Interview: Call of Duty developers break down map design process from start to finish ActivisionFrom rough sketches on notepads to iconic landmarks millions still admire more than a decade down the line, how do Call of Duty maps spring to life? We spoke with two of Infinity Ward\u2019s most experienced multiplayer leads to get the full rundown on each stage of the process. Over the past 20 years, the CoD franchise has seen 19 mainline entries. Throughout the stretch, factoring in DLC map packs, seasonal support, and the like, by our calculations there have been no less than 500 original multiplayer maps (yes, we really counted). That\u2019s without including redesigns or revamped versions of existing layouts, mind you. With each annual entry providing roughly a dozen new maps on average, and the following year of additional content often doubling the count and then some, it\u2019s safe to say designers are always keeping plenty busy. Is every single map a surefire contender for the hypothetical FPS Hall of Fame? Not quite. But among that extraordinarily large yet still ever-growing list, we\u2019ve been given some objective all-time greats in the genre. Peeling back the curtain in an uncharacteristically candid interview, Infinity Ward\u2019s Multiplayer Design Directors Joseph Cecot and Geoff Smith outlined the full development process that\u2019s served the CoD development team well for all these years. From early beginnings as hasty drawings on loose paper to the final layers of polish in-game, here\u2019s how some of your favorites have been brought to life. The ideation stage: Forming a well-rounded list of \u201csongs on an album\u201d As with all things, the very first step is for developers to latch onto a new idea. Now exactly where these ideas come from, however, can be different day in and day out, Smith told us. \u201cThere\u2019s a bit of a chicken and a bit of an egg.\u201d On one hand, a selection of CoD\u2019s most iconic maps may have been \u201cinspired based on some images\u201d particular developers came across while researching key locations. On the other hand, certain \u201csuper chunky layouts\u201d may be blocked out in the engine before real-world inspiration is sought out. Theme and setting then applied after the fact. There\u2019s no one way in which these ideas first come into focus, with the dev team more than willing to let employees run wild and pile up a considerable \u201cbacklog\u201d while working through each new title. \u201cWe always ask the team to have sketches and ideas,\u201d Smith said. \u201cEven if they\u2019re [actively] working on a map, we ask them, if you have ideas, just sketch some stuff out.\u201d Together, they collect their strongest candidates with one common goal in mind. An entire CoD game can\u2019t be filled to the brim with similar layouts achieving much the same thing. Rather, a broad mix is required to best serve all parts of the community, the devs explained, comparing a game\u2019s set of maps to a \u201ccast of characters. \u201cYou want a lot of different styles, from gameplay to settings. Back in the day, I was an old Counter-Strike player. You didn\u2019t get to choose what map you had, the server just hit map after map after map. You should have these peaks and valleys, it\u2019s intense, it\u2019s slower, it presents this nice package of songs on an album,\u201d Smith described. The planning stage: Where in the world could this map be set? Running concurrently with the above, devs on the multiplayer side have to be mindful of what their colleagues on the singleplayer team are working on. Aligning around theaters of war, specific locales, and perhaps even repurposing chunks of story mission layouts is all integral in the early stages of a new CoD cycle. Thus, collaborating across sectors is one of the first steps in production. \u201cWhen we start making a game, we sit with singleplayer, think of the storyline and where it\u2019s going to take place,\u201d Smith outlined. \u201cWe try to share as much content as we can. We try to share these locations so we\u2019re the most efficient we can be. Be we also try to deviate from those areas to keep a variety.\u201d From there, with existing ideas sketched or blocked out already, now with a particular focus in mind, it\u2019s then a matter of \u201cdoing a deep dive into reference,\u201d he continued. That means finding appropriate locations for various layouts while also considering exactly what building blocks will be reflected as in a realistic, authentic manner. \u201cWith our stuff being so realistic, we try to find comparable places in the world it would be, especially with our big map stuff. We really look at infrastructure and how a place like that is constructed. Then it\u2019s blocked out, which is LEGO-looking stuff. Then we get art involved, environment art. They\u2019ll come in and say \u2018What if we move this building down the street here?\u201d During this initial step forward, as designs begin to take shape in 3D space, there\u2019s still far more to consider than just the raw layout. From objective placements with flags, bomb sites, and more, to spawn logic across a litany of game modes and lobby sizes, it all requires a great deal of thought. In fact, as we learned, even just the time of day is something devs have to consider for each and every new location. As we\u2019ve seen through the years, especially in more recent titles given the increased graphical fidelity, the wrong time of day can certainly lead to headaches. Beaming rays of sunlight obscuring your vision and all but leaving you with a constant flashbang effect is far from ideal, and it\u2019s something devs are keenly aware of when it comes to building their latest maps. \u201cI think overwhelmingly bright, daytime, blue sky maps, are the most popular,\u201d Smith said. \u201cMaybe that\u2019s a psychological thing, people want to be happy and have a bright, sunny day. We tend to do some golden hour maps because that sun angle makes our game look really good. \u201cBut there\u2019s always a back and forth with environment art. I explain to them that if you look at the way sports stadiums are set up, they build the things so the sun goes across the pitch, rather than in the eyes of one team or another. So we try to build the maps to align that way, so you\u2019re not looking at a sun flare while you\u2019re trying to shoot somebody. But it\u2019s always tricky, someone\u2019s always going to hit that angle and say \u2018ahh, it\u2019s horrible.\u2019 While it may seem simple enough on the surface, even minor adjustments to a map\u2019s time of day can have major implications. In particular, \u201creadability\u201d is a huge focal point throughout development, as teams work to ensure a smooth experience on every new battlefield. That means everything from \u201cdenoising a back wall to help silhouette players on certain sightlines,\u201d to widespread changes on character models, \u201cbrightening up the shoulders and heads of players so they stand out in any lighting situation.\u201d All while still maintaining CoD\u2019s ambition for realism. \u201cIt\u2019s mostly visibility and readability at the end of the day,\u201d Smith continued. \u201cI think art would try to make as cinematic and beautiful levels as they can, but at the end of the day, it\u2019s functional art.\u201d The testing stage: Not just a matter of playing Call of Duty \u201call day long\u201d Now for the fun part. Well, at least fun in theory. In reality, that\u2019s not always the case. With maps blocked out and artists beginning to apply their magic, playtests begin. It\u2019s here where arguably the most important yet time-consuming work is done. With likely more than dozen maps in the oven for any given CoD title, and possibly a dozen launch playlists in which to cater for, playtesting isn\u2019t quite as simple as it may seem on the surface. Which maps get the playtime on a given day? What modes are devs able to test? How on Earth can they possibly find the time to test every single map in every single scenario? Well, it\u2019s a \u201ctough\u201d balancing act, Smith explained. \u201cIt\u2019s funny, you can say \u2018I work in video games and I play video games all day long.\u2019 We do need to play the maps a lot, but we also do need to work. There\u2019s at least an hour or two every day of playtests, maybe more as we get closer to launch. Everybody\u2019s fighting for playtime with their maps. It\u2019s tough. So we try to squeeze it in as best we can.\u201d As you might expect, these sessions aren\u2019t just a matter of kicking back and enjoying some CoD with the crew. Quite the opposite, in fact, as these daily tests are vital in collecting valuable feedback across the board. From adjusting more minor \u201caction items\u201d like angles on sightlines and spawn distance from objective locations, to more drastic tweaks that involve large-scale reworks involving the art team again, there\u2019s a lot that only gets uncovered during these gameplay blocks. \u201cWe\u2019ve come up with some little tricks here and there,\u201d Smith said on how the team tries to stay on top of the seemingly insurmountable workload. \u201cI think the trickiest stuff is the big map stuff. We actually break the map into those little POIs and playtest those. We can get way more mileage playing a TDM match on one little town, than we could hoping the final circle, or some part of the BR ends up there. Doing the best we can to play as much as we can.\u201d Another such means of expediting the process is to prioritize certain game modes, Cecot chimed in. Given just how much variety a typical CoD release affords, it\u2019s near-impossible to thoroughly evaluate every map on every mode. Thus, a handful of core modes are identified as staples and are utilized for the bulk of testing, he explained. \u201cS&D, and Dom. You really want it to play those well,\u201d Cecot said. \u201cThen your more flexible modes like TDM and Kill Confirmed can be layered in after and it\u2019s more about spawns at that point.\u201d \u201cWe use TDM, S&D, and Dom as kind of the scaffolding,\u201d Smith echoed. \u201cAnd the other ones, we kind of do the best we can to fit them in. There\u2019s a lot of different game modes that fit in there, but as long as we hit those three, those are the big three that engage the most. We kind of make do with the others.\u201d Admittedly, \u201cnothing feels worse\u201d for the dev team than not having ample time to run every test they\u2019d like. But always being on a tight turnaround, as studios rotate year after year on the CoD franchise, they don\u2019t always have the luxury of ensuring every little quirk is ironed out before launch. \u201cYou\u2019re either stuck asking forgiveness from art because you\u2019re trying to move things and change things that are locked, or you\u2019re having to live with it and solve it in other ways,\u201d Cecot added. \u201cThat doesn\u2019t feel good.\u201d All up, devs are constantly seeking as much testing time as they can possibly afford before the release build goes gold and the studio largely pivots to post-launch support. That means more new maps, modes, and everything in between as the CoD community\u2019s appetite for new content is always continuing to grow. This tried and true method has obviously been refined over the years, but for the most part, it\u2019s this exact process that\u2019s given us some of CoD\u2019s most iconic maps. While some are jokingly referred to as happy accidents and others are designed purely for certain chunks of the community, there\u2019s no denying the hectic workflow has pumped out some truly unforgettable maps we all look back on fondly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Interview: Call of Duty developers break down map design process from start to finish ActivisionFrom rough sketches on notepads to iconic landmarks millions still admire more than a decade down the line, how do Call of Duty maps spring to life? We spoke with two of Infinity Ward\u2019s most experienced multiplayer leads to get the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27933\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dejan.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}