Modern Warfare 3 more CoD 4 than Modern Warfare 2

Infinity Ward has spoken up about its mentality towards Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer mode, and the studio is leaning more towards Call of Duty 4 than Modern Warfare 2 for inspiration.

One of the main new design philosophies is that there will be no more than five camper-friendly hotspots per map. Why? “It simplifies it so that the less skilled player has less to think about,” Infinity Ward creative strategist Robert Bowling told Kotaku.

“What happens when you have more [than five hotspots] is that the professional guys are using that spot that is either difficult to get to… there’s fewer places to hide, which discourages the more camper mentality that seemed to emerge in the map design of Modern Warfare 2.”

“Modern Warfare style is, for me, all about the high-speed, fast-paced – and I’m talking in terms of smooth controls and 60-frames-per-second framerate – infantry-focused combat,” added Bowling.

Modern Warfare 3 wants to play to the series’ strengths, then, and Bowling thinks that’s more akin to Call of Duty 4 – which Infinity Ward “nailed” – than Modern Warfare 2.

“It’s all focused on that gun-on-gun gameplay, especially in Modern Warfare 3. I feel like it’s something we nailed with Call of Duty 4. We moved away from it a little bit with MW2, relying heavily on air support, killstreaks, perks and stuff like that. Modern Warfare 3, very much [is] building up from that Call of Duty 4 mentality of gun-on-gun, fast-paced infantry gameplay,” said Bowling.

Infinity Ward has yet to unveil Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer; it’s saving that for the Call of Duty XP event in September. But Bowling was prepared to divulge how the studio is applying its new design philosophies to the mapmaking process, revealing that Modern Warfare 3’s multiplayer maps will have far less verticality than seen in Modern Warfare 2 and Black Ops.

“Call of Duty 4 was much more simplistic in its map design: You have the sight points, you have the routes players will take. It was very flat in terms of where you could go,” said Bowling. “Modern Warfare 2 had a major focus on vertical combat, increasing the multi-floor levels, increasing the number of buildings you go into. There were a lot more places you could go than just the main routes and buildings where you were meant to go. That encourages and discourages a lot of types of gameplay.”

“With Modern Warfare 3, it’s much, much more on allowing you to focus on what’s necessary; it’s making vertical combat when it makes sense but it’s not a blanket rule across every map. You will have some maps that focus on verticality and that are focused on multiple things. And then you have other maps that are very limited on the hotspots. The hotspots are a key thing on Modern Warfare 3. We went into each map wanting you to be able to turn a corner and know very easily that these are the three – no more than five – places I need to check.”

Bowling thinks this will speak volumes to the people who have been playing Call of Duty for years. “For the hardcore guys who have been with us since the beginning, that speaks volumes: the map design, the return to focus on gun-on-gun, all that stuff.”

“I like to always make sure the hardcore players know we’re building it up for them,” he added.

Infinity Ward also revealed today that Modern Warfare 2’s Party Chat restrictions would be lifted across many of Modern Warfare 3’s modes.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 will be released for Xbox 360, PS3, and PC on November 8.