Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is arguably one of the most popular games on the internet at the moment. After all, when has a CoD game not been popular? The game has generated a decent amount of controversy surrounding its new Omnimovement system, and one of the developers has weighed in to explain.
The decision to swap to a different movement style all started with fluidity, according to Yale Miller, Matt Scronce, and VGC. Where Modern Warefare 2 was a much slower experience, Black Ops 6 feels faster, more frenetic, and most importantly, much more fluid. Miller said, “When we think about some of the favourite [entries], something that was there was that fluid feel. So that’s where we really started: what could we bring to that, and what rules could we break.”
The Omnimovement system allows players to essentially jump in any direction. It makes it significantly easier to fling yourself behind a wall to avoid cover, and in many cases, makes a gunfight feel less like two people shooting at each other and more like an action movie. Treyarch hopes the system will change not just Call of Duty, but competitive shooters as a whole.
Sconce goes on to say, “With Black Ops, 6 we say ‘there’s no going back’ a lot, and I think that can apply to a lot of things. I think, for me, I feel that pretty strongly with movement, to a point where I play a lot of games, and when I go play those other games, I miss Omnimovement.”
Players’ movement is central to any gameplay experience, and both Scronce and Miller say that much of the game was reworked to incorporate this new system. Levels were tweaked to provide opportunities to dive through small windows, slide through holes, and more. In particular, the combat loop was closely redesigned, especially aspects like how aim assist works with Omnimovement.
For many fans, the entire Call of Duty franchise had started to feel a bit stale. Black Ops 6, with its new movement system, stylistic gameplay, and availability on GamePass, has brought a breath of fresh air to a series that sorely needed it.