Jimmy Zielinski sheds a bit more light on the mystery behind Zombies, but may provide just as many questions as answers for all you Zombie fans... Q:What has your role been in the development of Call of Duty: Black Ops? I am the lead animator for Black Ops and the creative lead for our "Zombies" mode. As lead animator I get to work with experts in warfare (Major John Plaster and Sonny Puzikas), designers and programmers to come up with various new enemy types and AI behaviors (which I truly had a blast doing this time around) as well as manage a team of extremely talented animators who create all the assets needed to flesh these ideas out and bring the game to life as something the fans can play. As creative lead on Zombies, I (and many others) really get crazy with ideas and game play…I mean really crazy…come on, Zombies? Nothing is out of reach for this mode. Q: There are few foes in this world that are as universally loved as Zombies. How has the development of this mode been different from the Black Ops campaign and multiplayer modes? There really are no limits that we impose on ourselves while coming up with ideas for Zombies, aside from preserving the core Zombies game play experience. There is no "reality" aspect that we have to uphold in any way. The sky, and perhaps multiple dimensions are up for grabs. Q: What new surprises can Zombie vets expect from the return of the undead? As always, Zombies is a mode about discovery and survival, so certainly people can expect more of this. Existing fans and new converts can also expect the unexpected when it comes to Zombies, like new boss enemies that can take out the whole team, and map design that can entrap you. There are lots of other surprises we don't want spoil for you... Q: What's been your most memorable experience in the months leading to launch? One of our programmers, who scripted a certain boss enemy in zombies ran from what he thought was his own monster…but it was not even a powerful boss but rather a standard zombie during a typical, fairly early, round…it was just a zombie…but he exclaimed with great excitement "He's on me! He's on me!!…I have him, everyone else run!!!" to which we all (the rest of the team playing) replied "dude…calm down its round 5 and it's just a zombie" Lots of laughs were had by all. Q: What about the Call of Duty series and Black Ops in particular appeals to you, and how did you become a member of the team? I have been a part of the "Call of Duty" franchise since I joined the team responsible for "Finest hour" back in '04. The opportunity to work on Black Ops, and have it set during the Cold War era was exciting. It was a very creative environment for all of us. With "Black Ops" we got to create a new fiction in a new era for our studio. It was quite a change from the WW2 history books that were our guidelines for so many years. Q: Anything in particular you'd like to say to all the Black Ops fans out there? I would actually like to ask them a question. Can someone please explain to me where the zombies come from? And who is Samantha? I am so confused... More...
