Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s Realism Won’t Extend to Chemical Weapons
Ever since the announcement trailer was released for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, rumours have been circulating that 2019’s Call of Duty will be a particularly brutal one. Infinity Ward reportedly aren’t pulling any punches when it comes to portraying combat realistically. However, there is one line which the studio is perhaps wisely choosing not to cross when it comes to their portrayal of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare realism.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Realism Won’t Portray the Use of Chemical Weapons
Perhaps the most notable shift in tone from titles past in the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is that Infinity Ward plans to focus heavily on the brutal reality of modern conflict. This emphasis on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare realism looks set to produce a very different sort of shooter. Indeed, some play-testers are rumoured to have been left in tears by the game’s story. There is one area, however, which the developers are steering clear of; the realistic portrayal of the immediate effects of chemical weapons.
During an E3 demo of gameplay from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, chemical weapons were used by Russian soldiers in-game. However, the camera quickly turned away. Players do eventually see the aftermath of this event. However, they don’t see the horrific realities of chemical weapons in use at that moment. Given just how horrific such weapons can be in real life, this seems like a very wise decision. Wanting to tell a more mature story in a franchise like Call of Duty is an admirable goal. However, there is certainly a risk of going too far in the pursuit of realism. Plus, there’s a risk of it being gratuitous; after all, there’s no real purpose to its inclusion if it doesn’t serve the story and its emotional themes in some way.
Why Infinity Ward is Avoiding Chemical Weapons
In a recent interview with Polygon, lead gameplay designer Jacob Minkoff explained why they avoided portraying chemical weapons in-game; “It’s not that we would specifically shy away from showing the accurate results of specific weaponry on people,” he says; “It’s more a question of what feels right in the story and the game that we’re making, given the things that we want players to focus on emotionally and narratively, given the technology that we have available to us.
“[…] there was never a point where we said to ourselves, ‘We shouldn’t show this.’ What we want, though, is to make sure that we’re showing the right amount so that the story of this game, and the story that people tell about the story of the game, isn’t all about the distressing things they’ve seen on screen. Because there’s so much more to the game than that.”