How to freshen up Call of Duty: Stop using Americans
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Talshere said:
I wouldn't want a game that focuses of the SS or whoever was involved with the genocide. I would prefer a game where you play an everyman with a life of their own, fighting for the same reasons any other soldier would fight for their country. For their comrades in the trenches.Skin said:
It would just be a dick move to keep feeding into this American ideology that all Germans were Nazi's and all of them loved Hitler and whatnot.
There are so many untapped parts of history, especially the Second World War, which, if we were going by the locales set by the CoD and Medal of Honour serieses, consists of Normandy, the Ardennes, Italy, a bit of North Africa, Stalingrad, Berlin and Okinawa/Iwo Jima/Guaducanal/any other US Marines-exclusive campaign in the Pacific.
I propose;
The New Guinea Campaign, which was, for the most part (as far as I'm aware), fought largely by Australian forces.
The East India/Burma campaign, from the perspective of an Indian soldier, specifically Kohima, one of the fiercest battles of the war, which pretty much decided the future of the subcontinent. Apparently it was so brutal the Commonwealth troops actually started piling up the Japanese dead to use them as a parapet.
Operation Dragoon; a massive landing in the scenic setting of the French Riviera, which goes largely unacknowledged by the media. It was a key part of the campaign to liberate France and an awesome setting, yet... meh, its never been done.
WW2 from the perspective of a soldier of the elite Brandenburg division, a German elite force to rival the early SAS; they played a key role in the early German successes and fought on practically every front and right till the end of the war.
Of course, there are plenty of other settings/ time periods overlooked;
I'm always amazed there isn't a major FPS set in the Korean War
WW1 as well; there were other, more interesting, mobile fronts than northern France/Belgium;
Asia, where Japan was on the allied side
Africa, especially the escapades of Von Lettow and his army in Eastern and Southeastern Africa
The middle east, where, as far as I'm aware, there was no trench warfare
Italy, where a lot of the fighting happened in the alps
Edit: and a WW1 game would allow you to play as any side, because really, they were all as bad as one another.
I propose;
The New Guinea Campaign, which was, for the most part (as far as I'm aware), fought largely by Australian forces.
The East India/Burma campaign, from the perspective of an Indian soldier, specifically Kohima, one of the fiercest battles of the war, which pretty much decided the future of the subcontinent. Apparently it was so brutal the Commonwealth troops actually started piling up the Japanese dead to use them as a parapet.
Operation Dragoon; a massive landing in the scenic setting of the French Riviera, which goes largely unacknowledged by the media. It was a key part of the campaign to liberate France and an awesome setting, yet... meh, its never been done.
WW2 from the perspective of a soldier of the elite Brandenburg division, a German elite force to rival the early SAS; they played a key role in the early German successes and fought on practically every front and right till the end of the war.
Of course, there are plenty of other settings/ time periods overlooked;
I'm always amazed there isn't a major FPS set in the Korean War
WW1 as well; there were other, more interesting, mobile fronts than northern France/Belgium;
Asia, where Japan was on the allied side
Africa, especially the escapades of Von Lettow and his army in Eastern and Southeastern Africa
The middle east, where, as far as I'm aware, there was no trench warfare
Italy, where a lot of the fighting happened in the alps
Edit: and a WW1 game would allow you to play as any side, because really, they were all as bad as one another.
First, Commonwealth forces, a game set in WW2 where you play as Aussies, Indians, Gurkhas etc. I mean, Australia has yet to be properly represented in a shooter and the indians and gurkhas don't even get mentioned.
Second, and this has always been a pet idea of mine, a dual sided ostfront game, you spend half the game playing as a young, naive german soldier and the other half playing as a pre war russian voluteer. The whole thing would be an exercise in contrast where, on the german side, for the first half of the game you have massive support, plenty of equipment and the patriotic feeling of the nation behind you. Meanwhile, every second level it switches over to the red army, where you have no support, barely any ammo and a lack of brotherly feeling in the ranks after the purges. You also watch the atrocities commited by the germans on your people.
As time goes on the roles slowly switch, the russians gaining momentum and power and the germans losing it. At the same time, the russian squad of characters grows closer together in the wave of patriotic fervor and the germans begin to grow bitter and disillussioned. This comes to the mid-game peak as both sides are equally desperate and battered in stalingrad.
The most important part of this game would be atmosphere and characterisation, a dialog system would have to be implemented but it is vital that you know, recognise and sympathise with the support characters on both sides.
In the latter half of the game, the russians advance into germany, the player is made to feel complicit in the crimes commited by the red army. This is why the characterisation is so important, because I want the player to be reluctant to stand against actions commited by characters that they like. Imagine if tali from mass effect started commiting war crimes and thats about what I am going for. On the other hand, in the german levels the player feels the other side of the awesome power that they weilded at the begining. For example, where you once had the ability to call on stukas for support, now you are being torn appart by shturmoviks (I really don't know how to spell that).
The last few levels would be the battle of berlin, where the russian and german squads that you have taken through the game come into contact with each other. As the russian, you kill the german squad, one by one. The second last level would be from the geman perspective as you fight a desperate last stand, the kicker being, that you are given the option to throw down your gun and surrender or fight to the death. If you surrender, you are captured by the russian squad.
The final level of the game is either from the russian or german side, depending on how you scored in their respective levels as the german protagonist is executed by the russian protaganist.
Overall, I think that it would be an effective war game because it forces you to see that everyone is the hero of their own story.
Second, and this has always been a pet idea of mine, a dual sided ostfront game, you spend half the game playing as a young, naive german soldier and the other half playing as a pre war russian voluteer. The whole thing would be an exercise in contrast where, on the german side, for the first half of the game you have massive support, plenty of equipment and the patriotic feeling of the nation behind you. Meanwhile, every second level it switches over to the red army, where you have no support, barely any ammo and a lack of brotherly feeling in the ranks after the purges. You also watch the atrocities commited by the germans on your people.
As time goes on the roles slowly switch, the russians gaining momentum and power and the germans losing it. At the same time, the russian squad of characters grows closer together in the wave of patriotic fervor and the germans begin to grow bitter and disillussioned. This comes to the mid-game peak as both sides are equally desperate and battered in stalingrad.
The most important part of this game would be atmosphere and characterisation, a dialog system would have to be implemented but it is vital that you know, recognise and sympathise with the support characters on both sides.
In the latter half of the game, the russians advance into germany, the player is made to feel complicit in the crimes commited by the red army. This is why the characterisation is so important, because I want the player to be reluctant to stand against actions commited by characters that they like. Imagine if tali from mass effect started commiting war crimes and thats about what I am going for. On the other hand, in the german levels the player feels the other side of the awesome power that they weilded at the begining. For example, where you once had the ability to call on stukas for support, now you are being torn appart by shturmoviks (I really don't know how to spell that).
The last few levels would be the battle of berlin, where the russian and german squads that you have taken through the game come into contact with each other. As the russian, you kill the german squad, one by one. The second last level would be from the geman perspective as you fight a desperate last stand, the kicker being, that you are given the option to throw down your gun and surrender or fight to the death. If you surrender, you are captured by the russian squad.
The final level of the game is either from the russian or german side, depending on how you scored in their respective levels as the german protagonist is executed by the russian protaganist.
Overall, I think that it would be an effective war game because it forces you to see that everyone is the hero of their own story.
*Applause*. Yes, that would be a fantastic game. But like someone said earlier, I wouldn't trust Infinity Ward or Dice with such a task. How about those guys who made Metro 2033? They made a SP focused game that was excellent. I am sure they can do it again.the clockmaker said:
Also, the dialogue of the game is spoken in Russian and German with subtitles. Gives it that real authentic feeling.
I'll do you one better, Smeggs.Smeggs said:
* I'd like to see a AAA FPS shooter where main, or even a supporting character is a female soldier. Hell, I'd settle for actual female NPCs directly involved in the story arc(s). Oh yeah, they don't get credit for invoking commonly used female tropes/cliches to relegate them to plot devices or anything like that. The IP would instantly lose any and all future consumer dollars and time from me if they did so.
Unfortunately Smeggs, the devs, not to mention the publisher(s), have too much brand recognition/penetration and (frankly) money at stake to risk trying to "shake up the formula". There's wwaayy too much to lose at this point in attempting to break away from the super-serious, "superduper-hardcore-military-hardcore-YYEEAAHH!!", balls-to-the-wall level of warfare mayhem-style fragfests to try to be topical &/or socio-politically insightful now. The moneys are flowing like raindrops from a tsunami storm, and Activision probably isn't gonna allow any tampering to the franchise to jeopardise the revenue each installment seems to violently coerce from fans' coffers.
Multiple perspectives would definitely improve things. While it is important to continue with story and be consistent, the effect of that is diminished when you are trying to be consistent with a turd. Whoever is making COD each year has missed many opportunities to make the game better, not just another thing for us to buy.
These days there are more Modern Warfare games on the market (Battlefield, Modern Combat[mobile]) who all try and be like COD. The reason that COD4 (Modern Warfare 1) was so successful was because all of the games were WW2 games that tried to be like COD, at the time. Now everyone is still copying them. So, a word of advice, go back to WW2, but make it something interesting. I saw someone suggest the idea of being a solider on the Axis side, which would be really interesting. Maybe also something like a Korean in the Korean War, or a member of the NLF. If you wanted something that was REALLY INTERESTING, you could try and go for a FPS of some sort of colonial war.
TL;DR: If COD is going to continue as a franchise, it needs to deviate from the "Modern Theme", rather than make more ridiculous plot lines.
These days there are more Modern Warfare games on the market (Battlefield, Modern Combat[mobile]) who all try and be like COD. The reason that COD4 (Modern Warfare 1) was so successful was because all of the games were WW2 games that tried to be like COD, at the time. Now everyone is still copying them. So, a word of advice, go back to WW2, but make it something interesting. I saw someone suggest the idea of being a solider on the Axis side, which would be really interesting. Maybe also something like a Korean in the Korean War, or a member of the NLF. If you wanted something that was REALLY INTERESTING, you could try and go for a FPS of some sort of colonial war.
TL;DR: If COD is going to continue as a franchise, it needs to deviate from the "Modern Theme", rather than make more ridiculous plot lines.
Here is the thing. Males just don't understand females very well and have a very hard time relating to them. You see this in a lot of writing, where the females come off as generic, or even if it was good writing of a female character, it is hard for a male to really know.urahara75 said:* I'd like to see a AAA FPS shooter where main, or even a supporting character is a female soldier. Hell, I'd settle for actual female NPCs directly involved in the story arc(s). Oh yeah, they don't get credit for invoking commonly used female tropes/cliches to relegate them to plot devices or anything like that. The IP would instantly lose any and all future consumer dollars and time from me if they did so.
Considering you brought up the lowest common denominator in second paragraph, do you really think game developers will risk a female protagonist which their audience could not jerk off too? It is somehow a much bigger risk than allowing us to play as WW2 Germans, or massacring civilians.
I want to play a COD-esque game where America isn't in it at all. Maybe mentioned once or twice as to why the US isn't in game but thats it.
Like maybe you play a Spetsnaz fighting terrorists or maybe bring light to some lesser mentioned conflicts (African civil wars, Mexican drug war, ect...) Just for a little change of pace and have a story that tells its players what is going on around the world.
(I am American by the way)
Like maybe you play a Spetsnaz fighting terrorists or maybe bring light to some lesser mentioned conflicts (African civil wars, Mexican drug war, ect...) Just for a little change of pace and have a story that tells its players what is going on around the world.
(I am American by the way)
Firstly, nope. Secondly, yes, and here's why...Skin said:
:<
You said it yourself. (Most) male writers can't write even halfway distinguishable, compelling female characters (period) worth a damn. And those that get lucky usually find their character either an amalgam of ready-at-hand gender-specific tropes, or an antagonist. If we, as males, can't even find a way of including the other half of the population (in general) meaningfully in fictional interactive stories, it doesn't bode well for other cultures, races, species, ideologies, etc., that are not native to the devs and the target audience(s) to being reasonably portrayed in said games. This is part of what worries me for this genre, at least if left in U.S./U.K. developers' and publishers' hands.
This is one of the many increasing list of problems in CoD games but in my opinion is much lower down the list of things that need to be fixed when compared to the other ones. That said I will never ever be buying a CoD game again. I am not going to pay ?60 for what is essentially an expansion of 10 years ago and shamelessly reuses old maps without telling people.
Unless the CoD series goes in a completely new direction I won't be buying what is the Fifa and Madden of the FPS genre.
Unless the CoD series goes in a completely new direction I won't be buying what is the Fifa and Madden of the FPS genre.
really? Im not entirly sure about thatSkin said:Here is the thing. Males just don't understand females very well and have a very hard time relating to them.[/B] You see this in a lot of writing, where the females come off as generic, or even if it was good writing of a female character, it is hard for a male to really know.urahara75 said:* I'd like to see a AAA FPS shooter where main, or even a supporting character is a female soldier. Hell, I'd settle for actual female NPCs directly involved in the story arc(s). Oh yeah, they don't get credit for invoking commonly used female tropes/cliches to relegate them to plot devices or anything like that. The IP would instantly lose any and all future consumer dollars and time from me if they did so.
Considering you brought up the lowest common denominator in second paragraph, do you really think game developers will risk a female protagonist which their audience could not jerk off too? It is somehow a much bigger risk than allowing us to play as WW2 Germans, or massacring civilians.
I mean (yep..going back to that old chestnut) Alyx vance....EVERYONE* loves alyx vance..not only for the "Yeah Id do her" angle....I mean because shes likeable and just a good allround charachter
and plus..in any given situation is it really that hard to empathise with "holy shit! shoot shoot! gotta kill the enemy before I die!"?....such as in Aliens or Terminator 2?..
I read an article abotu movies being "dumbed down" so to speak for foregn audiences, so that it can be understood on a universal level..without certain things that are only recognisable to that specific culture (for example Transformers BIG ROBOTS DOIING SHIT! everonyone can get behined that)
perpahs its somthing similar, you wouldnt want to play a game where our female protagonist has to go cloths shopping or talk about periods (whatever it is women do) but if she has a gun and has to survive a zombie attack...well thats somthing you can understand right? being scared....
plus Ive heard occasionally people here like to play as female in RPG's
and if what your saying was true then Im a little ticked off I would be expected to empathise with a bland male charachter..AND shitty female charachters...in stuff written entirly for females no less!
Careful with the logical fallacy. I found her no more interesting the Gordan.Vault101 said:
Here is where it gets tricky. Ellen Ripley was about as characterized as a walnut soaked in vinegar. She could have just as easily been a dude and it would have made no difference to anyone.
So why not just slap tits on the playable character and make them No-Personality-Magoo? Because the lowest common denominator, white males aged something or other would rather think that they are the protagonist rather than be forced to play as something they can't really relate to. So the female characters either have to be immaculate, or interchangeable with males as long as they are not playable.
Yes, it's sad, but go on a literature forum and see the rage induced at how poorly writers write female characters. And this is on literature forums...
Black Ops tried that, and it didn't work, because Mason had the personality and depth of a tub of lard.Akimoto said: