Game Stories Still Have A “Long Way to Go,” Says Call of Duty Dev
Video game storytelling has no doubt advanced in recent years, but there is still a "long way to go" before game narratives reach the level of acclaimed fantasy series Game of Thrones. That's according to Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey, who told The Guardian that while he believes in the strength of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's story, he admitted that developers can--and should--do more to go deeper.
"We really looked at the narrative execution," Condrey said. "Not just Kevin Spacey's performance, but the whole story arc. I think there are moments that will be challenging."
"Right now, we're all talking about this third golden age of television in the US--that inspires us," he added. "Games have a long way to go to deliver on the emotional narratives we see in, say, Game of Thrones. We have to learn lessons there, we have to learn about emotional attachment to characters, provocative situations, loss. We need to make those a big part of video games."
The story for Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which focuses on what happens when private military companies get out of control, took over two years to write. And this isn't the first time Sledgehammer has brought up Game of Thrones in discussing the game's story. In an earlier interview, Condrey said it's his hope that Advanced Warfare can deliver a Red Wedding-type scene that gets people talking.
Advanced Warfare launches November 4 for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and PC--but not Wii U. We recently learned that Sledgehammer consulted with an actual Pentagon adviser to help boost the game's authenticity. For more on Advanced Warfare, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.
Eddie Makuch is a news editor at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @EddieMakuch
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