Published by Activision Publishing on November 10th“Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (CoD:MW3)”.Season 2 started on February 8th, and various updates were distributed.
Among such “CoD: MW3”, the one that has received high praise iszombie modeis. It uses an open world rather than a round system, but offers a new experience and familiar elements that long-time fans will love, making it a favorite of many players.
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Activision Blizzard recently conducted a joint interview with Japanese media.Responsible for Associate Director of Design in Zombie modeKevin DrewI had the opportunity to ask various questions.
◆A deep dive into the developer's outlook on the future of Zombie Mode!
–Thank you for your time today. This game's zombie mode has undergone major changes, including the adoption of an open world. Many people enjoy the change, but on the other hand, there are voices calling for a “round system” like the previous Zombie modes. What are your thoughts on this point?
Kevin Drew (hereinafter referred to as Kevin):We believe round-based gameplay is the core of the Zombies mode experience. We still have a passion for the round system, and it's not something that's going to go away.
However, I thought the zombie mode in CoD MW3 was a good opportunity to try out a new system. I like that in an open world, each player can choose their play style and the difficulty of the missions they take on, so the experience is different for each player.
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That said, there is definitely some fun to the round system as well. In future development, I would like to incorporate the elements and strengths of each.
–What kind of “gameplay improvements” have you received from Zombie Mode players?
Kevin:We have received a variety of opinions. The biggest voice among them is that they want the user experience to be improved. In this game, there are many scenes where players help each other and exchange items. For this reason, we often see requests for improvements in social aspects such as interaction between players, inventory exchange, and squad formation.
–While there are major changes in the system in the zombie mode of “CoD: MW3'', systems such as “Wall Buy'' and “Pack-a-Punch'' have been carried over. It's familiar to fans of the series, but have you thought about introducing a different system?
Kevin:Regarding Wall Buy and Pack-A-Punch, I think they are the core of Zombie mode. When we abolished it in the previous series, there were a lot of negative opinions, so we decided to carry it on properly this time. Of course, we will continue to work on areas that need improvement.
However, it is easy for long-time fans to understand, and above all, it is a system that is familiar to them. I would like to continue to brush up on them as much as possible.
–This time's zombie mode uses pure PvE. Was there a plan to incorporate “PvP elements” during the development stage? Or was it PvE-only from the beginning?
Kevin:We kept thinking about whether to use PvP or PvE during development. However, in the end, we decided that co-op would be a better choice for a large map and a zombie theme.
In this game, the zombie mode itself has a story, and we are trying to tell that story through events and missions. However, if you are killed by another player when you move to a specific location for a story mission, you will not be able to progress through the story and will be frustrated. Therefore, we focused on PvE first.
Although we are not trying to completely eliminate PvP, the development team is happy to see users voluntarily helping each other by making it PvE.
–Will zombies ever appear in multiplayer mode in the future?
Kevin:I hope we can continue to collaborate in the future, but we are not thinking about permanent PvPvE multiplayer. On the other hand, Zombie mode started out as a small element, so I'm really excited about how it's been received in other modes.
–You have introduced a new approach called open world, and I feel that it has received quite high praise from users. As a development team, how do you feel about the “response”?
Kevin:First of all, I feel a sense of relief at the reception this time around for Zombie Mode. As a development team, we were excited to create the open world zombie mode, and the test play was fun, so we were confident. But that doesn't mean there were no concerns.
It was a wonderful experience to see the reactions of everyone who enjoyed playing the game. It was particularly interesting to see how the players played in ways we had never imagined, and we were really grateful to see the 24 people who participated in the match play together as one.
–Specifically, what aspects of the users' gameplay left an impression on you?
Kevin:I had the impression that players of the CoD series were highly motivated by interpersonal battles and preferred a competitive gaming experience.
However, in this game's zombie mode, there are many plays where players go straight to help other players in order to revive them, and players who are fully equipped hand over their surplus weapons and items to other players. You can see it. I was very happy to see the compassion among the players.
–Please tell us about the mechanisms you use to keep fans of this game alive and the measures you take to attract new users.
kevin:I think we should dig deeper into how we can let people experience zombie mode in an open world system. For example, things like hiding secret elements within the map or incorporating puzzle elements. In future additional content, I would like to use secret elements and puzzles to solve mysteries.
We're also thinking of elements that will give players a head start so that players who primarily play multiplayer mode or Warzone will be interested.
–Please give a message to the fans who are looking forward to the future of Zombie mode and the development of “CoD: MW3”.
Kevin:This game's Zombie mode includes a variety of challenges and attempts, and we are confident that this is the perfect time to get into the game. During development, I'm excited to convey the story through the mission.
We also plan on adding more elements that fans of the past can enjoy. Please continue to look forward to it.
Zombie mode introduces a new challenge. However, during the development process, it was clear that they were very conscious of integrating and handing over existing systems. It's been three months since its release, but it looks like CoD: MW3 will still offer a variety of gameplay.
