Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Campaign Q&A
Lead narrative designer Murray Kraft answered Restart’s questions about the inspirations and design choices for the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign.
Posted 2 months ago
The Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign carries the FPS series’ story into the ‘90s – a glorious era of cassette and VHS tapes. So it’s only fitting that we unwind a little more information ahead of the Black Ops 6 release date later this month. Restart had the chance to put a handful of questions to lead narrative designer Murray Kraft about what inspired the game’s setting, how non-combat sequences will play a role, and whether Black Ops 6 will make sense to those who haven’t blasted through the preceding entries in this particular Call of Duty lineage.
Restart: What were the biggest inspirations for the story you wanted to tell in Black Ops 6?
Murray Kraft: We love the action and spy thriller films of the ‘80s and ‘90s and drew much inspiration from those that started in the ‘90s and continue into the present day. These iconic blockbuster, ensemble-based spy thrillers inspired the high-octane beats and the action-packed story in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
The Most Wanted level playthrough introduced us to non-combat mission segments involving espionage and manipulation. Why were these introduced and what would you say the ratio is between them and the more traditional, FPS segments?
The balance and variety that non-combat sequences bring is essential for us. They work like palate cleansers at times – giving players a break from constant gunplay and providing some needed contrast. Since Black Ops 6 is a fusion of a spy thriller and a military shooter, we also want gameplay that reflects that non-combat role at times. But in many places we're giving the player the choice of which kind of a strategy they want to take on for a given situation, including a good chunk of Most Wanted. As far as ratio goes, again that depends on the player and how they want to approach their objectives. There aren't many sequences in the game where we've taken combat completely off the table.
Call of Duty obviously takes some liberties with regards to the tech of the time period, but what are some quintessentially ‘90s things that those of us who lived through the era will recognize?
Players will see and interact with a lot of 1991-style consumer electronics (cassette players, PCs, VCRs, etc.) throughout, as well as visit locations that are true to the time period. Players will also hear music and plenty of pop culture references that will resonate for players who lived through that time. The backdrop of the game also pulls directly from events that dominated news cycles during time, further rooting our fictional story in the era.
How has the team worked to ensure Black Ops 6 is a game that can be enjoyed by everyone, including newcomers to the series?
It was important to us to make a campaign story that hardcore Black Ops fans would love and also wouldn't exclude casual fans or entirely new players. While understanding the lore of the series helps and does expand the experience, we also tried to view the experience through the lens of someone new to the series and made sure that the Black Ops 6 story can be standalone and be enjoyed by everyone, even if they haven’t played previous Black Ops games.
Our thanks to Murray Kraft for taking the time to answer our questions about the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 campaign. If the betas have left you eager to boot up multiplayer as well, check out our quickfire Q&A with Matt Scronce, associate design director at Treyarch, here.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Release Date: October 25, 2024
