The evolution of Zombie maps.

[anonymous]

In this thread I talk about the maps from the first Nacht Der Untoten till the newest Der Eisendrache. I will update it when a new map is released. The Classic maps in bo1, Dead Ops Arcade, Grief and Turned aren't mentioned.

2008- Nacht der untoten: The very first zombie map. It was supposed to be nothing more then a bonus thing, and no one back then could ever imagine what zombies could grow till what it is now. It gave us the basics of zombies: Barriers, wall weapons and the mystery box.

 

2009- Verrückt: Due to Nacht's popularity, Treyarch decided to make another zombie map in the next DLC. Verrückt was bigger and more comprehensive: There were multiple pathways and it introduced the power switch, traps, a moving box, sprinting zombies and most important: our beloved perk machines.

 

2009- Shi No Numa: The fan community grew bigger and bigger after the first DLC. Shi No Numa was the beginning of a long adventure: The story of Nikolai, Dempsey, Takeo and Richthofen. A zipline and Hellhounds in the special rounds. Many story related radios, and the mysterious meteorite of element 115.

 

2009- Der Riese: This map was all about the secret nazi stuff: The Der Riese waffenfabrik. Together with Moon probably the most story relevant map. Introduced the MTD, the fans favourite Pack a Punch machine and also an interactive easter egg: The Fly Trap. The radios let us meet two new characters: Dr. Maxis and his child Samantha Maxis.

 

2010- Kino Der Toten: Zombie mode became popular as never before. Because of this, Treyarch made in its newest game Black Ops beside Campain and Multiplayer also "Zombies", not as a bonus mode, but as its own part of CoD. Kino der Toten was originally meant as a map in World at War, but due to the release of MW2, they waited with releasing it and put it in Black Ops. The last map of the WaWZombies era. Also introduced beside zombies and hounds in the special rounds the first special zombie: The Nova6-crawlers.

 

2010- Five: This map was meant as some sort of Nacht der Untoten, following on the campain. Five was  the first map that let you play as real life characters. Also transportation was more important then ever before: A new form of teleporters, elevators, and small dead ended corridors.

 

2011- Ascension: Ascension brought us the first big main easter egg, something that is present in every map following. It was till then also the biggest map, and the later maps wont stop growing. Introducing landers and a new enemy in the special rounds: Perk stealing space-monkeys. Ascension was really revolutionary for zombies.

 

2011- Call Of The Dead: Introduced the first female playable character. Beside special rounds and special zombies, this map gave us something new: A boss, George. The player got the possibility to reach the other side of the map in a few seconds, by help of the jumppad and zipline.

 

2011- Shangri La: Green, light and exotic, something new to zombies. Minecard and watersliding as new transportations. The "shrieker" zombies and power up stealing monckeys as special enemies, and the napalm zombie as boss.

 

2011- Moon: Probably the most revolutionary map ever: A survival "mini game" at the beginning, space gravity on the moon, poison air, jumppads, and the ability to hack the system. The end of Richthofen's plan, what started in Shi No Numa. Blowing up earth was the ultimate cliffhanger.

 

2012- Green Run (TranZit): Green Run existed of various maps: Town, Bus Depot, Farm, Diner and Tranzit. The first three maps are small survival maps, and still the most played maps. These maps gave new players who wanted to give zombie mode a try, the ability to learn zombies. This led to many new zombie fans. The map Tranzit was different: It existed of the small maps plus some others connected via the bus. Parts and buildables were introduced: The shield, the trap, the wunderwaffe and the turbine. Exploding zombies as special zombies and Avogadro, the electric zombie as the boss. For the first time was power not only your friend, but also your enemy. Richthofen continued his race for power.

 

2013- Die Rise: This map was really mindfuck. Elevotors going up and down, a maze of hallways and as well horizontal as vertical floors. There was even a mystery box at the roof. The Nova6-crawlers of Kino der Toten and Five returned as "Jumping Jacks".

 

2013- Nuketown Zombies: A small, special map existing of tight corridors. Random perk machines dropping out of the sky.

 

2013- Mob Of The Dead: Some parts of this map is created exacly the same as the real Alcatraz prison.   
A new game element, called Afterlife, was a important part of the game. The player also gain the ability to carry more then one part each time, and there are 3 heads which you can feed to earn a weapon. The map had something new for zombies, shiny, less grey, and less creepy. For now on, all the maps (except Buried) were created the like this.

 

 2013- Buried: Buried was the end of the Shi No Numa - Buried story, and the developers knew that. Thats why they wanted to make an unique map giving a great experience. More magic and creepier than previous maps. For the first time a unplayable character appeared: The Giant, who could help you opening unbuyable doors and fighting the undead. It was posdible to chalk a wall weapon on the place you wanted, the precursor of the customable wall weapons in Black Ops 3. A new enemy that doesnt only affect your health, but also your money: The witches. A changing maze. Even a new version of the golden oldy, fan favourite Raygun.

 

2013- Origins: The origins of a new episode in the zombie story. After 4 maps the original characters return.: The young Richthofen, Takeo, Dempsey and Nikolai. New features are: Custom weather, Wunderfizz Orb, a drivable tank, the ability to dig, and instead of a power switch, you have to activate 6 generators, each guarded by Agarthan zombies. Also, a new boss, the Panzer Soldat is introduced.

 

2015- Shadows of Evil: In the 7 years of Zombies' existence, it grew from a bonus mode to a big part of Call of Duty. Shadows of Evil introduced beside element 115 infected creatures, Cthulhu-like beings. Margwa's, Meatballs and Parasites. Game elements from previous maps returned, together with a train, customable wall weapons, gobblegum, and a buildable, zombie killing robot. The developers showed in this map what they are capable of.

 

2015- The Giant: The Black Ops 3 map Shadows of Evil was for the experienced players, like Tranzit was for Black Ops 2. A smaller, easier map called 'the Giant' was for the beginners and for people who are tired of Shadows of Evil. Its a remake of World at War's Der Riese, the place where the apocalypse began. Big changes are Gobblegum and customable Black Ops 3 weapons.

 

2016- Der Eisendrache: After a long period, the nazi zombies finally returned in Der Eisendrache. This map provides previous game elements like the MTD, the jumppad, the feedable heads and the space gravity. Panzer Soldat returns, together with Hell Hounds in the special rounds. Also something new: The cablecard, which can bring you power-ups.

 

2016- Zetsubou No Shima: This map is unique in Black Ops 3 for its darkness and creepy look. A big new thing is introduced: The player can beside travel over land also swim in the water. Temporary power and different growable plants with each its own way of giving benefits. Spiders as special round enemies and Thrashers as boss.

[ZombiesAteMyPizza!]

For the first time in a long time, I'm quite excited to see what the next map brings. I get the impression that everything between Moon and Eisendrache has been an outlandish experiment to try things out and see what people will like and what they don't. We don't like spending ages just to set up the PaP, we don't like maps so large that it takes forever to get around, we don't like taking over an hour just to get set up by round 10; we do like the option of being able to get a quick game going, being able to get across the map quickly, having traps that are actually useful and having a choice of various play styles.

Eisendrache encapsulates this and, as far as I can see, is set to become an all time fan favourite. I swore that I'd never do a round 100 run again, but this map just gives me those feels that I used to get about Black Ops 1 maps that just made me want to play them over and over, and a casual solo game yesterday turned into the first 100 I've done in several years. I hope I get the same vibes with this next map!

[shirtlesservice]

How would you describe George as a gameplay element?

I feel like he was like a precursor to the giant in Buried, in that he was a constant presence, even though he wasn't exactly helpful.

Overall a great thread that summarizes the evolution of the game mode. Well done again Anon.

I think that over the course of the entire game mode, Verruckt and Origins have been the most influential in terms of new gameplay elements. Verruckt gave us the perks, the moving box, a new spawn in mechanic, multiple pathways, sprinting zombies... And Origins expanded on everything just immensely, with the staffs, the multi-step pap, wunderfizz, the absolutely massive Easter egg (close to 4 hours to get done in solo) New boss... I think Origins took what BOII was doing well and consolidated it to make a really impressive map as a whole.

I'm really excited for what the devs do with the rest of the map packs, as it looks like they are really starting to get the promula down really well. I love Der Eisendrache, and it's certainly one of my favorites of all time (so far) for a variety of reasons. I hope that the dev's are able to make each map its own and keep it fresh, well still retaining the positive gameplay elements that have recently.

[anonymous]

16 hours ago, shirtlesservice said:

How would you describe George as a gameplay element?

I mean George himself isnt really a game element, but beside normal zombies, special enemies (like nova6 smeagols), special round enemies (like hounds) this map introduced the first boss. And if this was George, a Napalm zombie or a Panzer Soldat, doesnt matter.

And shirtless, thanks for that Verrückt stuff, I forgot about it. I now see I forgot some more things on other maps, so Im gonna edit it.

@ZombiesAteMyPizza! I agree that Der Eisendrache is great. Wonder if we will later look back to it like we now do to maps like Moon and Ascension

[anonymous]

Hope you dont mind if i use your words