"Call of Duty almost ruined a generation of FPS players", says Tripwire boss

Red Orchestra 2 developer Tripwire Interactive isn't pleased with the current state of shooters, and has cited Call of Duty's dominance over the pack as a real issue.

Speaking with PC Gamer, Tripwire's president John Gibson was asked for his thoughts on the FPS genre today.

"I think that single-player shooters are getting better," he replied. "I think they’re finally coming out from under the shadow of the Hollywood movie, overblown “I’m on a rail” linear shooter. I’m talking about Call of Duty-style shooters.

He added, "The melding of RPG elements and shooter elements has been great. I’ve seen this reflected in a lot of the reviews, it’s like, “Okay guys, we’re tired of this on-rails experience.”

While Gibson feels single-player shooters are getting better, he's not pleased with the multiplayer circuit at present. He continued, "On the flip side, I’m really discouraged by the current state of multiplayer shooters. I think that, and I hate to mention names, because it sounds like ‘I’m just jealous of their success,’ but I’m really, I feel like Call of Duty has almost ruined a generation of FPS players.

"I know that’s a bold statement, but I won’t just throw stones without backing it up. When I was developing Action Mode [for RO2], I got a group of people that I know that are pretty hardcore Call of Duty players. And my goal was to create something that was accessible enough for them to enjoy the game—not turn it into Call of Duty, but try to make something that I thought was casual enough but with the Red Orchestra gameplay style that they would enjoy.

"And we iterated on it a lot. And just listening to all the niggling, pedantic things that they would complain about, that made them not want to play the game, I just thought, “I give up. Call of Duty has ruined this whole generation of gamers.”

What do you think? Harsh words, or does the man speak truth? Let us know below.