Many video games are inspired by something; some of the gaming industry's most popular series are. The Assassin's Creed games were inspired by the Prince of Persia series, Devil May Cry was originally a prototype for Resident Evil 4, and Amnesia: The Dark Descent inspired Outlast.
These games managed to add a twist to their inspirations to make them unique and memorable for gamers to experience and enjoy. Some like them even became popular thanks to this formula.
However, none were as influential as the first Medal of Honor was. Without it, the Call of Duty games wouldn't be the same games we enjoy.
Medal of Honor Background
The first Medal of Honor game is a first-person shooter (FPS) developed by DreamWorks Interactive (DWI) and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 1 in Nov. 1999, per the Medal of Honor Wiki.
The game's concept, production, and story all came from American film director and producer Steven Spielberg by combining his deep interest in WW2 and watching his son play Goldeneye 007 for the Nintendo 64. According to Den of Geek, it was these inspirations that convinced Spielberg that video games would play a big role in the future of storytelling and entertainment. These then pushed him to take time from "Saving Private Ryan's" post-production process to help develop the game.
The game is set on WW2's European Front, with it taking the historical route that would appeal to younger generations. Spielberg hoped to bring "Saving Private Ryan's" historically accurate brutality to show gamers the realities of WWII while entertaining them with fast-paced gameplay.
However, the game caught the eye of the Congressional Medal of Honor Society for allegedly downplaying the atrocities of war and international conflict to entertain the very young generation of gamers. Fortunately, game producer Peter Hirschmann convinced Medal of Honor Society president Paul Bucha that the game was made with serious and honorable intentions, earning the game the Society's backing and Bucha's endorsement.
Despite that, Spielberg and DWI veered away from the honest brutality they were originally gunning for in the game's initial development. As a result, the game focuses on a few different things that would eventually separate the game from the blockbuster film it was spiritually based on.
Medal of Honor Reception, Legacy
Spielberg and DWI were correct in sticking to their guns when the Society demanded the game be canceled. Medal of Honor's almost documentary feel due to Spielberg's direction of "telling a story through gameplay" received critical acclaim from critics and gamers alike.
Medal of Honor was much beloved that the game's original team stayed to create its sequel when EA acquired DWI.
Critic scores are off the roof, with GameSpot giving it an 8.5 for its gameplay, while IGN simply endorsed the game to other gamers. "There is little to say here except this: go buy it, and go buy it now. You won't be disappointed," the publication said.
It was due to this direction and success that it helped other game developers see the market for historical WW2 shooters that weren't a thing until the Medal of Honor came along. Back then, WW2 shooters took a fictional spin on the historical event, such as Wolfenstein.
Meal of Honor eventually led to the development and release of the first Call of Duty game, with the resulting franchise becoming the de facto leader in the WW2 shooter genre (and the FPS genre in general), per VG247. While this popularity would lead to the death of the Medal of Honor series, the FPS genre became so popular that it greenlighted the development of what would become the first game of the Battlefield franchise.
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