Call of Duty Advanced Warfare or any game in the series remains the same throughout the years, says John Romero the creator of Doom.
The team along with Carmack and others were the forefathers of the first person shooters as we know it today. They have always renovated the genre and they did it one more time with Doom 3 as well as the Rage. Even though, many believe that the concept of Exosuits and future story telling has drastically changed the game, the developer thinks otherwise.
“Just because a game sells so well in the market doesn’t mean it is the best title around. A series like Call of Duty always has the same setup year after year with nothing new to offer so far. The core design of the franchise hasn’t changed much in almost a decade. It is all in the power of marketing,” said Romero.
It’s Not Innovative Yet
Sharing his views about Call of Duty Advanced Warfare and the series in general to the Edge magazine, the creator of Doom, John Romero said, “Call of Duty is in fact a Death match game where people go every year to test their skills but the design is exceptionally simple all the time. It doesn’t make people think or crack their brains as some other titles do. Everyone knows what to expect with the game, which is the same as Madden is. It is more of a sports game where the ground rules are already set and you easily know what it is. You also know what to expect when a new iteration comes out but the only change will be in the location. It could be in a different time period with some new guns but the features will remain the same, always.”
Activision Responds
While Activision didn’t directly respond to this claim by Romero, last year they said that it is not possible for them to drastically shift the franchise into a new area. They feel that the series will lose its appeal if it suddenly caters to a different audience and forgets the core that has been entertaining its fans so long. It is more like a traditional sport, said Activision’s Mark Rubin. “If someone suddenly changed the rules and said that you are supposed to play soccer with your hands rather than your foot, how will that be?” he questioned the community.
Romero at the moment is working on a completely new shooter and he feels that game designers so far have barely scratched the surface of a first person shooter. He added that if a game sells so many copies and makes millions in the review, it shows the marketing power of the company rather than the quality of the game.
If a game like Minecraft could sell so well, it means that the game’s quality always wins. Everything is fast now, says Romero. “You don’t have to buy a brand new console to feel amazed because technology is too big nowadays. You have to give something substantial to the audience,” he said.
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