Call of Duty: Ghosts Devs ‘Wrapped Around the Idea of a Second Screen’ in Multiplayer, Boasts Enhanced Audio

Call of Duty: Ghosts will have enhanced audio and will support a second screen, or some sort of app integration in the title’s multiplayer, according to Infinity Ward executive producer, Mark Rubin.

Speaking to PostArcade, Rubin explained that “With the new engine, we can actually model the way the sound travels in the space you’re in. If you’re outside next to a building or inside in a small room or inside in a big room, it’s all detected in real time and changes the sound.”

He added that “The new engine also takes into account materials. If you fire a weapon in a small cement bunker the sound will be very sharp. But if you’re in a metal bunker the sound will be very ting-y. The sound will be altered based on the material it’s bouncing off of.”

This also means new gameplay elements for Ghosts’ multiplayer. “Another big change in audio – and this will have a big impact in multiplayer – has to do with explosions and reactive emitters,” says Rubin. “The world has triggers that will go off based on forces like explosions. If I throw down a grenade and it goes off, the chain link fence behind me might rattle from the concussive force of the grenade. Windows and doors and other objects will make noise after the explosion.”

Rubin also touched on additional peripherals to be utilized in Ghosts, building on Activision CEO Eric Hirshberg’s earlier statements, saying that the studio will take the added functionality “…to a whole new level. A seamless second screen experience will be integral to next gen.”

Rubin added that “It’s a little more of a challenge when it comes to our types of games. Looking away from the screen when the action is intense is obviously a challenge from a game design standpoint. So we have to be careful about that. We have some ideas that I think are going to develop further as we go along in this generation. As with anything with a next-gen launch, you’ll start by dipping your toe in the water in a few places, and then move along from there.”

“We actually have a whole department – a whole studio, basically – wrapped around the idea of second-screen. Our Beachhead group is doing a lot of work there. But a lot of it ties into multiplayer and I can’t talk too much about it now.”

He touched on how touchy the process is, however, adding that though it will be free, it shouldn’t be required.

“It’s free,” he said. “And this is where you have to be smart on your design: You can’t make it required, and it can’t confer a massive advantage. There’s some balancing that needs to be done. You don’t want it so the guy with an iPad has an advantage over other players in multiplayer just because he has the money to buy an iPad.”

“But it will definitely be free, and it will be a companion. It won’t be a revenue generator. It will be used to enhance the experience but not offer any advantages.”

Were you a big user of Call of Duty ELITE’s app during Modern Warfare 3’s reign? What sort of second screen functionality would IW need to integrate in order to make the use of a companion app along side Call of Duty: Ghosts’ multiplayer more desirable?

Thanks, CharlieINTEL.

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