Infinity Ward are already making changes to the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare dialogue that was shown off at E3 2019, after deciding that it was too disturbing to be left in.
Infinity Ward used the annual E3 trade fair to give people a taste of what’s to come, with studio art director Joel Emslie and single-player design director Jacob Minkoff presenting some harrowing campaign footage at the event.
A handful of YouTubers and the press also saw some of this content early, but some of what they saw won’t make the final cut – so disturbing that it will be removed before release.
A report from Kotaku already confirms that at least one of the lines of dialogue will be left on the cutting room floor, with the creative team still trying to work out just how much ‘discomfort’ they would like to include.
One of the missions, according to the article, states that a young Ursekstan (a fictional middle eastern country in the game) girl experiences the death of both her mother and father, before a Russian soldier considers handing her over to a commanding officer because he “likes the young ones.”
That line will not be included in the final version of Modern Warfare, but does give us an indication of the level of disturbing themes that could unfold during the story.
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The project’s single-player design director has also indicated, per the report, that the interaction of colleagues during missions can change, reflective of your performance in the role of a solider. For example, taking the action to go rogue and shooting a civilian would have consequences in-game.
“If you comport yourself in a way not befitting a soldier, the game will fail you,” Minkoff said. “We have a lot of heuristics running behind the scenes to try to determine: Are you a freaking psycho who’s just shooting everything? Fine. But if you’re really trying to do your job and you’re just like, ‘Oh God damn it, I made a mistake and I feel really bad about that,’ we want you to feel that. We want you to really sit with that.”
The next installment of the Modern Warfare franchise was revealed on May 30, and has quickly become one of the most highly anticipated games of the year, as fans look towards its October 25 launch.
With the game very much based on realistic emotions and experiences inside a fictional world, the choice really will be yours as to how you intend to approach a role on the modern day battlefield.