Men of Valor Designer Diary #1

Oklahoma-based developer 2015 came out of nowhere a few years ago with the blockbuster World War II-based first-person shooter, Medal of Honor: Allied Assault. That game established new levels of immersiveness for action games. In fact, many people noted that Medal of Honor was literally the closest thing to being in a Hollywood blockbuster like Saving Private Ryan. It's no wonder that Medal of Honor paved the way for games like Call of Duty.

2015 is now working on its follow-up to Medal of Honor, called Men of Valor. The setting and the war have changed: Instead of war-torn World War II Europe, you'll have to survive the jungles and urban combat of Vietnam. From what we've seen of early versions of the game, it's certain that 2015's adherence to immersiveness is being taken to a whole new level in Men of Valor. The game promises lots of tense moments, along with Hollywood-quality audio that will make it sound like bullets are zinging by your head. You'll play a Marine caught in the most fearsome battles of the war, and it's up to you to get your buddies through it. Josh Tyrell, the game's lead designer, explains some of the challenges involved in making Men of Valor.

Welcome to the Development Jungle

Josh Tyrell
Level Designer, 2015

Coming from the gaming community into the game industry is a big leap, especially if you don't know what to expect. It is one thing to create whatever you want, whenever you want, however you want, and then jumping right into having deadlines, having people tell you how something should look, as well as working in the team environment, all take some getting used to. Luckily for me, I was able to get through this transition and remain working on the Men of Valor project. Although, for some time I wasn't sure if that would be the case. I can be a hardheaded guy when it comes to my work, and there were just some basic things I had to learn, like doing it at home as a hobby versus doing it as a job.

First things first. I was used to working with totally finished game code and level editors. The only major bugs I knew of were the ones I created. It's a totally different thing when working on a project as big as Men of Valor. It can be a slow process at times; sometimes for weeks nothing seems to get done. Then one day, it all just comes together. Working with a team is a big change. A very nice change, to be honest; but, nonetheless, it's something to get used to. Instead of talking to people only on ICQ or getting a play test report by email, you get to talk to these people face-to-face, which can be bad at times. You can feel overrun by differences of opinion, but at the same time you have to remember that everyone is striving toward the same goal: to make the best game they can possibly make, period. Working in a team environment also raises the bar on your own abilities. You want to do the best you can and if you can make someone say, "That's pretty cool, man," then you are doing your job right. Everyone feeds off of that energy and keeps striving for it; it's contagious.

For most of the project I have been working on single-player levels, which is the bulk of the game, but my least favorite thing to do. As of late, I've been focusing mainly on multiplayer maps and gameplay. Now this is what I love! Multiplayer is the reason I got into game development, and it remains my main passion in gaming. If not for Quake II and Quake II: Rocket Arena, I would probably not be here. I was always a gamer but mainly a console player, and I never asked myself the question that started it all: "I wonder if I could do that." All of that started with Quake II. However, multiplayer is a joy to work on and it's really turning out to be a lot of fun.

I think people are going to really enjoy this, especially because of Xbox Live. Our multiplayer maps have a wide range of environments, from jungles and urban settings to the US embassy in Saigon. There are also many game types to play. Once you have played through the single-player part of the game, I'm sure you will find many, many hours of entertainment thereafter. Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against single-player games (most are quite fun--especially ours), but the draw for me is multiplayer. No matter how many times you play the same map, you always have a different experience--different players, different weapons, different routes--it can be endless. And, of course, being able to knock off your buddy and then point and laugh in his face isn't bad either.

Overall, Men of Valor has been an incredible experience for me. I look back now at some of the content made in the first few months and just how far we have come. The team as a whole has done an incredible job and we all really work well with each other. Making a game of this magnitude can be a very bumpy road with a lot of curve balls thrown at you. In the end, if you hang in there, you will see all the fruits of your labor starting to grow.

I think this industry has a really unique ability to allow the average gamer to become a real game developer. With most games now coming out with level editors and software development kits, the sky is the limit to what can be done, and by whom. It's very exciting to see where Men of Valor will take us; I look forward to pushing the envelope again. On this game, we really tried to provide as true an experience of the war as we could. With the music, the friendlies' battle chatter, and the environments, we have really set a precedent for the total immersive experience for the player. I'm just glad I could be a part of that.