. Based on a real-life group of ruthless, almost superhuman American and Canadian soldiers in World War II, Devil's Brigade was Activision's fallback if fans didn't get the switch to a contemporary setting with Modern Warfare.Devil's Brigade focused on tactical strategy, stealth missions and super-athletic Special Forces combat. The real Devil's Brigade scaled a mountain carrying more than 50 pounds of supplies and weapons to defeat the camp below in two hours, and they were known for infiltrating German trenches and slitting soldiers' throats, slapping stickers that read "The worst is yet to come," in German, on the dead men's helmets. Underground Development wanted to capture this essence for the game version of Devil's Brigade.But, as history shows, players did understand Modern Warfare. When Devil's Brigade was ready for its final green light, it got lost in the shuffle of Infinity Ward's success and the Blizzard/Vivendi merger. Activision closed Underground Development in 2008 with nary a whisper about Devil's Brigade. For now, we have some screenshots of the game and the memories of throat-slitting action that could have been.
British training 'Xbox generation' soldiers with tweaked games
Austerity means the military can't afford the big-budget training exercises to battle-harden new recruits, so it's relying more on computer simulations. Sadly, Virtual Battlespace 2 can't compete with the Hollywood-style excitement of Modern Warfare. That's why it's buying in game engines from the studios (VB2 was based on tech licensed from the makers of Operation Flashpoint) and cutting out the unrealistic physics -- such as rifle bullets flying three miles and vehicles that don't obey gravity. It's hoped the project will keep the attention of death-match hardened trainees and encourage them to play it in their own time: the team were told that two soldiers learned enough skills to stay alive during combat thanks to marathon sessions in the game. If you've just unwrapped an FPS for the holidays, you can now tell disapproving family members that it's educational.
COD4 Star Wars mod 'Galactic Warfare' hits final release
It's been a long time coming, but the Call of Duty 4 "Galactic Warfare" mod has finally been deemed ... er ... final. In the works for the last couple of years, the mod takes the classic shooter to a galaxy far, far away, injecting it with Star Wars characters, weapons and locations, even adding its own killstreaks (including airstrikes with TIE bombers and Y-Wings!). There are seven maps, featuring familiar locations like Bespin and Mos Eisley. The mod is available as a free download from ModDB.
Pachter: West, Zampella have no chance of getting Modern Warfare rights
In addition to being the official economic soothsayer of the gaming industry, Michael Pachter knows a thing or two about legal affairs. Actually, he has a pair of law degrees, so odds are good that he knows more than two things. Regardless, he recently sounded off to IndustryGamers about former Infinity Ward heads Jason West and Vince Zampella's chances of gaining ownership of the Modern Warfare brand form Activision through legal action. His opinion? They've got "no prayer." Pachter suggested that any claim the two may have had on the brand was lost when their employment was terminated, saying, "They have never claimed that they 'own' the brand; instead, they claim that they were granted creative control over the brand under their employment agreement." Pachter added that a theoretical solution for West and Zampella would be to seek reemployment (yeah right) under a wrongful termination claim, though he noted, "That is simply not what West and Zampella are seeking here."
FindMakarov.com is an unofficial Call of Duty film project
The countdown on FindMakarov.com has ended to reveal ... a fan film? Self-funded "for fun," according to creative director Jeff Chan, of Toronto-based viral marketing company We Can Pretend, this live-action trailer is meant as an example of how Activision's Call of Duty game franchise could be expanded to film. "We definitely wouldn't wanna just call ourselves fans," said Chan, who would not say whether the filmmakers had talked to Activision about their project yet. "We gave a statement on Friday," an Activision representative said in response to the trailer going live. "No further comment." The "Find Makarov" trailer, which Chan compared to the live-action ODST short in spirit, was scripted by We Can Pretend design director Patrick Lo, who also created the website. David Fradkin produced the film, and Nir Zahavi directed the extensive viral marketing campaign. Visual effects were handled by Junction VFX, also based out of Toronto. Chan declined to elaborate on the company's long-term intention. Watch the so-called "Live Action Modern Warfare" trailer after the break.
Kinect Hacks: Gesture-based Modern Warfare, Zelda and Doom
YouTube user Demize2010 has been busy since the Kinect's release -- though some have managed to squeeze motion controls into one older title, this crafty modder has Kinectified three. Check out the videos after the jump to see his take on Modern Warfare, Doom and Zelda: A Link to the Past.
Call of Duty 4 art project selected for YouTube Play shortlist
In June, YouTube and the Guggenheim Museum launched YouTube Play. A Biennial of Creative Video. The Guggenheim describes the project as an initiate "to discover and showcase the most exceptional talent working in the ever-expanding realm of online video." The shortlist of entries was announced this week, whittling down some 23,000 submissions from 91 countries to just 125 videos. Among this select group is Josh Bricker's piece "Post Newtonianism," which juxtaposes footage and sound from real modern warfare with Call of Duty 4. (Bricker's video is embedded after the break.) The shortlist will be further reduced to 20 videos, as selected by a jury chaired by the Guggenheim's chief curator, and those choices will be featured at the museum in a special exhibit next month. Could it be? Call of Duty 4 ... in a museum?!
PSA: Modern Warfare 2 'Stimulus Package' DLC assaults PSN tomorrow
Looking to bolster your map count in Modern Warfare 2? Tomorrow, the Stimulus Package DLC deploys on PSN for $14.99, bringing with it five additional maps -- three brand-new; two return from Modern Warfare. For a quick rundown of the locales straight outta Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling's mouth, check out his post on the PlayStation Blog. If you haven't managed to scrounge up enough change from under the couch cushions, don't fret: Infinity Ward is also turning on double the XP this week. So, even if you can't afford a stimulus package of new maps, you can at least whet your appetite for delicious experience points. %Gallery-89046%
Pachter: EA, DICE and Respawn will impact future Call of Duty sales
Do you imagine that every morning, when Michael Pachter wakes up, he dons a black robe, a pointy hat, drops a bunch of stuff into a bubbling cauldron and just predicts? Yeah, we do too. What a life, right? His latest portent involves Respawn Entertainment, the new shop of former Infinity Ward-ers Jason West and Vince Zampella, and it goes a little something like this: the Call of Duty franchise will see lowered sales, thanks to more competition in what we like to call 'the near-superhuman military dudes blowing junk up' market. "I think that it is likely that future games will sell fewer units in the past, primarily due to increased competition from Respawn, DICE and EA games that will likely be in the same or similar genres," Pachter said. He also anticipates that many gamers will recognize that West and Zampella are off the franchise, but that "the majority of consumers will either not know or will not care enough to shun future games." The lack of Infinity Ward's branding certainly didn't stop World at War from moving a bajillion units.
Infinity Ward lead designer now Respawn lead designer [update]
The LinkedIn profile (login required) of former Infinity Ward Lead Designer Todd Alderman, one of the 2015 Inc. staffers who left to form Infinity Ward, reveals that he has signed on as the Lead Game Designer for the new Respawn Entertainment. Hey, don't some other guys from Infinity Ward work at Respawn now? What a happy coincidence! Though we all assumed that departing Infinity Ward staffers would join up with the new studio headed by Vince Zampella and Jason West -- of their own volition, of course, and not through "active soliciting" from Respawn, since the new developer is legally barred from such activity -- this is the first indication of such a thing actually taking place. So now the company has at least three employees. That's enough to make a AAA game, right? Each person only has to work on one "A." Update: G4 is keeping a running tally of the former IW-ers joining Respawn. It's now up to six, including animators, artists, and programmers. [Via G4]
Infinity Ward holdouts to receive extra helping of bonuses, says Activision's Amrich
Activision's newly hired community man Dan Amrich took to a Facebook forum recently to spell out the bonus situation for the remaining employees at troubled Modern Warfare 2 developer Infinity Ward. Develop spotted Amrich's information-laden responses, which echo and expand on claims made by Activision in its suit against former IW heads Vince Zampella and Jason West (we've clipped the pieces of the lawsuit pertaining to the bonuses and dropped them after the break for you). Specifically, Amrich says that employees who have left IW will not be receiving a cut of West and Zampella's now forfeited bonuses -- bonuses for Modern Warfare 2 were never paid, apparently. "Vince and Jason had very large bonuses; those bonuses are being redistributed to everybody else, to the people who did not allegedly attempt to steal company secrets," Amrich explains. "Activision is not pocketing that bonus money; it's still going to the people who work at IW. But you have to work at IW to get it, see? I don't want to see talented people screwed out of a paycheck any more than you do."
Study says violent gaming doesn't have a major impact on sleep
A team of Australian researchers recently conducted a study to determine what effect -- if any -- late-night violent gaming sessions have on a young person's sleep cycle. Two groups of teenage boys were either made to play 50 minutes of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare or watch March of the Penguins while lying in bed. The results showed that the group who played Modern Warfare took only a few minutes longer to fall asleep than those watching the movie, causing the researchers to think presleep gaming's negative effects "may be more modest than previously thought." These results aren't entirely conclusive, as some have taken umbrage with the relatively small 50-minute testing session, which is Sony's recommended amount of continuous gaming time. Personally, we're not convinced Modern Warfare was the best game to get these kids' adrenaline flowing. Next time, we suggest a rousing round of Flower. [Via GamePolitics]
Infinity Ward loses two more key staff, report says
Another day has seen the departure of two more senior staff members from developer Infinity Ward, Kotaku reports. Following yesterday's exodus of seven staffers from the Call of Duty creator and studio responsible for Modern Warfare 1 and 2, lead animator Mark Grigsby and lead character animator John Paul Messerly have updated their LinkedIn profiles (here and here, respectively) indicating that they are no longer with the company. Grigsby had been with the company for five years, working on Call of Duty 2, 4 and Modern Warfare 2. Messerly was an eight-year employee, having contributed to every title in the series produced by the studio. In his update, Messerly left the parting note: "So long and thanks for all the COD." For those keeping count, Grigsby and Messerly bring to 11 the total number of lead developers who have departed Infinity Ward since its studio heads, Vince Zampella and Jason West, were ousted by Activision in early March. Going by IW's company profile on LinkedIn, which puts its employee count at 97, it has lost more than 10 percent of them in just over a week. Activision has said that IW retains a "deep bench of proven talent" -- at least it does for another couple of months, at this rate.
Family Guy gets pwnd in Modern Warfare 2
Hey, did you ever want to see what it would be like for your fat, obnoxious uncle to take a stab at "the Call of Duties?" Well, you're going to have to undertake that quest on your own. But we've got the next best thing: Family Guy's Peter Griffin trying to play Modern Warfare 2. It's like every single stereotype about those 'rents that just don't get it rolled into one minute-long segment, which you can check out past the break.
Ousted Infinity Ward founders 'plan to have an announcement very soon,' lawyer says
"Since being fired by Activision, Jason and Vince have taken steps to regain control over their creative future and plan to have an announcement very soon," Robert M. Schwartz, attorney for ousted Infinity Ward studio heads Jason West and Vince Zampella, told IGN. Responding to the claims made by Activision in the countersuit filed today, Schwartz described Activision's statements as "false and outrageous" and argued that, while West and Zampella did in fact hire a Hollywood agency to represent them and consider spinning off the studio, both of those actions were driven by Activision. Their rationale for hiring the Creative Artists Agency was only to "advise them in their negotiations with Activision, and not to breach their contract," and it was Activision itself who came up with the original spinoff plans for the studio, Schwartz said. Even if the claims were true, says the attorney, West and Zampella's actions haven't "had any negative affect on Activision -- none," before pointing out that "Modern Warfare 2 has been the world's most successful video game." Schwartz says that West and Zampella "would still be at Infinity Ward developing new games" if Activision hadn't "kicked them out." With plans to announce something "very soon" relating to their "creative future," we expect them to be back to developing new games. Just not at Activision, of course. And under an umbrella of legal intrigue. Full statement after the break:
Ex-Infinity Ward heads now represented by Creative Artists Agency
In the video game industry, the talent (read: game developers) are often "hired guns," if you will -- part of a developer that is either wholly owned by a publisher (i.e. Infinity Ward's relationship with Activision) or a developer that's being contracted for development by a publisher (i.e. Ruffian Games' relationship with Microsoft). Rarely, if ever, is an individual (or individuals, as is the case here) represented by a talent agency, nonetheless a fancy, bigtime Hollywood one like Creative Artists Agency. That is, however, the case for the recently let go ex-Infinity Ward heads Vince Zampella and Jason West, who recently inked a deal with the agency. Though a CAA representative wouldn't divulge any info on what the duo's next move is (nor the CAA's next move on their behalf), we have to imagine the pair's pedigree will help out just a bit in finding work. According to the LA Times Company Town blog report, hollywood talent agencies aren't exactly known for scooping up game developers, so this could very well mark a new option for (at very least) big name devs in search of greener pastures.
