It’s a known fact that Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty (CoD) series is one of the best FPS franchises in the gaming landscape. Although it’s been two decades since its inception, the CoD series brings a first-person perspective of immersive storytelling, intense military conflicts, and flawless multiplayer that only a few franchises can match.
While many believe CoD‘s gameplay has revolutionized shooter games, a few hold the opposite opinion. Tripwire Interactive’s founder, John Gibson, who created games such as Killing Floor and Red Orchestra 2, once ruthlessly claimed that Call of Duty has “ruined a generation of shooter players.”
Tripwire’s Interactive Founder Calls Out CoD For Ruining A Generation of Gamers
Undoubtedly, the first-person shooter genre has played a huge role in the gaming industry for decades. The genre started out on PC, with games such as Doom, Quake, and Wolfenstein 3, but found a permanent home on consoles thanks to titles such as Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, and Halo. However, now, when we talk about “FPS” games, only one name comes to our mind: Call of Duty.
In a decade-old interview with PC Gamer, Tripwire Interactive’s founder, John Gibson, criticized games such as CoD when asked about the state of the FPS genre.
I think that single-player shooters are getting better. I think they’re finally coming out from under the shadow of the Hollywood movie, overblown “I’m on a rail” linear shooter. I’m talking about Call of Duty-style shooters. In the late ’90s, you had the original Deus Ex, which was an RPG-shooter. And those kind of games almost took an eight year hiatus. And I’m so excited to see them coming back with interesting gameplay.
Gibson doesn’t particularly enjoy the on-rail experience brought by games such as CoD and its clones and praises the approach taken by games such as Deus Ex.
Like the Fallout games, even though their shooting mechanics could really use some improvement, just mixing a really cool story, but not a linear story, one that you create yourself. The melding of RPG elements and shooter elements has been great. I’ve seen this reflected in a lot of the reviews, it’s like, “Okay guys, we’re tired of this on-rails experience.
Although he believes games like Fallout could improve their shooting mechanics, he welcomes the return of RPG elements in shooters.
On the flip side, I’m really discouraged by the current state of multiplayer shooters. I think that, and I hate to mention names, because it sounds like ‘I’m just jealous of their success,’ but I’m really, I feel like Call of Duty has almost ruined a generation of FPS players. I know that’s a bold statement, but I won’t just throw stones without backing it up.
Gibson isn’t jealous of Call of Duty games’ success; it’s just that they’ve ruined the FPS genre.
When I was developing Action Mode [for RO2], I got a group of people that I know that are pretty hardcore Call of Duty players. And my goal was to create something that was accessible enough for them to enjoy the game—not turn it into Call of Duty, but try to make something that I thought was casual enough but with the Red Orchestra gameplay style that they would enjoy
When Gibson was developing a game mode for RO2, he brought in a bunch of Call of Duty fans to test things out, but things didn’t go according to plan.
And we iterated on it a lot. And just listening to all the niggling, pedantic things that they would complain about, that made them not want to play the game, I just thought, “I give up. Call of Duty has ruined this whole generation of gamers.”
According to Gibson, CoD games have turned many into whiny gamers who want everything to feel the same without any change. People often complain about everything in a game just because it “doesn’t feel like Call of Duty,” which has become a metric gamers use to compare shooter titles.
How Call of Duty Has Managed to Stay Relevant For Decades
While many believe that CoD has essentially ruined the FPS genre, it doesn’t change the fact that the shooter game has managed to capture the hearts of millions of gamers around the globe with its captivating storylines, intense gameplay, and incredible multiplayer experience.
One key reason CoD has stayed relevant in the FPS genre for 20 years is its ability to evolve with each installment. The franchise pushes the boundaries of what is possible in modern gaming, incorporating new technologies, features, and gameplay mechanics.
Activsion has continued to expand the franchise into various spin-offs and subseries, allowing it to dominate the entire gaming industry. The release of Call of Duty: Mobile allowed the series to further tap into the mobile gaming market, reaching an even greater audience. While it may have issues, Call of Duty has changed how we view FPS games.
