After a series of rumors and leaks, it`s official: Call of Duty is going back to its World War II origins. Simply titled Call of Duty: WWII, the next item in the annualized shooter franchise follows an American squad through the European theater of the war. It treads familiar ground, taking players through the D-Day invasion of Normandy and Battle of the Bulge, but for developer Sledgehammer Games, returning to Call of Duty`s roots is more than just matching the setting and scenes of its predecessors--it means understanding World War II on a deeper level.We recently visited the Sledgehammer office, where we saw parts of two single-player missions, one of which was the invasion of Normandy. It`s an iconic moment in the war, and one that`s been recreated many times in video games and other mediums. This doesn`t differ much from other depictions of the Normandy battle in games and movies, but what do stand out are the details.Call of Duty: WWII stars a 19-year-old private in the 1st Infantry Division, and it`s clear, even from just watching the mission instead of playing it, that he`s scared. He`s inexperienced. He stumbles over fallen soldiers, he struggles with a Bangalore torpedo, and his breathing is harsh and uneven. Sure, there`s a cinematic element to the whole scene, but it`s not exactly cool and exciting--it`s harrowing. He knows he could die at any moment.While at Sledgehammer, we spoke to leads from the animation, art, audio, and narrative departments, and everyone mentioned the same thing: they had to do extensive research in order to properly portray not only the war but also the experience of being there.While many Normandy missions turn outward, surveying the horrors of the invasion on a grander scale, this one seems to focus inward and could tell a more introspective piece of a larger story.For the animation team, that meant studying everything from documentaries to photos to field manuals for weapons in order to capture how a soldier would physical ...
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