The new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare actually wants to “return to the roots” of CoD with its realism. However, studio art director Joel Emslie now explains that there will be Tamagotchis in multiplayer – and why these 90s gadgets are allowed to be there.
What is a Tamagotchi? Tamagotchis are a trend phenomenon from the late 1990s. These devices are small eggs that are carried in your pocket and constantly demand attention. A kind of digital pocket pet.
Tamagotchis were often carried around as keychains or other accessories by teenagers. Inside the small eggs, a digital chick “lives,” which periodically checks in to be fed, washed, or taken care of. If you ignored the creature, it would die.
How does this work in CoD? In the upcoming Modern Warfare, the Tamagotchis are integrated into the wristwatches. The wristwatches are a small detail feature that allows players to customize a character.
The chick version of these watches is called “TamaGUNchi” and it feeds on kills. To keep it alive, you must eliminate opponents in the multiplayer mode.
Actually, the wristwatches are just a cool feature that can also tell the time. As a Tamagotchi, however, it adds a completely different dimension that doesn’t quite fit the realism claim of Modern Warfare.
Annoying 90s Gadgets – and you are to blame
That’s why CoD now has Tamagotchis: The reason Emslie pushed for the TamaGUNchi is the players’ desire for individuality. The fans’ obsession with the wristwatches is, to put it bluntly, responsible for this:
People have really latched onto the wristwatches we have in the game. They are curious about how they will evolve. We will also do strange things with the watches. […] The [TamaGUNchi] is something unique, where we got creative. I told the developers: “Can you make it live and grow when I get kills in multiplayer?”
Joel Emslie via Dailystar
According to Emslie, the TamaGUNchi is supposed to accompany you in CoD, just like the real-life version does.
While you, for example, are tinkering with weapons using the Gunsmith feature, the chick is supposed to check in and demand food – which means multiplayer kills.
With these details, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare aims to give players the opportunity to add more individuality. Emslie is curious to see how the response will be.
Infinity Ward has already stated that they will not use multiplayer to depict the “atrocities” of war. The multiplayer mode is more of a playground and clearly separated from the single-player experience.
So far, the community has reacted rather negatively to another feature:
