Nuketown has been a staple in the Call of Duty: Black Ops franchise and now that it’s made its way over into the latest entry in the series, the team over at Treyarch wanted to take players farther than they’ve ever gone before. Thanks to a new web series by the Call of Duty studio, we’re diving deep into the history that surrounds Nuketown.
This is only the first episode of the new endeavor but it goes all the way back to the very first Black Ops to uncover the path of creation and what inspired what later became an iconic piece of the Call of Duty experience.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Senior Level Designer for the Black Ops franchise, Adam Hoggatt, sat down to really dig deep into the thought process behind this map’s creation in addition to talking about which concepts didn’t make the cut.
Producer Miles Leslie also took to the stage to talk about the devil in the details – all of those little components that add up to serve a bigger purpose. From cover, to player direction, it was important to make sure that the players didn’t feel lost but also not to feel coddled as well. That was a big driving factor for this map being so small yet so intricate.
For those unfamiliar with the map and uninterested in the video at the top of the article, the gist of the map is that it’s a small location that served as a nuclear testing ground. It’s known for its close-combat style and it was definitely designed to be that way. Because of the close-quarter set up, knowing one’s surroundings is more important than ever – including the various cover provided that Leslie talked about in this first episode.
The 1950s typical suburb aesthetic makes it one of the most recognizable maps in the franchise’s history and one of the most beloved. We’re excited to see even more behind-the-scenes knowledge bombs (heh) drop with future episodes of the new series!
Thoughts on Nuketown and its evolution through the years? Join in on the conversation in the comment section below, or hit me up over on Twitter @DirtyEffinHippy!