Black Ops 2 multiplayer lead David Vonderhaar recently spoke out on the difficulty in fine tuning the competitive Call of Duty experience, admitting that it is incredibly hard.
In an interview with OXM, Vonderhaar discussed the challenges that come with appealing to the fans while also maintaining a fair and balanced experience.
In Black Ops 2 right now, people are saying that the millimetre wave scanner isn’t strong enough. Again, we’re in alpha, we’re still tuning, that’s important – but if you walk around the emotional reactor, people think the scanner needs to pulse faster. ‘I need to see guys through walls better’.
But the data doesn’t bear that out. That thing is badass and guys that use it are badass with it. There’s always a balance between your emotional and visceral reaction for how something feels, and the truth about how much it helps you or not.
As with any position of authority, having to make the final decision on something is never easy, because you are bound to upset some people. Vonderhaar has made it clear that he is using the data as his guide, to be sure he makes the necessary tweaks that will only aid in enhancing the overall experience.
“All these are things we can tweak and tune, and they’re telling me this, and I’m looking at them, saying: ‘I appreciate your feedback young man, but the data shows the truth about this,'” he added. “And that’s game design and part of being a game designer, and it’s fucking hard.”
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 launches on November 13th.
