For the first article of this series, I conducted a survey to determine college students’ favorite video games. As stated in the previous articles, the three most popular answers were Pokémon, Minecraft, and Animal Crossing. Afterward, several honorable mentions have been noted; the last of which is Call of Duty (CoD). This first-person shooting game franchise is favored amongst three of the fifteen college students that were surveyed. This result was the most surprising. I had expected Call of Duty to be listed more than any other game in this series. Published by Activision, there are 24 games and counting, developed by many different companies throughout the franchise’s lifetime. Call of Duty is verified as the best-selling first-person shooter series by the Guinness World Records. It is also the third best-selling video game franchise of all time, with over 300 million copies sold worldwide.
More About Call of Duty
There are three plot arcs to the Call of Duty games. The first arc is set during the events of World War II. These four games simulate “infantry and combined arms warfare” that were commonly used in those historical battles. The first game’s campaign features the perspective of British, American, and Soviet sides of the war. Similarly, the sequel is experienced through the perspective of the Red, British, and American Army soldiers. In the third game’s campaign, the player can choose to be an American, British, Canadian, or Polish soldier to fight in the Battle of Normandy. The final game of the WWII series also takes place during the Battle of Normandy, but from the perspective of the 1st Infantry Division.
The second arc of the Call of Duty franchise is the Modern Warfare series. Unlike the first arc’s plot, which was historical fiction, this one is entirely fictional. Taking place during modern times, the story focuses on U.S. military’s struggle and fail to prevent World War III between nations in the Middle East and Russia. The third arc, the Black Ops series, returns to the WWII setting where the player can choose to play as an American or Soviet, that eventually leads to a plot taking place during the Cold War. While there are several spin-off games, they do not follow the general arc structure of the other games’ plots. Almost every real-life weapon featured in the games are historically accurate.
Connection with College Students
The Call of Duty games feature many aspects that a successful first-person shooter franchise would have. Several multiplayer modes have been added, such as a co-op zombie mode and a battle royal mode called Blackout. Most of the early games follow different, unique perspectives the player can choose from when they play the campaigns. Finally, due to having different development companies creating them, almost every Call of Duty game has evolved from the last. One survey question I asked the college students was, “What qualities do you look for in the perfect video game?” Some answered they enjoy games with flexible and engaging mechanics, a level of competitiveness and cooperation, and well-developed stories. One pointed out that their favorite video games “continue to add something new” to the gaming experience. All of these traits most likely generated the students’ support towards the franchise.
While a new Call of Duty game is confirmed to be released this year, no other details have been publicly released.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maggie Spring
Student Author - Spring 2021
