Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is going to be gritty, it’s going to be realistic, and it’s also going to have a small Tamagotchi-like creature that you raise as you play multiplayer. Called the “Tamagunchi,” players will be able to evolve and grow this small digital in-game creature through multiplayer performance. More specifically, the Tamagunchi is fed through your kills.
Details were revealed in a Game Informer interview with Art Director Joel Emslie.
You’re playing multiplayer or Spec Ops, and you’re whacking- you’re hitting AI, and you’re dropping kills, and you’re in multiplayer and you’re getting kills, and this little thing on your wrist is, every time you get like a string of kills or whatever, it goes ‘JAAH-TAAH!’ and it makes a little noise. And then you look at it, and it evolved out of an egg, and that’s cool. So Tamagunchis are fed by the player’s performance in multiplayer, just this little active wristwatch thing.
When asked if the Tamagunchis evolve, Emslie replied with an enthusiastic “Yes!” But when he was questioned on their pooping habits, he said “That’s a good idea, it’s a great design. We’ll try to fit it in.” He did also confirm that players who neglect their Tamagunchis will find that the creatures “rot and die.” Whether neglect means not playing the game at all or simply playing poorly remains to be seen. If it’s the latter, I fear for my poor little Tamagunchi’s life.
Not much more is known about the Tamagunchi or how else it functions right now. Will there be a specific game menu where you’ll need to take care of it? We also don’t know how pervasive it will be, so it could be anything from a small little Easter egg representing your performance in matches to a full minigame within Modern Warfare. From Emslie’s reply it seems like this will probably only feature in the multiplayer and Spec Ops co-op mode. Don’t expect to see Price cleaning up his Tamagunchi’s poop in the campaign. The Tamagunchi was not on display during our gameplay at the multiplayer reveal event. Perhaps we’ll get to see it in action when the beta launches in September.
When Infinity Ward talked about moral dilemmas within Modern Warfare, I didn’t think that would mean the absolute devastation I felt anytime I forgot to feed my Tamagotchi.
What do you think of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Tamagunchi? Is it a brilliant way to gamify progression and performance? Or is this a silly distraction in an otherwise serious game?
During the same interview, Emslie stated that Modern Warfare is not political.
[Source: Game Informer]
