Activision’s Sammy Nouriani talks about Call of Duty 3
By Michael Lafferty

“The story line of Call of Duty 3 focuses on the Normandy Breakout campaign”

Merely mention the three words – Call of Duty – and you may have action game fans drooling. The Activision franchise is, without a doubt, one of the best war-game action experiences available to fans of both PC games and console games.

Call of Duty 2 bore the distinction of releasing with Microsoft’s next-gen console, the 360, and sales soared. The series itself is not just limited to action war gamers, or shooter fans, but actually crosses lines and appeals to anyone just looking for an amazing action experience.

If you listen to the developers working on the next title, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Sammy Nouriani, a producer at Activision chatted with GameZone about the next step forward in the franchise.

Question: Here we are at the third iteration of the series, with next-gen platforms available - what will be transpiring in the series to take advantage of the capabilities of the next-gen consoles?

Sammy: Following up on Call of Duty 2, the No.1 game on Xbox 360, Call of Duty 3 pushes the envelope on next-gen consoles even further. With our laser-scanning technology, everything you see looks totally real. We even rented WWII uniforms, scanned them in and put them on our characters. Along with our cutting-edge shaders technology, you will not believe how good the graphics look. If there is fire, you see a heat blur; if it is raining, everything the characters/environments/vehicles are going to be wet. These are just some of the things that shaders bring to the table.

The power of next-gen also allowed us to create a “living battlefield.” That means that trees and grass sway like they would in real life; if you walk on grass it gets pressed down and comes back up over time. There is destructible cover and physics, so if your enemy is behind a stack of crates you can shoot away at it until his cover is gone, forcing him to another cover point. Or maybe you throw a grenade and the stack of crates falls and crushes your opponent. Watch out though – your enemy can destroy your cover out too!

Q: Tell us a bit about this next chapter in the story in terms of story line?

Sammy: The story line of Call of Duty 3 focuses on the Normandy Breakout campaign. One of the compelling reasons to share this campaign was to show how different countries came together to fight as one against a common foe. It was truly a multinational effort and in Call of Duty 3 the player assumes the role of ordinary soldiers from each of the four countries that fought in the actual campaign: American infantry, British SAS, Canadian mechanized infantry and Polish armor. The game starts in the weeks following D-Day commencing with the taking of St. Lo. This was a key area that was supposed to be taken on D-Day June 6, 1944, but it took 44 days of constant bombing and artillery attacks to finally gain a foothold and take the city. Call of Duty 3 culminates with the closure of the Falaise Gap, trapping over 100,000 of Germany’s elite forces. It was important for us to tell the story of the campaign in a way that allows the player to understand how the events unfolded and how each nation contributed towards the Allies’ victory. We tie every battle together with in-game sequences that replace loading screens and provide a seamless cinematic experience that keeps you immersed in the action.

Q: Is the game's story linear and how many hours of gameplay will be involved?

Sammy: One of our key new features, “Player Choice Routes,” opens up gameplay and adds variety to our 14 levels. At certain key moments, the player is faced with an important tactical decision:  “Do you take you chances and take a tank head-on by going straight up the road with heavy fire-power, or do you battle your way through the trenches the east to flank the tank and place a satchel charge, or do you go in the buildings to the west and provide cover support with a sniper rifle?” The choice is completely up to the player and each path provides a unique gameplay opportunity and additional re-playability.

Q: Have any of the fundamental elements of the gameplay changed any?

Sammy: We’re delivering the Call of Duty that people know and love, while expanding upon that success. One of our key new features, “Battle Actions,” adds a new dimension to gameplay. Instead of simply hitting a button to plant a change to melee an opponent, you now have to go through a series of intense controller inputs with specific timings if you want to get out of a situation alive. You may come around a corner only to be surprised by a German that knocks you down, sending your rifle flying through the air. You struggle as he tries to choke you with his rifle as you fight your way off the ground using a series of intense controller inputs then hit specific buttons to either punch the German or smack him with the butt of his rifle. This is just one of the many Battle Actions featured in Call of Duty 3 – one of my favorite new features to the franchise.

Q: How will you be taking advantage of the controllers for the new systems?

Sammy: The new controls for the Wii are fantastic. We have freed up the reticle so that it can move across the screen and we use the IR sensor to detect where you are aiming. Driving vehicles is just like holding a steering wheel with a controller in each hand as you would rotate a steering wheel clockwise/counterclockwise. All of the Battle Actions have specific movements that take advantage of the accelerometers too. The first time we got the controls working, one of our Production Testers, Rhett Chassereau, almost had a heart attack trying to furiously fight off a German in a melee lock. We have now been able to tweak the controls for the Battle Actions so that they are just right. Whether you are rowing a boat, screwing in a detonator into a charge or driving a vehicle, the controls feel great. For the PS3, we are still considering which advanced controls we want to incorporate to take advantage of its accelerometer.

Q: Is multiplayer being offered? If so, what will be available for play?

Sammy: Multiplayer is something that will be offered and it’s something that we are definitely proud of – the Treyarch guys have really outdone themselves here. Multiplayer has been designed from the ground-up for team play with 24-player online support, along with 4-player split-screen (also online) for next-gen. Since there are five classes with special abilities (medics can revive, scouts can call air strikes, etc.), teams must find the right balance of classes to be able to successfully execute a full-on assault. We offer multiple-occupancy vehicles like tanks, jeeps and motorcycles with sidecars so you can operate a tank while your buddy fires away from a mounted machine gun on the hatch. There are even other cool features like the ability to mantle enemy tanks and throw grenades down the hatch! All the new game types (like War) are focused on team play. Of course, for those fans that simply enjoy hopping into a game just to get some quick frags, we still offer Deathmatch and Team Deathmatch.

Q: The musical score for this series has always been a vital part of setting the tone. Who is composing the score for this game? How much game narrative will be involved?

Sammy: The original score has been produced and composed by Emmy-nominated Joel Goldsmith. It has been a wonderful experience working with Joel. He is totally hands-on and truly cares about making the best music for Call of Duty 3. He has worked closely with the sound guys and Creative Directory at Treyarch and the Treyarch guys have even gone to his studio. He has played/seen the entire game and made multiple iterations on his music until the score came out just right. In addition, the final score was created utilizing a full orchestra to really get that rich sound.

Along with the music, the sound effects in the game are top-notch. All the weapons and vehicle sounds were recorded from the real deal. Yes, we even rented a Sherman Tank, drove around in it and fired it! It was amazing. For next-gen, the sound guys able to achieve a full Dolby Digital mix, complete with enhancements such as differentiating indoor/outdoor sounds. That means that a voice over, weapon or grenade that goes off in a building sounds completely different than it does outdoors or maybe in a tunnel.

Q: Why do you think this genre is so popular, and because you have had such great success with the series to date, do you feel the pressure - as developers - to live up to all that has happened before in the franchise and improve upon it?

Sammy: The genre is popular because of the rich bed of stories, as well as the obvious divisions of good and evil. When we do our research and interview our honorable veterans, we notice there are still so many stories that need to be told. Plus, Call of Duty 3 continues to deliver the chaos of battle and cinematic intensity that everyone loves about the franchise.

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