John-ShepardDon't scoff at the narrative in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare . Know how long it took to write?
Sledgehammer Games co-founder Glen Schofield addressed a fan who wondered if the campaign might actually be worth playing in this year's CoD entry. This was Schofield's simple response on Twitter :
"It should be. The story alone has taken over 2 1/2 years to write."
Bear in mind that Advanced Warfare has been in development for nearly three years, so it's not too shocking to see that 2.5-year number. Of course, the time spent crafting a story arc isn't always indicative of that story's ultimate quality. Still, it's a good sign, wouldn't you say? And as we've said before, we're not sure if Kevin Spacey would've accepted a crap-ass script…doesn't seem like something he'd do.
Just think: A CoD where both the single-player and multiplayer are well worth experiencing. Sure, sign me up!
Related Game(s): Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
I read that as "It better be good"… not "it is because it took 2.5 years".
And Ghosts was written by an Academy Award winning writer and still failed to resonate with critics. It's good to know that they're paying attention to the story, but I'll pay attention when it turns out to be good.
Agreed, they could take 10 years to write the story and it could still suck donkey balls. They need to focus on multiplayer and things you can do in the game instead of wasting time on a story that i bet like 15% of the buyers will actually play.
The thing is with Ghosts and most of the CoD games after 4 the devs already had the basic build of the game completed with most of the scenarios in place and the writers are simply asked to create a story for what has already been made, which is definitely not good for someone's creative side.
If the script has really been worked on for 2.5 years that means it was hopefully created first and the game built around it.
Well we can only wait and see.
You have a point there, Shaunee. It is very important for the quality of the writing in games for there to be an embedded writer, or at least for narrative to have been a major consideration. One of the best examples is probably the difference between Mirror's Edge and Tomb Raider. Both written by Rihanna Pratchett, but the former (though it had plenty of promise) took a pair of scissors to her script wantonly after she'd finished her commission and suffered for it, while the latter was truer to her vision and was widely regarded as one of the best gaming narratives of 2013.
On the other hand, there are plenty of games with embedded writers that still aren't great. Think Ryse, KZ, Remember Me, God of War: Ascension and Castlevania: LoS2 to name a few fairly recent ones.
Hopefully Sledgehammer can give a fresh take on the COD formula. I want to go back to enjoying the mindless entertainment that is COD.
Novels don't take that long to write. There's a big problem when you need to find something to say, rather than having something to say in the first place. The latest Spider-Man movie is a good example of that–too many cooks in the kitchen, losing focus on anything of worth. Call of Duty is a series that is made because they need to make it; not because someone has a striking creative vision that they want to see realized. I have very low expectations for this.
"Novels don't take that long to write."
I'm sorry, but that is a horribly misinformed sentiment. Ulysses, Atlas Shrugged, Lord of the Rings, Don Quixote, In Cold Blood, and War and Peace kinda put paid to that idea. Most novels may not take three years or so, but the greatest can take a hell of a long time.
I hope we're not comparing Call of Duty to Les Miserables, now. Games don't take 14 years to make, either, but then you have things like Duke Nukem Forever. My point was, like others, length of development does not equal quality.
Not implying that Call of Duty is a literary masterpiece, of course. And you're totally right that incubation period =/= quality, but in the right hands, it can be helpful. I just wanted to point that out. 🙂
"I hope we're not comparing Call of Duty to Les Miserables, now." -> LOL, now that's the quote of this week AND the next. 😀
Les Miserables sucks
They're saying all the right things, and I'm definitely intrigued but I'm certainly not sold yet.
And I agree that time does not equal a great story but I am glad they're talking about story because it means that they realize the story aspect of CoD has been seriously lacking in the last few years.
i'm sry but i still don't care and i would buy the game just for the single player waste of money anyway thats just me i have stated this on multiple times
happy gaming =)