Developing video games is tough. Much of the process is spent refining ideas, which sometimes involves cutting features last minute. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare developer Infinity Ward revealed the studio had plans for a multiplayer mechanic that was ultimately cut because it wasn’t working. The mechanic, known as the Buddy Boost, was in the game for a year before getting the axe.
Buddy Boost was a feature that would have allowed players to traverse the maps easier, letting you to use a teammate to “boost” you up to certain areas. This is a mechanic that’s often seen in single-player adventures, but when executed in a multiplayer context, is harder to implement.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Multiplayer Map Design Director Jeffrey Smith explained:
[The Buddy Boost] was badass if it worked, but it’s really hard to get some random person to cooperate with you. You have to let somebody kind of climb up you and get you up and they would get up there. But if you’re the one sitting on the wall waiting in a really awkward squat position.
It was revealed that one of the main reasons the mechanic was pulled was because it left the players too vulnerable. One could easily wait by a heavily trafficked area and take pop shots at those trying to use the Buddy Boost mechanic.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will still include interactive multiplayer maps, which you’ll get a chance to try during the game’s beta starting on September 12, 2019. PlayStation 4 users will gain access to it first, with the beta coming other platforms at a later date.
After getting our hands on the game’s multiplayer mode during a preview event, we were left impressed. You can read our preview here. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare will release for PS4 and elsewhere on October 25, 2019.
What are your thoughts on the Buddy Boost mechanic? Do you wish Infinity Ward could have found a way to implement it? Let us know!
[Source: Prima Games]
