David Vonderhaar discusses the struggles of competitive balance on OpTic H3CZ’ podcast

Treyarch’s Studio Design Director, David Vonderhaar joined OpTic Gaming CEO Hector Rodriguez on his Eavesdrop Podcast to talk all things Call of Duty.

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Vonderhaar has overseen the creation of Black Ops 4 and talked about how the game was designed with both the competitor and the esports viewer in mind.

“Making the game fun to watch is a priority for us, it’s a pillar of Black Ops 4,” said Vonderhaar. “It’s just as important as the level of competition. You can take the competition agenda and press it forward and make competitive players very happy. But you will leave all the viewers behind, and you need both to be successful.”

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That wasn’t always the case. Even to video game designers, esports came out of nowhere.

“Someone said to me ‘hey you gotta come see this thing,’ Vonderhaar recounted. “I went to MLG Anaheim and sat in the audience watching people cheer for the game and the players, it was a moment for me.”

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This was Episode Two of Rodriquez’s Eavesdrop Podcast. Episode One was an interview with Ryan ‘Fwiz’ Wyatt, Youtube’s Global Head of Gaming, where he made a bold prediction about the future of esports.

The full podcast with Vonderhaar can be found below: