Call of Duty: WWII’s campaign was inspired by walking simulators

Call of Duty campaigns are known for their big, crazy set pieces and blockbuster moments. Usually, you're a one man army (despite having allies) that mows everyone down and it's all very fast paced. Call of Duty: WWII on the other hand, appears to be focusing on a story with characters you really care about and realism.

Senior Creative Director Bret Robbins spoke with Glixel about some of the more story driven games that inspired him.

Our story is much more character-focused. The big moments fall flat if you don’t care about the guys you’re with. The climax of our story lives or dies on how invested you are in the characters. That’s a huge risk and it’s something that video games sometimes struggle with.

Firewatch is one of my favorite games. Gone Home was great. Games are growing up and the audience is sophisticated. More and more, they expect a good story. Not just from blockbusters but from indies [as well], and the whole genre is being pushed forward. Virginia is another good example. I definitely looked to them for inspiration and for techniques. We’re not shy about taking our time with the story. We want something meaningful and a bit deeper. You need that kind of quiet to balance the crazy. You need both or one will go flat without the other. We’ve learned from those other games and tried to infuse that into ours.

This doesn't mean there won't be intense action or those big moments we've come to expect. Those are still very much there and the game's reveal trailer hammers that home. They want to have it so the game isn't constant craziness. Co-founder of Sledgehammer Games Glen Schofield mentioned how they struck a balance.

In anything like this, you need time to breathe. We’re being strategic with our breathing points, though. We have excitement, stealth, and then we take a breath, but we tell more story in the game, rather than cut scenes. That way we can really bring out the personality throughout the whole story.

Call of Duty: WWII will release on November 3rd, 2017 for Xbox One, PS4, and PC.

[WCCFTech]