Treyarch: “We want to surprise people” and break expectations with Black Ops 2

Treyarch’s has a big challenge on their hands of keeping Call of Duty relevant and retaining the large playerbase. So what are they planning to do with the latest instalment in the mega selling franchise? Game director David Anthony has revealed that, “surprise” will be a major element in keeping players intrigued when they play the campaign.

“The key mantra from the start was: surprise,” he said in an interview with CVG. “We want to surprise people at every step of the way while they’re playing this game. Break expectations.

“When they’re playing this game, whether it’s from a story point of view, character development, gameplay types, the actual structure of the campaign itself – just when people think that they’re starting to get to grips with it, we like to pull the rug out from under them a little bit.”

One of the changes in Black Ops 2 is how players have a choice – freedom to complete missions as they like. Whatever you do in the game will have a consequence.

“So, in the previous games, there’s never really been a concept of failure. I mean, you can fail to get to the end of the level, but the failure has no consequence,” Anthony revealed.

“You’ll keep trying and keep trying and keep trying, and eventually you’ll get through it. With Black Ops 2, it’s going to feel completely different. You’ll be playing one of our Strike Force levels and, whether you succeed or fail your mission in that level, will have consequence in the game.”

“We spend a lot of time making sure that those outcomes are meaningful,” he added.

Those are some pretty bold words considering they probably are not doing any significant upgrades to their tech. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 will be released in November for the PS3, Xbox 360 and PC.