14 DAY TRIAL // The improved engine that powers Call of Duty: Ghosts, the next installment in the first-person shooter series from Infinity Ward, allows the studio to create more believable experiences, not just new gameplay opportunities.
Call of Duty: Ghosts was officially revealed to the world last week during the Xbox One presentation, and developer Infinity Ward has confirmed that it's powered by a drastically improved version of the core engine, which allows for lots of new systems or mechanics, like the dog companion.
Besides new gameplay experiences, the improved engine helps make the whole campaign and its different segments feel more believable, according to Infinity Ward Lead Animator Zack Volker, who talked with The Guardian.
The developer mentions that the studio has never felt limited by current consoles, but also highlights that it could have made some experiences more immersive with better tech.
"Infinity Ward has very rarely felt as though hardware has limited our gameplay innovation," Volker said.
"We've very rarely said 'wow this is an amazing idea, if only we had more powerful hardware we could do this.' But what we have said is, 'if I had more power I could make this gameplay scenario more immersive'."
Thanks to the different systems added to the Call of Duty engine, the single-player campaign in Ghosts should feel much more believable, according to Volker.
"That's what this new generation of engine brings us - the improvements in the lighting engine, the improvements in the polygon tech... and we have more primary lights that are shadow-casting. The characters are over double the resolution they used to be – same with the weapons. These things don't give us new gameplay experiences per se, as much as they make the gameplay experiences more believable."
Call of Duty: Ghosts is out on November 5 for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360 but will also appear for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 at a later time.