If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

Treyarch: There's "definitely" some controversial topics covered in Black Ops

blackops

Treyarch's Mark Lamia has said there's "definitely" some controversial topics covered in Call of Duty: Black Ops, considering it takes place during the Cold War era.

"We’re not doing a historical recreation"

Speaking with MCV, Lamia said the game is still fiction though, and weaves itself in and out of different historical time periods, not just one set timeline, and plenty of variety.

"We cover the Cold War era and there are definitely some controversial topics in there," he said. "But I look at it as creating a piece of entertainment and we are strong advocates of creative freedom.

"Our game is entirely fiction-based – we’re not doing a historical recreation. We do our research and create that setting so you can immerse yourself in it but that’s just a backdrop for our narrative."

Lamia feels the controversy surrounding shooters based around military combat is "unfair", like with Modern Warfare 2 and recently with Medal of Honor, because the games touch upon occurrences no differently than books or film.

Singling out games is unfair

"Our story weaves itself around all kinds of controversial historical periods, but there have been many books and movies that do that, so to single out games in that way seems unfair," he explained.

"We’ve delved pretty deeply into the histories of different conflicts that have occurred. Because this game is about black ops, it’s about what occurred behind the Cold War.

"So while our story weaves its way through the South East Asia and Vietnam conflict, it’s not a game about the Vietnam War. You just happen to be there when certain things occur during that period."

Call of Duty: Black Ops is out November 9 for PC, PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360.

Sign in and unlock a world of features

Get access to commenting, homepage personalisation, newsletters, and more!

In this article

Call of Duty: Black Ops

PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, Nintendo DS

Related topics
About the Author
Stephany Nunneley-Jackson avatar

Stephany Nunneley-Jackson

News Editor

Stephany is VG247’s News Editor, with 22 years experience (with 15 of them at VG247). With a brain that lacks adhesive ducks, the ill-tempered, chaotic neutral fembot does her best to bring you the most interesting gaming news. She is also unofficially the site’s Lord of the Rings/Elder Scrolls Editor.

Comments