Why has Cod become what it is?

[Nazulu]

Anyway... you wanna know why a vocal minority of people hate CoD? Because it's popular. It really is that simple. People will try to rationalize their hatred by recycling the same old arguments (which, somewhat ironically, is the reason they claim to hate CoD) like "It doesn't innovate" or "It's destroying the industry." Fucking LOL. No. It's not. It's objectively not destroying the industry. And if these people wanna pretend it is, they're gonna need to present more proof than "I have a gut feeling."

Oh that's hilarious. First you go against Adam for making ignorant assumptions (which I stand by), but then you do the exact same thing?! Well done. You are no better now.

Also, I doubt it's vocal minority when it's everywhere on the net, and you are also recycling old arguments and then saying 'fact'. I don't know exactly if it's destroying the industry but it's certainly had it's impact with many other studio's attempting to recreate COD with a different name, with FPS out numbering most other genres and even some classic franchises changing to the FPS genre as well. This has been discussed for bloody ages now so where have you been?

 

[Fox12]

I dislike Call of Duty for the same reason I hate Transformers. It's mediocre tripe meant to appeal to the lowest common denominator. If I have any real issues with it, it's that it had a negative impact on other games, because everyone wanted to copy it (even JRPG's, which makes zero sense). I wouldn't say I hate it though. I largely ignore it, and it doesn't affect me. We travel in different circles, the two of us. It's not like it spit on my mom or something, so I have no reason to hold a grudge. I ignore it and go about my day, playing legitimately good games while forgetting COD even exists.

 

[ItsNotRudy]

so yea why do people hate or love these games so much?

It's flooded with little children. That's an argument for both sides.

 

[J Tyran]

Then the fault lies with you, if you do not see interesting or different things then you are either not looking hard enough or looking in the wrong places. That is entirely your own problem and something you need to work through by yourself, don't expect an industry to shape itself to serve your shortcomings.

Oh how I saw this coming a mile away. I was hoping you would be smart enough to avoid that cop out answer, but it always happens.

You are now off topic mate. We are talking about COD remember, and why many people have become sick of it. You started this by saying those who expect more should hang their head in shame, and now you're wondering off saying that other developers should make up for that lack of creativity. It does not work like that no matter much you wish it did. A lot of us see this repetitiveness as a flaw and so it will be pointed out. In other words; Don't expect the people to change themselves or serve your shortcomings.

Pointing out simple gaps in your logic isn't a copout, it should not be necessary but it obviously is. You have made fallacious argument after fallacious argument, lets just reiterate the main hat trick though,

-Everything must be new
-New is always good
-Absence of new in one single thing prevents new in everything else

Have you got no other argument against Call of Duty other than "I dont like it"? If not its no big thing, its quite alright not to like it. Its allowed you know, your mistake is trying to dress it up in some grand crusade and consequently none of your arguments hold water.

Yes people that expect every single something to genre and life changing need to hang their heads in shame, its unrealistic and absurd. Some things simply serve a function, a house keeps you warm and dry without every single house having to be an architectural marvel. A TV program gives you something to watch for 60 mins and isn't always a masterpiece of of its art and the same goes for a game, it provides a few hours of escapism and thats it.

Oh you where the one saying saying developers should make up for anything not me.

 

[Bat Vader]

I don't think it has become a bad word. The gaming industry tries to make almost every military shooter Call of Duty. I think the reason that it gets so much negativity though is because of its yearly release, community, and poor stories. I Black Ops II a few weeks ago and I felt the story in that was leagues better than any of the rest. Helps when they actually hire a decent writer.

I think the COD community is what draws the most negative attention to the game. It's not really the community it is just more the rude vocal players that swear, insult. and just generally annoy people. I understand there are players like that in every multiplayer game. Honestly, people like that are what caused me to stop playing most multiplayer games besides MMOs.

 

[Lazy Kitty]

Well, I used to like the cod games.
Until COD 4 and 5, where the guns just felt too light. Almost like plastic toy guns. (I loved shooting people with a KAR89K in cod 2. It had a nice and heavy feel too it. It also was nice and slow, bullet per bullet.)
Haven't touched any cod after that.

 

[Syzygy23]

Does anyone remember Michael Jordan and all the "Slam Jam" stuff from the 90's? Yeah, that's why people hate CoD and why others love it.

 

[Nazulu]

Then the fault lies with you, if you do not see interesting or different things then you are either not looking hard enough or looking in the wrong places. That is entirely your own problem and something you need to work through by yourself, don't expect an industry to shape itself to serve your shortcomings.

Oh how I saw this coming a mile away. I was hoping you would be smart enough to avoid that cop out answer, but it always happens.

You are now off topic mate. We are talking about COD remember, and why many people have become sick of it. You started this by saying those who expect more should hang their head in shame, and now you're wondering off saying that other developers should make up for that lack of creativity. It does not work like that no matter much you wish it did. A lot of us see this repetitiveness as a flaw and so it will be pointed out. In other words; Don't expect the people to change themselves or serve your shortcomings.

Pointing out simple gaps in your logic isn't a copout, it should not be necessary but it obviously is. You have made fallacious argument after fallacious argument, lets just reiterate the main hat trick though,

-Everything must be new
-New is always good
-Absence of new in one single thing prevents new in everything else

Have you got no other argument against Call of Duty other than "I dont like it"? If not its no big thing, its quite alright not to like it. Its allowed you know, your mistake is trying to dress it up in some grand crusade and consequently none of your arguments hold water.

Yes people that expect every single something to genre and life changing need to hang their heads in shame, its unrealistic and absurd. Some things simply serve a function, a house keeps you warm and dry without every single house having to be an architectural marvel. A TV program gives you something to watch for 60 mins and isn't always a masterpiece of of its art and the same goes for a game, it provides a few hours of escapism and thats it.

Oh you where the one saying saying developers should make up for anything not me.

Oh boy. There is no gaps in my logic, you however go off on different things I haven't even brought up. You just can't discuss properly. You're making up grounds and now I'm going to point them out.

I never said everything must be new, I never said new is always good though it should be rewarded for trying, and I never said new in one single thing prevents new in everything else. Is this how you always make discussions, by just making all this nonsensical assumptions? If you want to know what I think, then ask. I don't mind they release sequels that are similar, even in a row, but I have to draw the line somewhere and COD's been doing this for awhile now. I also believe that as artists they should improve and expand on their work, which they can't do by releasing every year. Obviously they like the easy money. And I see no good reason for why they can't try making a different franchise to break up the monotony. If smaller studios can pull it off then why need them, huh?

Also I'm dressing up something as a grand crusade? Could you get anymore dramatic? What makes you think that your arguments holds any water, if you have any? Your last paragraph is just... Wow. It's not an argument, just an aggressive opinion with no ground. Okay, firstly, how drastic are these changes that these people want, who you are talking about? What makes you think everyone see's games as a few hours of escapism and that's it? Also, why haven't you brought up how many COD's have been done in a row and the rate of their release? Also, you still have no argument as for why people can't believe that developers can't at least try something different with each game, just that they should be shamed because you think it's impossible to try something different each time. Which is ridiculous.

 

[BarbaricGoose]

Anyway... you wanna know why a vocal minority of people hate CoD? Because it's popular. It really is that simple. People will try to rationalize their hatred by recycling the same old arguments (which, somewhat ironically, is the reason they claim to hate CoD) like "It doesn't innovate" or "It's destroying the industry." Fucking LOL. No. It's not. It's objectively not destroying the industry. And if these people wanna pretend it is, they're gonna need to present more proof than "I have a gut feeling."

Oh that's hilarious. First you go against Adam for making ignorant assumptions (which I stand by), but then you do the exact same thing?! Well done. You are no better now.

Also, I doubt it's vocal minority when it's everywhere on the net, and you are also recycling old arguments and then saying 'fact'. I don't know exactly if it's destroying the industry but it's certainly had it's impact with many other studio's attempting to recreate COD with a different name, with FPS out numbering most other genres and even some classic franchises changing to the FPS genre as well. This has been discussed for bloody ages now so where have you been?

So... FPS games being popular = CoD destroying the industry? Yes, popular games do impact the industry, but if someone's gonna say it's destroying the industry, they need something more than "There are other games that resemble it."

And yes, people who hate CoD are a vocal minority. By shouting real loud, small groups can make themselves sound big. I think BO2 sold, what was it, 6 million copies? It would take A LOT of angry forum-goers to turn 6 million into the minority.

But you're right about one thing: I kinda did kick myself in the ass there. I don't really have a defense for that. I stand by everything I said, though. But if I could go back, I'd have worded it a little differently, so as to not eat my foot.

 

[Cheeseman Muncher]

Because it's been horrendously over-fished due to high consumer demand. The high demand means it will sell for high prices and as a result fishermen wanted to keep catching it to make a lot of money.

However, the over-fishing leads to an overall decrease in the quality of stocks. This is why it's a good idea to limit the amount of fishing of these particular stocks, giving them a "rest", allowing the fish time to grow and the quality of the stock return.

Oh wait...you mean the game...this probably still holds if you swap a few words around.

 

[Burnhardt]

Sales. I remember a time when if the sales broke into a half a million copies it was considered great.

Not anymore.

CoD has changed everything in terms of this. When a game can sell in the millions on launch day alone instead of breaking a million after a few months or a year it destroys the market, because very few Publishers want to risk funding a new IP or a developer that can't get similar figures.

 

[Tom_green_day]

Its just an average shooter franchise yes some of the fans are annoying but that's hardly unique to cod, every series has its dipshit fans.

I'd say the reason is that it isn't average. It's not my favourite series but I really enjoy every CoD game I play, and the reason I enjoy it is that, in all my experience at least, it's always functioned well. The gameplay is smooth and enjoyable, the stories are at least interesting, each new game brings something new to the table (zombies, strike force, pick 10 etc). It's loved because, in my opinion at least, it's a great game.
It's hated for the fact that it is loved so much. Modern Military Shooters aren't exactly a thing that geek culture revolves around, and since gaming is still in some parts a geek culture thing, people are going to rage at it for being the game that lets 'casuals' into their medium.

 

[Nazulu]

Anyway... you wanna know why a vocal minority of people hate CoD? Because it's popular. It really is that simple. People will try to rationalize their hatred by recycling the same old arguments (which, somewhat ironically, is the reason they claim to hate CoD) like "It doesn't innovate" or "It's destroying the industry." Fucking LOL. No. It's not. It's objectively not destroying the industry. And if these people wanna pretend it is, they're gonna need to present more proof than "I have a gut feeling."

Oh that's hilarious. First you go against Adam for making ignorant assumptions (which I stand by), but then you do the exact same thing?! Well done. You are no better now.

Also, I doubt it's vocal minority when it's everywhere on the net, and you are also recycling old arguments and then saying 'fact'. I don't know exactly if it's destroying the industry but it's certainly had it's impact with many other studio's attempting to recreate COD with a different name, with FPS out numbering most other genres and even some classic franchises changing to the FPS genre as well. This has been discussed for bloody ages now so where have you been?

So... FPS games being popular = CoD destroying the industry? Yes, popular games do impact the industry, but if someone's gonna say it's destroying the industry, they need something more than "There are other games that resemble it."

And yes, people who hate CoD are a vocal minority. By shouting real loud, small groups can make themselves sound big. I think BO2 sold, what was it, 6 million copies? It would take A LOT of angry forum-goers to turn 6 million into the minority.

But you're right about one thing: I kinda did kick myself in the ass there. I don't really have a defense for that. I stand by everything I said, though. But if I could go back, I'd have worded it a little differently, so as to not eat my foot.

You are doing it again! What makes you so sure it's a vocal minority? Even then, does that automatically make the minority wrong? AND even then, there is a lot more than 6 million people in this world, and pretty sure there is a lot more then that are into playing games. I would say it's a pretty big minority to just ignore.

Look mate, I'm not going to ignore you even if you we're he minority. Hell, sometimes the greatest things are thought up by certain individuals and they can change world.

Just incase, I'm not saying COD is bad and it should die. I'm aware there are many other franchises that do this as well and I give them shit too, so COD isn't special to me alright. I just wished it would slow down and take the time to improve in most ways and expand on the options. You know, make the perfect game, like sequels used to try to do.

Another one of my point of views that I don't expect you to agree with, but these developers are not just entertainers, they are also educators. A lot of people are inspired (there's another word I would prefer to use if I could remember it) by their work and I believe they have a obligation to show it's a good thing to try something different every now and again. To me this is very important.

 

[V da Mighty Taco]

The issues people have with Call of Duty are far and wide, and are most certainly not "because people like to hate things that are popular for no reason / hipster points / just to hate something" (as with everything widely loathed, to say people like that are the vast minority of those who despise it would be a dramatic understatement).

To keep it condensed, the biggest reason is that Call of Duty has become the first-person shooter equivalent of World of Warcraft. It's popularity has made it the gold standard of the gaming industry, and many other studios now try to run similar mechanics and gameplay styles to that series in hopes of capturing even a fraction of that popularity - with even non-shooters being guilty of this. Look how many modern-military shooters have been released since Call of Duty 4 was released, or at how many games are designed around low-mobility and iron-sight aiming that slows the player down even further, or even how many shooters run an RPG-style progression system for online competitive multiplayer that includes unlocking perks and weapons while having players build customized loadouts of said perks and weapons. The advent of "killstreaks" is something that did not exist in shooters period until the Call of Duty's inclusion of them, yet now they're actually a semi-common gameplay mechanic in first-person shooters.

Now this isn't the first time a game has changed the gaming landscape and set the new standard for how games of the same genre (and even different genres) should be made, as Doom and World of Warcraft have easily shown. The issue with this trend for AAA companies to constantly try to imitate one game's style, however, is that for players who either do not like that style of gameplay or are just burnt out of it quickly find themselves with very few alternatives. For example, how many first-person shooters released in the past 5 years have Doom-like elements such as rocket jumping, no automatic health-regeneration, an emphasis on dodging enemy fire rather than taking cover, and large non-linear maps with secret areas that encourage heavy exploration? Now compare that to the number of first-person shooters released in the past 5 years that have linear map design with either no or very little emphasis on exploration, have numerous cutscenes per level, little enemy variety, a focus on taking cover over dodging enemy fire, require little health or ammo management, have a 2-weapon limit, have gritty storylines involving nukes, and a focus on iron-sight aiming and it becomes clear why those who don't want a first-person shooter like Call of Duty are upset - virtually nobody in the AAA industry wants to cater to them, whereas those who like games similar to Call of Duty have possibly over a dozen AAA releases specifically for them releases every year.

There are other reasons as well, such as how oversaturated the franchise has become due to yearly releases as well as the lack of major innovation in the series since the original Modern Warfare. Some (myself included) feel like the games have also been declining in quality for quite some time now (since CoD4 for me). All of these contribute to why people are so very sick of Call of Duty and - I repeat - is not because "people just like to hate popular things" like many would lead you to believe.

 

[cikame]

I missed COD1 and entered the series at COD2, that game was phenominal at the time, other modern games of the time barely ran on my PC but COD2 sped along beautifully and the graphics were fantastic, i can't praise that game enough.
COD3 didn't quite follow on but it was a fun little WW2 jaunt with some tank action. Now COD4... that was a hell of a game, the campaign was varied and impressive with some real heart rending moments which was the perfect tool to train people and introduce them to a well constructed multiplayer mode, the easy to control nature of the shooting, the speed at which you could find games and load maps, then play them at 60fps which no other shooter did on consoles, it's easy to become addicted to something so approachable and quick to reward.

The games released since have had their small ups and downs, i found a favorite in the Black Ops series, but the core of the game and why i believe it's so popular remains the same, speed. Fast to start up, fast to load single player, fast to load multiplayer, fast to aim, fast to shoot, you die you respawn, it's just fast. It's hard to play games like Killzone and Halo after experiencing COD.

 

[ghostman725]

Call of Duty used to be fun and Call of Duty 4 Modern Warfare brought a fresh aspect to a genre. The problem with the series now is that they have not adapted it or changed it. They have tried to reinvent the wheel. There has been a lot of money thrown at it in terms of story and gameplay but nothing has really come from it.

Apart from Black Ops the story for the Call of Duty games have been good and the single player fun. For me the biggest killer is the multiplayer. COD4 had good quality maps and size so one particular type of weapon doesn't run supreme. But now the map sizes and tiny and with so much cover, buildings etc there is not really any use for Snipers, Assault Rifles and LMG's and the team play element is not there. Every time I play i get frustrated with the large number of my team sitting in one corner waiting for the other team rather than going after the objective. I'm tired of constantly seeing smgs on the kill list.

The reason why its so popular online seems to be that there is a lot of people playing it because they don't check out what is out there. There are better alternatives. BF3 has large and small maps (even their smallest maps is massive for infantry only)and even Medal of Honor War fighter multilayer offers a better unique experience over call of duty at the minute.

 

[masticina]

Anyone here play Game Dev Tycoon? There's a wiki that tells you plainly what it takes to make a successful game, including pretty rigid percentages and algorithms. In short, there's a fairly reliable mathematical "this is a good game" formula.
I like to think that's kinda what Infinity Ward has going on here. They've found a formula that produces reliable results, and they're sticking with it. They have their focuses on AI, graphics and online, combined with AAA bonus, sequel bonus, marketing for hype... the more I think about it, the more I believe my own half-assed hypothesis.

Actually that reminds me of the research they have done on music. If you would analyze pieces of music using certain algorithms. You find that there are about 4 Islands where the successful music hangs around. So ever asked why certain songs seem to sound the same.. well it is because of this they all want to hang around these islands!

But tastes can change! Being fully in tune with such a center might lead in the end to you losing sight of the goal. As in, a shift might happen!

 

[Not Lord Atkin]

Because CoD is the definition of mediocre. It contributes nothing to gaming, everything it does has been done better and any innovation in it is just aspects of other games added to it, yet it is the most popular game series currently.

It attracts so much love because it's the easiest game outside of Nintendo franchises for 'casuals' to get into, and it attracts so much hate because the aforementioned casuals play it, act like it's good and show it off while games like BioShock, Dead Rising and Oblivion* cover their faces and try not to overshadow it because clearly Quantity beats Quality.

*Why I didn't say Skyrim? Well, Skyrim became immensely popular and everyone got it, that's why.

And that's the reason to hate it? Because it's not good but it's popular? Why does popularity of something you don't like even matter to you?

Simple. Its success lead to a high saturation of CoD clones in the market, replacing what could have potentially been interesting new game ideas in place of just making a generic "well whatever sells" brown/grey shooter.

Call of Duty is a poison in the games industry in terms of creativity.

How is that CoD's fault? Blame publishers of other games who think that cloning a popular thing guarantees success.

There's nothing wrong with Call of Duty. It's a fun, enjoyable game with a slightly annoying fanbase. The fact that it does things that you don't personally like does not make it any less valid as a game. It has a right to exist and the people who like it have a right to feel that way. If you don't like it by all means continue, just stop rubbing it in people's faces. Right now, most of what I've read in this thread is people trying to convince me how much somthing I like sucks and how it shouldn't be popular because THEY don't like it.

Look, I haven't bought a Call of Duty game since Black Ops; The franchise has it's share of issues: the annoying 12-year-olds are way too vocal, the games are way too similar to each other to justify buying more then one of them, it's published by fucking Activision, all of the other publishers are aping it because of reasons... but none of these are issues with the core game and none of them justify hating it because 'it's popular and it doesn't deserve to be'. The game has a right to exist, it has its place on the market, it is an enjoyable game if you're into that sort of thing.

 

[Apostheum]

I don't hate CoD, just like I don't hate LoL.
I just find that for every decent guy playing them, there's ten, 13 year old, racist kids from Poland (or Brazil if you're from NA)ruining my gaming experience. How many time have I not entered a match of either of these games. Only to be met with:

PL?! PL!?! PL!??!!

- No, sorry.

- KURWAAAAAA!

- I'm sorry?

- haha u noob i f**k u mothar haha noob uninstall game faggat haha

The environment is toxic at best, and it's not going to change.

I think that's why many people hate these games.
They hate the playerbase, and project this as a fault of the game. But those people have always been there, and will always be there, regardless of the game.

In fact; I think it's good that we have CoD and LoL. They act as fly-catchers. Keeping the majority of these douchebags rounded up in 2 games. So that we can enjoy other multiplayer games in relative peace.

 

[BarbaricGoose]

You are doing it again! What makes you so sure it's a vocal minority? Even then, does that automatically make the minority wrong? AND even then, there is a lot more than 6 million people in this world, and pretty sure there is a lot more then that are into playing games. I would say it's a pretty big minority to just ignore.

Look mate, I'm not going to ignore you even if you we're he minority. Hell, sometimes the greatest things are thought up by certain individuals and they can change world.

Just incase, I'm not saying COD is bad and it should die. I'm aware there are many other franchises that do this as well and I give them shit too, so COD isn't special to me alright. I just wished it would slow down and take the time to improve in most ways and expand on the options. You know, make the perfect game, like sequels used to try to do.

Another one of my point of views that I don't expect you to agree with, but these developers are not just entertainers, they are also educators. A lot of people are inspired (there's another word I would prefer to use if I could remember it) by their work and I believe they have a obligation to show it's a good thing to try something different every now and again. To me this is very important.

I'm doing it again? Really? How so? Please, do explain.

What makes you so sure it's NOT a minority? I have sales figures that say it's one of the most popular game series in history. What do you have?

Also, I never said that the minority was wrong. I never even took a side in this whole debate. Yeah, I like CoD, but I don't play it anymore. I just didn't like that guy making up all that stupid shit. Hell, I probably stopped playing it because it got boring and didn't innovate. I don't know. But do I give a shit? No. Why should that bother me? I can play other games, mind my own fucking business, and let people who enjoy CoD, enjoy CoD in peace. I don't have to harass them on forums to feel better about myself (Not accusing you of that, before you get all defensive.)

CoD didn't stop Bioshock Infinite from being made. Didn't stop the new Tomb Raider, or the swelling of (some fantastic) indie games we've seen. So this idea that it's stifling creativity is beyond bullshit. And your idea that people need to "Inspired" by CoD (Or whatever word you were looking for), well, there seems to be plenty of inspiration to go around. CoD is not stifling creativity or killing the industry. If ANYTHING the publishers are to blame; EA forcing every game to have a tacked on, and often times completely shitty, multiplayer that no one plays; Ubisoft saying they won't publish a game unless it can be turned into a series; and every publisher running their triple-A franchises into the dirt VIA yearly releases. I loved AC when it started out, but then Ubi published, like, 600 of them (Or that's how it felt,) and now I've zero interest in this new one.

Have I made it clear enough that I have no horse in this race? My only agenda here is people accusing CoD of all the industry's problems, when it's responsible for... lemme see... NONE of them. When CoD dies (if it dies) they'll find another series to run into ground, and everyone will be hating on THAT game when they turn it into a yearly franchise. What I don't understand is why people give a shit about what CoD does or doesn't do. If you don't play it, why do you care whether it innovates?

And you're wrong: I do agree with you. I think calling them educators is pretty silly, and I think that forcing them to change their artistic vision to cater to your perfect "Ideal" of what a game "Should" be is also silly... and... well I guess I don't agree with you. Look, I think adding new features is great and all that--I'm all for it--but calling game developers that aren't making educational games "Educators" is asking a bit too much.

Furthermore, what is innovation to you? What features would YOU add to CoD to "Revitalize" it? You talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? I'm not asking for much specific, just a general outline of some things you'd change.