In the past few weeks, Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has been under intense scrutiny. A developer's response to concerns about the game has shown their perspective.
It is not easy to develop a game during the pandemic lockdown, but Activision, Treyarch, Raven Studios, High Moon Studios, Beenox, and Sledgehammer Games have done a commendable job.
That being said, professional players, streamers, and content creators have all expressed unhappiness with certain aspects of the game. Primarily, this had to do with skill-based matchmaking and the lack of a proper ranked system.
Several players took to social media to voice their concerns regarding these issues in Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. A developer has now responded to explain just why these issues are so prevalent. Their explanation has allayed some, but drawn further criticism from others.
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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War developer responds to community requests about the ranking system
Recently, the community learned how the voice actors had to adapt to make Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War during the lockdown period. The situation was unprecedented, and the developers had to follow a similar routine.
Working from home is perhaps not the best way to develop and deliver a game. Regardless, the developers delivered the game on time. This did not stop critique from pouring in about things like skill-based matchmaking and the lack of a dedicated ranked mode.
Call Of Duty players and fans have been requesting a proper ranking system for quite a while now. However, implementing a fair ranking system takes a lot of time, especially in a new game like Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Seth "Scump" Abner, one of the best professional Call Of Duty players, tweeted a request to the developers asking for a proper ranking system. He said:
"How does CALL OF DUTY not get released with a ranked playlist every year. I am just genuinely confused. It should be a staple, but it gets ignored. Interesting to think about."
This tweet did not get the response Scump was expecting. Instead, developer David "Vahn" Vonderhaar responded as honestly as he could. He said that the community should be grateful that the developers are working relentlessly for a proper ranking system.
Vahn said:
"Let me re-write that for you. You can thank me later. "I'm really looking thankful for all the hard-working men and women trying to give us a ranked playlist."
Scump responded by saying that he is grateful for their efforts and that his tweet had no ill intentions involved.
This little interaction between a developer and pro players revealed a lot about the current state of Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Players perhaps need to be cognizant of the fact that it is not easy to develop and deliver a game during the COVID-19 crisis.
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Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War community responds to developer-pro player interaction
But not everyone feels that cutting developers slack is the way to go.
YouTuber Birdman made a video where he explained how this interaction contained legitimate questions that went unanswered. Further, Scump retorted to a tweet by Birdman, saying that he wasn't trying to roast the developers.
Scump mentioned that instead, he was speaking about all the studious collectively, for not releasing games with a ranked system from the beginning.
Birdman also mentioned in the video how professional players like Scump influence to voice the community's concerns. He pointed out that being afraid of backlash is not how one uses their influence.
Birdman said:
"When he(Scump) got put in that position where he could stand up for the community, he did not, and I just didn't like the way he responded. If he cannot respond because he is going to get fined or whatever, I get that. But at the same time, as I said, the only two options are not either responding disrespectfully or get on your knees.
He further added that "There is an in-between where you can disagree in a professional and respectful way."
Birdman's video suggests that Scump has the influence one needs to vociferously talk about issues the community is facing. Birdman didn't like how this developer-gamer interaction went down. The game has other problems with it as well and players have expressed grievances about how it takes quite a long time to max out weapons.
For developers to make adjustments to the game, they first have to know that there is a problem, to begin with. Birdman's video suggests that if there is no way to legitimately critique the studio, then how will developers take notice of any problems?
Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is still in its early days and there is no doubt that the community is thankful to the developers for putting together a game with the polish it has.
The question the community and the developers seem to be reckoning with is whether the existence of Black Ops Cold War, a game developed through the pandemic, makes it above critique.
Also read - Where to find all the secret bunkers in Call Of Duty: Warzone
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