Mob of the Dead and the Art of Writing for Games
Вставка
- Опубліковано 19 вер 2022
- Become a member: www.youtube.com/@whitecliffga...
Twitter: / whitecliffgames
After mixed reactions to their first major change to the Zombies formula with Tranzit, and similar reception to the follow-up with Die Rise, with Mob of the Dead the hype for Black Ops 2 Zombies was revitalized and the direction was set for the next two and a half full games.
"A Zombies Retrospective" is a series in which I play through each Call of Duty Treyarch Zombies map chronologically, and analyze its place in the series.
Media:
Bioshock
Call of Duty: Black Ops II
Call of Duty: Black Ops III
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Silent Hill 2
A Bronx Tale (1993) dir. Chazz Palminteri
Escape from Alcatraz (1979) dir. Don Siegel
Goodfellas (1990) dir. Martin Scorsese
Reservoir Dogs (1992) dir. Quentin Tarantino
Silent Hill (2006) dir. Christophe Gans
The Sopranos S3E2 - Proshai, Livushka (2001)
Mob of the Dead - "Where Are We Going" Trailer
Mob of the Dead - Official Trailer
UA-cam Video Footage - "Jason Blundell ARRIVES... w/ Something Very Special! (The Reveal)" from JCBackfire ( • Jason Blundell ARRIVES... )
"Promising Relationship" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
creativecommons.org/licenses/b... - Ігри
Speaking of cycles... did anyone notice the easter egg with how this video starts and ends?
Nice...... ahahahaha
Its like poetry it rhymes
@@Sweetdude64 "Clever girl..."
Reels potential 👀
the passion put on these videos are insane, great stuff man
This is the first vid about Mob of The Dead that actually focuses on narrative and not lore bs. Fandoms obsess over lore kinda by function, so you get these walls of text on wikis about dimensions and Apothicons and all of this stuff that was added later. You focus on the purgatory/hell endless cycle reinforced by gameplay. It's the best thing game narrative can do that others can't. You've done great work.
On the topic of thematic cohesion (something this map excels at), here’s a few examples of that!
-The ghosts in Afterlife have electric powers since that’s how they died.
-To deliberately enter Afterlife, you must shock yourself to death.
-The protagonists, in both life and limbo, are attempting to escape a hellish place and trying to gain their freedom.
-Brutus can put the perks and box on lockdown and essentially revoke your privileges. Not unlike a warden.
-The perks and Pack-a-Punch are all glitchy and hazy, except Electric Cherry since 1: The other perks come from another realm, and 2: Chronologically the other perks shouldn’t be invented for another decade or so. Time itself is out of wack.
-The Devs said the Blundergat was inspired by the island’s Civil War history. From that, it’s safe to assume the Hell’s Retriever comes from its Native American history. The two Wonder Weapons only make sense on Alcatraz.
-The three dog heads are a reference to Cerberus, guard dog of the Underworld.
-Electricity and fire are recurring visual motifs, a reference to how they died and the flames of Hell respectively.
-When Weasel gets downed and talks to himself, he says “You’re a survivor”. To break the cycle, this must be true.
-The escape plan always fails, like in real life.
-Finding a spoon behind a poster is a nod to a classic prison escape trope.
Sorry this is so long, but I think it goes to show how well thought out all of this was (with maybe some happy coincidences along the way).
My favourite subtle mechanic is how the ghost forms let you revive yourself. In the opening cinematic you see the gangsters leaving each other to die, only trying to save themselves, it wouldn't make sense for them to revive each other in gameplay.
Missed detail, for the dogs head, you need 6 zombies for each of them, so, that makes 666
Each of the three heads apparently respresent the past, the present and the future, according to the wiki.
The head at the docks represents the past, since that is where the prisoners first arrive at the island.
The head in the cell blocks is the present since that's where the prisoners mostly spend their time.
The head in the infirmary represents the future due to being just below the roof, where the mobsters would at some point make their escape via Icarus, Al's plane.
@@ajbzombie666 the roof is also where Al dies in the real world
Brilliant writeup, thanks for taking the time I really enjoyed reading. This should be on the wiki! I would love to see you do the same for Shadows of Evil, which is really a sister map to Mob of the Dead.
I know Origins is an incredible map and it did much for the story, but Mob was always my favourite in BO2. Goosebumps all around while playing it. Love it
Facts its the best map ever made
Yeah, Mob is still one of the all time best. I hate Origins
Origins is one of the worst, on part with Tranzit. It's the definition of tedious and boring. Thats without considering Samantha, I hate hearing her bitching whining every single time I start the map.
Mob and Buried had a much better execution
Origins gameplay is great, but it’s where the story of zombies began to fall off for me.
@@andrewc3267 Yeah, I'm not a fan of basically needing to do the super long setup of Origins, and add to that the Aether storyline being where I got less interested in the story, and it just ends up being my least favorite Zombies map
Where Are We Going is still my favorite piece of zombies music, it can apply to any of the characters, not just Sal, Finn, Billy and Al
The most impressive thing about this map is that it's a multi-generational fan favorite. A lot of us that were playing zombies in our middle/high school years still have fond memories of this map and may consider it a favorite AND younger players who weren't playing zombies at release have gone back to it and fallen in love with it. Unlike some of the other older zombies maps, Mob has stood the test of time entirely off of its quality and design rather than nostalgia.
Please keep making amazing content for the zombies community, I would expect this kind of content from the smith plays and his analysis videos, but these are on par with them. You seriously need more subs.
Better than smith
The zombies community is dead and it shows
@@Bluesjet1234 bro tryna be different💀
Smith WISHES he could write like this
@@THEEJONESY I don't like the way the smith plays edits his videos and talks about irrelevant stuff for so long. This guy's videos are much more enjoyable
This is my all time favorite zombies map bar none. Blops2 was the game i played the most when I was younger and I'm nostalgic I'll admit, but this map to me is the most solid from that era and the environment just made it all that much better
💯
YES! I was eagerly waiting for your analysis of Mob of the Dead! One of the greatest zombies maps of all time, and it arguably saved the game mode after Tranzit and Die Rise
Was Tranzit considered bad?
@@JP-mr1hn yes, by hardcore fans. Understandably too, but many casual players enjoyed it at its time. People that shit on tranzit forget that many people actually did enjoy it when it came out.
But many years later after mastering bo2 zombies, tranzit is just a casual play. Get your five perks, fill up the bank, and get off the game or something. The Easter egg is fine, but you need friends with mics. The wonder weapon is a hassle to build and isn't worth getting most of the time.
@@jairesemccoy9779 you can’t get 5 perks on tranzit unless you’re lucky as shit
@@blu4390 yes you can, just do this, but it can only be done on CO-OP from my knowledge.
1). Get quick revive
2). Get speed cola
3). Get double tap
4). Get Tombstone (has to be your last perk that you get).
5). Go to town and die (let the zombies eat you via tombstone "don't feed the zombies").
6. VERY IMPORTANT STEP. DON'T GO BACK AND GRAB YOUR TOMBSTONE! YOU SHOULD GO TO JUGGERNOG OR STAMINA FIRST, and THEN you grab your tombstone.
And bam, you'll have five perks.
You can also do this on town. Benefit of having five perks on tranzit? None actually. 💀 It's a fun challenge. I suppose if you have the quick revive perma-a-perk, then you can revive a teammate in about 1.2 seconds.
@@JP-mr1hn The problem with TranZit and Die Rise...honestly bo2 zombies in general is/was that the maps were simply too ambitious for their time. If bo2 zombies were redone on modern hardware, the original vision[s] of the maps could be fully realized and they'd be phenomenal.
One of the best aspects of mob of the dead is it's ambience and sound design every area has its own unique little themes and sounds and it creates a different atmosphere for each area the only map that comes close to mob in those aspects is shadows of evil
God this map brings back so many memories, I remember me and a buddy of mine would always either play this or Origins. He'd always train on the rooftop and I'd always be in the cafeteria, we always knew our startup and did everything like clockwork so we can go for high rounds, I think the highest we got was into the 90's. I know it's not everyone's favorite but Mob will always hold a special place in my heart.
i think mob is a 8/10, it would be a 10/10 if we had the awesome revolver like guns of the cutscene instead of the m1911, especially considering we had the mauser on origins
Huge props for bringing up the concept behind creative leads and how they aren't the sole reason behind greatness. And never before have I wanted to play Mob of the Dead more than I do after watching this video! I missed out on it during its launch, sadly, but now I understand why it is so beloved.
While I'm not the biggest fan of Where Are We Going, there is this immortal moment where my friends started the song and after that were waiting for me on the gondola and I couldn't find the damn thing and got mocked the entire time by them just saying "Where are you going?"
I think the multi path intuitiveness really helps hammer home the narrative. All paths lead down the same end. You can forge your own path but it all ends the same way. Really puts you in your characters shoes.
Isolated zombies maps like this or Shadows of Evil that tell a self contained story that connects to the bigger plot are pure fking magic. I love the main story as well, but I wish they would have done more stuff like this. The fact that they got real caliber actors adds so much depth that very few games can achieve.
Still blows my mind how a sidemode like CoD zombies can provide some of the most unique and interesting gameplay and story, uncomparable to anything else on the market.
So happy to see this video posted, excellent job on the video and showing everything special with the map. Also adding the Easter egg song at the end was just perfection 👌
I've recently came across your Channel and you are the best. Such nostalgia with every video. I'll be waiting for the next map, perhaps buried. Good job and keep up the work, love this series.. you brought Back my childhood memory. I'm currently 19 so these videos give me that joy as If I was in 2012 playing only transit because I had no internet. Don't stop making these vids
I love this series. I've been playing zombies since Nacht and seeing someone do a deepdive into the history of the game in 2022 is great. I also love hearing from a new perspective, because there are definitely points in this series that range from strong agreement to heavy disagreement but its so fresh to hear. Keep it up, very excited for the future episodes!
Hey man much love for putting this retrospective out. As a kid I never got past a CoD after Black Ops 1, so it's real interesting to see this culture I rubbed shoulders with for such a short time in such a digestible form. I look forward to the videos on future maps because it's all more or less new to me, and while there's videos that exist to analyze the plot there's very little out there about the community history and gameplay side of things.
So glad I stumbled on this channel, your videos have been so great to revisit every map again. Best choice to subscribe I’ve had in a while
Great video White Cliff. Seeing that clip you used for talking about Jason Blundell seriously gave me chills.
Very nice and to the point review of every zombies map- not too long/ boring but not too short/ lazy done. Really enjoy your zombies videos!
Thank you for shining a light on the casting something that alot of people miss and never talk about in my opinion the characters and casting of these mop actors is kinda what made the map for me
The quality of your content is incredible man i would expect videos like this from someone with easily over 100k subs. Keep up the hard work youre bound to blow up soon. the mix of information and nostalgia your videos bring is just a fantastic formula.
Yet another amazing video man! The work and research you put into these is honestly top tier. It's surprising to me that more people haven't found and subbed to your channel
The attention to detail and unbiased analyzed look at the maps makes me appreciate these maps even more. Thank you for the videos and look forward to you covering the bo3 maps 🙌
Just discovered you and your videos are AMAZING, the only problem I have with them is that they aren’t longer! Keep up the awesome work!
I love watching your videos before bed or during my break at work, they're well put together and not to long. keep up this great work!
Me and the boy have been playing a bunch of Zombies we all live your videos and discuss them every weekend when we get together to play thank you man
Phenomenal video, I'm going to start watching your retrospectives because this video was so exhaustive.
I've enjoyed all the videos up to this point and always appreciate another retrospective on one of my favorite game modes. Thank you for the nostalgia
Your channel is genuinely so underrated. You have some really good & interesting takes, and your video production is super good. Lot of passion put into your content, and isn't just focused on being loud & annoying like a lot of big creators.
Definitely my favorite map of all time, staying up way past the time i should trying to get the plane parts, RIP Ray Liotta i was supper obsessed with Billy back in the day lol
Ive been binging all your zombie videos and this is some great stuff man! you have a lot of great points and the vids are very engaging. Keep it up!
Great video. Something else about Mob that I really appreciate is how it was the first map (discounting Dead Ops) to have its own proper soundtrack. Always looked forward to Brian Tuey's soundtracks since that map.
Since finding your channel, I’ve been super excited for this episode, thank you
Already got me excited for your next map analysis!! Keep up these awesome videos!
For having such a small follower base you make great quality videos with a ton of research amazing work keep it up
Literally the only map that had a quest and item driven experience and was able to make it actually fun. You could figure out what to do and where to go rather quickly and you don’t have to consult a guide or an expert every other step of the way. Best zombie map of all time, Shadows of Evil and Origins can’t even hold a candle to this
I’m gonna be honestly I barely play zombies but you’re videos are amazing in terms of how you explain what each zombies map did to evolve zombies further and a great insight into the what the developers could’ve been trying in the game design
Love your vids on zombies maps takes me back and apriciate the mode even more.
And you make awsome content keep it up bro💪
Another amazing video, we all appreciate the effort you put into these! Looking forward to the next one!
Your content is quality man it deserves so much more views keep up the grind
I just found your channel out of nowhere and these analyses are extremely well-written. This one specifically caught my attention, not just because it covers my favorite zombies maps ever made, but because it accurately describes everything that makes Mob of the Dead a masterpiece.
I loved how you discussed the storylime and atmosphere in a much deeper way, saying how the characters are a "fragile alliance of criminals" rather than the typical heroic and over-the-top characters that we see in modern storylines such as Black Ops 3 and 4.
However, I feel that most video essays on Mob of the Dead gloss over the significance of the Hell's Retriever. It was the first tactical/specialist weapon that we have seen in Call of Duty Zombies. It had a unique function in picking up drops and even one-shotting Brutus's helmet when fully charged and upgraded. Additionally, it is an infinite damage weapon, while the Blundergat and it's upgraded variants are not. This makes it your primary source of damage along with the traps on high rounds. It is also used to collect the skulls for the free Blundergat as well.
In conclusion I found this video entertaining and reflective. Well done.
I never realized just how much the characters in Mob of the Dead looked like their voice actors until i looked at them side by side.
I knew who the VAs were, but it just never occurred to me how far Treyarch went to make them look the part just as much as they sounded it.
Yoo I can wait to you continue this series, it's amazing
That "later" description of the plot was a hell of a tonal whiplash for someone who only ever played some of the world at war maps
Thank you for these videos man, love the classic zombies content!
just gotta say I really appreciate your analysis. Most zombies analysis/video essays have some pretty boring surface level takes, it feels like they are just reading a wiki page on the map (tbh this applies to most 'video essays' on youtube). but I think your focus on map design provides a pretty unique perspective, and all from such a small channel. great videos keep it up
This just popped up in my recommended, fucking fantastic work, deserves a sub from me
Maybe a retrospective on Buried could be cool? It's been my favorite map for almost a decade now, oh how time flies
Just when I found your channel and finished the wonderful series! What luck!
Glad i caught up on this playlist before any new ones came out.
Last time I watched this channel (maybe like a week ago) you had no ads (under 1K subs) and now you’re at 6.6k 😳 your videos are finally blowing up eh? Good shit man
Mob of the Dead is legit my favorite zombies ever. Nothing has ever topped it. It BLOWS THE MODE out of the water. I still replay it to this day
I made it in minecraft 1 to 1
Ay, same. I feel like when they made Blood of the Dead, they forgot what made the original so morbidly magical. Although, I think that could've been somewhat fixed just by us randomly seeing spirits and having the mobsters talk to us during the easter egg. I mean, Weasel's already fuckin with us. Why not have him speak?
Shadows beats it.
Cool in depth video. Relived some of my bo2 days in the process
I have been waiting for this video, i really enjoy your videos, and just wanted to say to keep up the great work. I know they are hard to makezbut someday you will be just as big as the smithplays.
YES WHITE CLIFF, YOU'RE GROWING. MY GUY IS GROWING! FROM HUNDREDS OF VIEWS TO TENS OF THOUSANDS! YOUR EFFORT IS NOT GOING UNNOTICED. ♥ YOUR EVALUATIONS OF THESE MAPS ARE BEAUTIFUL AND CONSTRUCTED MAJESTICALLY.
Keep doing what you’re doing! You have a gallery of great videos!
Great video bro!!! Keep em up!!!🔥 This series is amazing!!!
Loving this series, can’t wait for more!
I am incredibly excited for the rest of the series.
Looking forward to BO4 and Cold War especially.
Found ur videos today already love ur channel
Just binged all your vids and subbed. More please. Lol
I still get chills down my spine whenever you do the ee and it says "Life Over" instead of "Game Over".
When I find a whole channel based on doing retrospectives of CoD zombies maps that are well done: “Ain’t that Swell?”
These videos are so good thanks for these
love it man, hyped for the buried video
So mad that this wasn't in my recommended and that I've only just seen it
This map was always so scary to me for some reason. It had such an unique demonic and creepy atmosphere
these videos are really enjoyable to watch
it also changed the way people went through maps. on most maps before people beelined to power now u have people splitting up to get parts and do dogs and get different perks. really changed the game
Sweet a new white cliff video dropped!
Congrats on making great vids consistently.
I’ve been waiting patiently for this one and I can’t wait
I hope you make a zombies timeline video! The story is cool but really hard to follow along with the harder and longer easter eggs
Die rise was my fav I made sure I had that dlc pack on what ever system I had.. something about that map just fascinated me
went to alcatraz recently with my girl. i literally was walking around as if i was there before (technically i had been) the island is actually beautiful, took my breath away. the MOTD is genuinely so similar to irl alcatraz its crazy. i wasin the showers area and got goosebumps because ive always felt showers in MOTD was spooky
The Treyarch crew actually went to the actual Alcatraz in order to make it seem like it was the actual one
this level of goat should be appreciated, expand to other platforms so more people are exposed to your amazing content
Love your work mate
these videos are really enjoyable when im playing games while watching youtube
Great video man keep up the good work
I’m honestly looking forward to a Zombies in Spaceland analysis from you, but I’m worried I won’t get to see it.
1:04 when you've been playing so much BO3, go back to 2, and try to slide while training.
What a great video for one of the greatest zombies map
Buried is my fav map can’t wait. You should talk about how Jimmy zielenskis ending is the rictofen and the maxis ending is the blundell
Ok I love this freaking channel
patiently waiting for you to get to BO4, I’m really excited to hear someone say some positive things about it!
Ay when you get to bo3 we all wanna hear your breakdown on zombie chronicles as well!
Please continue this series:)
Loving your channel keep it up
Bro this videos are so high quality, I hope you make it to Tag
It’s nice that not everyone is forgetting zombies! At least this way we can reminisce on the good old days to help pass the time over the next two years until the next game lol
My favorite COD zombies map. I was highly anticipating this one
I've played every zombies & completed all the easter eggs up to bo4. That said THIS is still my favorite game/map ee
Easily my new favourite content creator
Oh boy, my favorite map.
Iirc this was also the last zombies map thats more grounded, vague and mysterious. It feels so much more personal. Its fun to see how different survivors experience the same(ish) zombies hell. Does a more impactful world-building than the convoluted, multiversal, time travelling story we have tbh.
Mob is a great map, I can't wait for you to review blood!
The map was honestly amazing but the one thing I hated beyond words is the constant lightning flash from the storm