Spiff: People want to know if there's going to be any differences between the different consol versions of the game.
Langteau: Yes, absolutely. I mean, again we're sitting down with what technically we can do on the Xbox for not just textures but any other ways we can make the most out of that system. Technically, that's being evaluated right now, but obviously we're currently designing for the lead PS2 SKU and preparing for Xbox and GameCube at the same time. Those are in the works right now.David Lawrence: More in the chat.
Spiff: Azure wants to know if you're going to be able to drive an tank or any vehicle in the game.
Langteau: Yes absolutely. You will drive a Russian T-34, a Sherman tank, and Jeeps. There's plenty of vehicle action.David Lawrence: Do you feel like in your design you're pushing the hardware?
Langteau: Absolutely. If you get the chance to step over to the booth it is really clear that we've done nothing like this before. We have not come close to this amount of content, this level of intensity, action, and chaos. I'm thrilled with it. Activision has really pushed us to really step up and it's been great results.David Lawrence: This is about World War II. And just sort of stepping outside this, we've asked a couple of times today why designers are completely forgetting Korea, The Bay of Pigs, etc. They're forgetting a whole bunch of things and moving right to that which put our country in chaos in the mid-'60s.
Langteau: We called it Call of Duty so we could take it from World War II to Korea to Vietnam to wherever "calls of duty" were heeded. One of the things I've always wanted to do is do the Japanese 1944 Second Division that fought in France and elsewhere in the war. Here, they were being put in internment camps.
David Lawrence: These are the Nisei that fought for the United States?
Langteau: Exactly. I've always wanted to do a mission on that.David Lawrence: Any last questions in the chat?
Spiff: Some people want to know if there were any constraints on developing or actually fewer constraints when developing for the consoles than there were when developing say for the PC title. Did it free you up working for a set of system specifications.
Langteau: Well, all I would say is it's been a while since I worked on a PC game. It's been, I can't even remember now … at least six, seven, eight years, maybe. At the risk of offending anyone -- all I know is it's hell to create for the consoles. It can be very, very excruciatingly difficult on a day-to-day basis to have performing levels that consistently work on the systems and don't break, and you don't overload the memory, and you manage all of your budgets properly, and your content is getting managed efficiently. Not everybody has development kits 'cause they are a bit pricey, so not everybody on your team often times gets a development kit. I think it's really hard to develop console games. It takes a very strong person and strong team to make console games.David Lawrence: Alright, perfect. I appreciate you being with us. So, you took the blue line down or whatever?
Langteau: I did. I took the metro from my home in North Hollywood.David Lawrence: Scott Langteau. The game is Call of Duty: Finest Hour. Thank you for being on the show.
