10 INSANE Video Game Risks (That Totally Paid Off)
3. Modern Warfare's Best Level Is Crafted Independently By A Medical Student
Applying for a job in the arts is always a risk in itself, so props must go to Mohammad Alavi. Despite being offered placement at a medical school, he was side-tracked by the growing popularity of his passion project gaming mods. Putting aside his promising medical career, he went to university to study game design.
Most games, especially AAA titles like Call of Duty, are crafted by teams of hundreds these days. This wasn't so much the case in the early 00s. When Alavi joined Infinity Ward, he was one of thirty who applied themselves to whatever needed doing to realise the overall vision.
As such, an idea Alavi had for a stealth-based level presented him with a choice. Either he went to busy programmers with the concept who may not have time for it, or he learn to do it himself. Alavi described the code for his mission being "a mess" compared to the pros but what was important was that it functioned as intended when he presented it to his team.
That stage was All Ghillied Up, the highly memorable moment of Modern Warfare's campaign where things slow down for a moment. Instead of being an all-out shooting gallery, the mission is all about precision, careful planning and vulnerability.
Oh, and just to prove he wasn't a fluke, Alavi also went onto craft Modern Warfare 2's "No Russian", one of the franchise's most impactful cinematic moments.