The multiplayer mode of the game is innovative but it also needs to stay true to its basis, according to Treyarch boss Mark Lamia. Multiplayer head David Vonderhaar also speaks about the perks.
“Multiplayer is the lifeblood of the franchise,” said Lamia. “Call of Duty multiplayer is played 365 days a year, twenty-four seven, all over the world. But we can do better. Black Ops did everything we wanted it to do. We had the customisation, the theatre, the emblem editor, great maps, great options – but one of the things that it didn’t do is look at the gameplay and say: ‘hey, let’s significantly innovate upon some of these core systems.’”
Treyarch kept core systems and added some new features said Lamia. The team wanted to maintain accessibility while adding depth. “I think that if you want to maintain a franchise, that you’re going to have to innovate and keep it fresh, but also remain true to your core. It’s absolutely the needle we try and thread in every game.”
“I think you have to keep the game accessible but have that depth. I think it will take players awhile to peel back the layers on this one because there’s a lot of stuff going on underneath, there’s all kinds of different ways to play now. If you want to survive you’re going to have to play the objectives and play with your team.”
“I think that’s a fundamental change to the way people play Call of Duty. Black Ops 2 isn’t just the next CoD game; it really is a major step in how Call of Duty’s gameplay is going to be perceived.”
Multiplayer head David Vonderhaar from Treyarch said that simplifying perks and nerfing them is the only way to create a fair and balanced online game.
“Perks were pretty important for us to rethink, because they were getting too complex. You had perks, perk pros, perks that influence you, perks that influence your gun, perks that influence team mates. We’ve simplified that so perks only ever affect your character, and more importantly, Black Ops II’s perks aren’t absolutes,” he continued, “In Black Ops our only balancing options were to remove the perk or keep it – now we can tune any perk by increments to nerf it or improve it”, the developer said.
“I can nerf perks and I will, mark my words. A perk should never be something you need just to compete. A perk is ‘I got a parking spot,’ or ‘the soda machine gave me free soda.’ Your life shouldn’t depend on it. The community helped me understand that, and that’s why our new system has no absolutes. We can try to make it the most balanced CoD ever.”
