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Infinity Ward split on whether the Call of Duty dog dies

Infinity Ward senior community manager says the studio is divided on the fate of Riley.

342 Comments

Call of Duty: Ghosts developer Infinity Ward is split on whether Riley, the game's dog companion, should die during the course of the game.

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“You know what’s funny about that is, we were all watching the Xbox One reveal event in our theater,” said Infinity Ward’s senior community manager Tina Palacios in an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun.

Riley has become something of a cult favourite since his original introduction as part of the Xbox One reveal event in May. After the initial reaction online--both positive and negative--Activision and Infinity Ward further detailed the canine companion as part of Activision's pre-E3 event for Call of Duty: Ghosts.

“We didn’t expect any of this at all," added Palacios, adding that after the community response "the studio became divided. Half of them said, ‘Ok, the dog absolutely has to die.’ And then the other half--I’m on this half--said, ‘Whoa, no way! People love him.’"

"It’s a constant debate, but we do have an answer.”

Palacios adds that while Riley's hi-tech arsenal--flip-up camera, an earpiece, and two vibrating devices--might sound implausible, Infinity Ward has grounded the dog's equipment in reality.

“We actually had a couple Navy SEALs come in with their dogs that served in combat in Iraq," she said. "When we met them, they did have the same type of gear on, and they had cameras on their backs. Their trainer has a camera on their arm, so when they throw a dog into a building or into a room or over a wall, they can see what’s going on. If they’re far away, they can also give them instructions with a collar that vibrates on each side.”

Call of Duty: Ghosts will be released for current and next-generation platforms in 2013. For more on the game, check out five things GameSpot noticed during the Call of Duty: Ghosts E3 demo.

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dogknight6

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Edited By dogknight6

I think after raising my Alsatian/German Shepard from when it was a puppy to the dog it is now, I think I would actually skip this game for the sake of this one sequence..not man enough for this

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peanut-butter

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The dog should be an attachable weapon mod you can but on your gun rail.

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ponic3

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I saw the dog and I instantly thought, "Yup, he's screwed..." BUT HE BETTER NOT BE! Darn it I like the dog more than the characters! Riley better live, or that game is getting tossed out the window!

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Avatar image for WiredDreemz
WiredDreemz

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Kill him/her! It will add a bit of emotion to a game that often lacks it!

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JohnIndigo

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They should decide in the same manner that Epic decided on Carmine's fate in Gears of War 3

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Davhut

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Edited By Davhut

better still create a story around him that looks as if he isn't going to make it, gets lost and limps his way over the tortured battlefield in search of his handler, wounded, starving but determined, and at the very end is saved by his handler and they are seen walking to the helicopter to be taken back home. *sniff wipes away a solitary tear * oh wtf just make a decision already.

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Avatar image for WiredDreemz
WiredDreemz

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@Davhut Um...I wouldn't want to spend hours playing as a dog: the constant low point-of-view would drive me mad, and I wouldn't be able to play with all the arsenal that is available to a human character. Plus, how the hell would I relate to a dog! I've never been a dog and never will be a dog, so I am not interested in the least about the emotional up and downs of a quadruped!

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Leon_Kennedy9

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@Davhut holy shit infinity ward if youre watching this give this man a trophy and steal his idea...plz.

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bruta

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NO RILEY NOOO

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Imetysaw

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You know one of your favorite series from that past that you abonded long ago for reasons know to us all has sunk to a greater depth (pun intended on the underwater tumbnail) when the devs actually worry more about a virtual animal in their game than the actual gameplay.

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Valen_Ca

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Edited By Valen_Ca

I know that having branching outcomes in a modern scripted shooter is apparently blasphemous, but why not leave it up to the user if the dog lives or dies instead of hard coding a single outcome? I am sure that given the resources that Activision has access to they could easily pull it off.

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Dangerous12346

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The dog should morph into the final boss and then you have an epic showdown before defeating him and he turns back into a dog when he dies.

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steelmouth

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Edited By steelmouth

who cares about the damn dog MS is back to its senses about the Xbox One policies

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acelogan1989

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meh

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cdog21

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If Infinity Ward REALLY wanted to throw their audience a twist, then they should let him live. Killing characters off in their game has become expected and boring. Riley surviving would definitely be a surprise twist.

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gokuss4z

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Really a dog is this the only thing new about this game?

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quakke

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@gokuss4z

That just shows how lame calladoody really is.

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shenryo

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Edited By shenryo

First it should seem like the dog dies and then for the final slow motion kill shot of the main bad guy you play as the dog to kill him thus saving the day.

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Fursnake

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The dog should be able to talk in the game, that would make it much more interesting.

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dragonkantus

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damn just let him live and turn in some kind of god in the ending lol

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MW2ismygame

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enough with the DAMN DOG ALREADY ffs

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deactivated-603af784ed4f7

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd2LOJd6X6w

Here's my reason why it needs to stay alive.

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Saketume

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There were positive reactions too? I must have missed those.

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jurk182

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Instead of dying maybe the dog can go surfing (also grounded in reality just search youtube) and right when he's about to be attached by a great white shark, he leaps over it!

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bluefox755

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I care so little about call of duty, if it weren't for the constant mention of dogs I would know absolutely nothing about the next installment.

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hadlee73

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Edited By hadlee73

Just kill it. Why should your dog live when in previous games you killed everyone elses'' dogs? lol

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fazio93

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i think a more emotional ending would be your player character dieing in the end, and then the closing scene is the dog laying on your grave mourning. just what came to mind

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hadlee73

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@fazio93 Not sure about where you are, but where I come from dogs get chased away from grave sites by grumpy old men. Now there would be an ending lol

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SingletreeAve

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@fazio93 For some reason that made me think of an Eastwood line from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: "I'll be thinking about that while I'm pissing on your grave". More likely what a dog would do.

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PlatinumPaladin

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Edited By PlatinumPaladin

@fazio93 No offence, but that's lame.

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Shanks_D_Chop

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@PlatinumPaladin @fazio93 Hmm... Depends. The general idea I mean. Yeah, the cut to laying on the grave thing is lame. But a powerful scene could be something like... the player character dying. The dog not having been present for the latter part of that level, maybe it wasn't an appropriate field of operation for a canine. But as you lie dying alone, the dog finds you and shares your last moments with you. That, I think, could really work if done well.

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bloody_roar_fan

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@Shanks_D_Chop @PlatinumPaladin @fazio93 That's even more lame! I liked the grave one so that the fucking character dies and STAYS dead!

That way he doesn't appears again in another cod game

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nightmarecast

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It should die the same way that one dude in Gears 3(not naming because of spoilers)died. Shot for shot remake of that scene.

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kenpachi212

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Edited By kenpachi212

@nightmarecast spoilers? what a moron...Gears 3 is too damm old...he who hasn't played it yet deserves the spoiler...

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UltimateBastard

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@kenpachi212 @nightmarecast Your the moron. If you where going to watch for instance a movie, no matter how old, and someone came along and told you the ending. you'd be pissed

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cdog21

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@UltimateBastard

After a certain length of time people shouldn't have to worry about spoiling a story for someone.

Gears 3 is almost two years old by now. If you haven't played it yet or found out how things played out, then you never really had any real intention to play it anyway and thus spoilers matter little to you.

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Monsta1217

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They need to rethink this and keep the dog alive because those Fish AI wont be worth buying this game if they kill of the star of the show

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xincubuzzx

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Spoiler Alert Geez!!!

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RiseUp44

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Edited By RiseUp44

At least let him have some puppies first geeez

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MViiSionz

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DON'T KILL RILEY! hmph..

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Sorciere_basic

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Cool. This shows they are devoted to quality and not making hasty decisions.

I hope they delay the game until they can get it right...

Which means it will be delayed forever, and I have no problem with that, no problem at all.

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evil_m3nace

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Kill it, get over it.

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The_Gaming_Baby

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Shouldn't they know how their game ends by now?

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arc_salvo

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@The_Gaming_Baby

In Call of Duty, it seems like everyone dies, ESPECIALLY you. In first person no less. Man I've remembered dying to everything (in first person) from everything from a Nuclear bomb to a simple pistol shot in the MW series.

And as a bonus, the other characters you played as also die beside you while you're not playing as them.

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dragon11683

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Edited By dragon11683

@The_Gaming_Baby not really. game companies are constantly working on their game all the way up to the last minute even changing part of the story. and being that it won't be out till november means that they don't know for sure how everything is going to play out in the game.

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hekifier

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Wow. This warrants an entire article. Is it that slow of a news day?

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BoromiRofGeo

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfrWchX5rAU

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Haeravon

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Edited By Haeravon

If only the Call of Duty series would die...

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holtrocks

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In other news the Kardashians have a new family member, see no one cares.

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