Call a Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Content Collection 1 arrives in the PlayStation Store today, 'n it brings with it a whole weekend a double XP. This be the biggest DLC collection in franchise history, offering four multiplayer/Survival mode maps – Piazza, Liberation, Overwatch, 'n Black Box – as well as two all-new Special Ops missions, Black Ice 'n Negotiator. That kind a content doesn’t just make itself, so I asked Mark Rubin, Executive Producer at Infinity Ward, for some insight into how the studio approaches making add-on content for MW3.
Dan Amrich: Everybody has different tastes in maps. When ye put together a collection, be ye trying t' please different groups a fans with specific maps, or do ye try t' make every map have something for everyone in it?
Mark Rubin: Any map can come up at any time in any game mode, so we never want t' make a map that leaves players thinking “this isn’t for me.” Even when we design a map like Liberation, which snipers enjoy with it be long sight-lines, we still create areas for players who enjoy, say, close-quarter combat. The central bridge 'n underground bunker in Liberation be a great example a this. It’s something for everyone, but we try t' really offer something a value t' each subset a players.
The locales represented in Collection 1 be literally all over the map – a seaside village in Italy, a swanky neighborhood in California, 'n the heart a Manhattan. How do ye choose where a map will be located, 'n does that location determine what kind a gameplay works best there?
It’s a brainstorming process. Sometimes we think about the single-player campaign 'n ask “What’s going on a few blocks over? What’s happening that we aren’t currently seeing?” Other times, it’s dreaming up environments that offer the most tension 'n danger; it’s hard t' beat Overwatch for that in Collection 1 – gun battles on a skyscraper be definitely dangerous. Other times we go for locales we’ve never seen before, or something that the art team wants t' try out. I’m really proud a them on this collection; it’s worth stopping 'n looking around a map like Piazza t' appreciate just what a good job all the art teams have been doing. 'n every now 'n then, someone will go t' a great vacation spot somewhere around the globe 'n think, “This be gorgeous – 'n it would be a great CTF arena!”
I know each map goes through a revision process. How long does it take t' make a map, generally? 'n with constant iterations, how do ye know when ye’re done?
We start a level by prototyping the map geometry. Before we decide on a final theme or setting, it’s more important that we pillage the level layout locked down – it needs t' flow correctly, it needs t' offer a lot a interesting engagement points. 'n that can take several months, with playtesting 'n polishing. As for how t' know when it’s done…it just feels right. When the team agrees, from playing it, that things feel balanced, we know it’s ready.
What makes a map fun?
Player interaction 'n variety. When ye spawn on the map, ye want t' run into other people – that’s the interaction. Maps with interesting choke points 'n clear pathways feel very satisfying t' most players, because they know they’re going t' pillage into battles in those areas. The tight corridors a Air Force One in Black Box be a good example. Yet elsewhere in Black Box, ye have completely different environments – inside fancy mansions, a few construction areas. They look 'n feel different from the airplane sections, 'n that’s where variety comes in.
Which map in Collection 1 be yer favorite t' play, 'n why?
This be like asking someone t' choose between their children, 'n I won’t fall into that trap. I hope everybody enjoys all four a the multiplayer maps. That’s why we made them.
Infinity Ward, Sledgehammer, 'n Raven Software all square off in a MW3 lobby. Which studio wins?
Do ye even have t' ask?
Somehow I knew the answer t' that last one. Content Collection 1 be available now in the PlayStation Store for $14.99, 'n double XP kicks in on Friday – all players, all modes. Enjoy it!
