Every gun in Black Ops Cold War will have a unique haptic profile using the DualSense controller on PS5.
The PlayStation 5 is landing with a long list of features, but one of the aspects being praised ahead of the console’s launch is the nifty new DualSense controller.
One of the key features of the DualSense sees it use haptic feedback to make precise and nuanced vibration. It’s a new tool for developers to communicate to players and one that has a promising future. One such use will be how it’s being utilised in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
In an interview with GameSpot, lead game designer Tony Flame revealed that each weapon will see its own haptic profile. He said: “The DualSense controller is pretty awesome. It’s got new haptic feedback so when you’re pulling the trigger, it’s shaking, every time a gun fires there is a little motor in there that’s firing every time.
“There is sensitivity on the trigger that represents the trigger pressure on a real weapon. All of that has been tuned in the game for each individual weapon. So it’s quite a lot to take in, but it’s pretty awesome, and it gives the guns a feeling like they’ve never had before.”
It’s a pretty novel idea. With care, it’s not hard to see how this ends up selling and differentiating the experience of shooting a weapon in concert with the sound and animation. Doing this for every gun in Call of Duty’s considerable arsenal is definitely no small feat either.
It was not confirmed if this functionality will be coming to Warzone where Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War will merge in December.
The question now is will developers continue to utilise this functionality? With developer workloads, it’s easy to see a world where some choose to skip functionality that only benefits one platform to work elsewhere on a game.
Here’s hoping that haptic feedback and reactive triggers continue to be iterated on in ways like this, because it certainly has a lot of potential.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War arrives on November 13 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
