While maps like Shadows of Evil, Mob of the Dead, and Der Eisendrache are often thrown around as candidates for the best Call of Duty Zombies map of all time, it’s Origins that tends to end up in the #1 spot on a majority of rankings. And though Origins is undoubtedly a masterpiece, the Call of Duty Zombies gem could have been even more memorable had technical limitations not gotten in the way.
When someone hears Call of Duty Zombies and limitations uttered in the same breath, the first thought tends to be of TranZit. An ambitious open-world concept held back by the technology of the time — an alternate bus route had to be scrapped, and fog had to cover much of the map — TranZit inspired the excellent Ashes of the Damned in Black Ops 7, with Treyarch finally able to go all out with the concept. However, it turns out that some of Black Ops 2’s other maps had to be cut down as well. Mob of the Dead originally had the tunnel fast travel system eventually offered within Blood of the Dead, while the jumping jacks in Die Rise were meant to have wings. And, as it turns out, even Origins had a fair bit of content left on the cutting room floor.
What Black Ops 2’s Origins Map Could Have Been
Revealed as part of the newly released Call of Duty Zombies: The Art of Treyarch book by Creative Director Corky Lehmkuhl, Origins was meant to have three more major POIs before Treyarch realized its ambitions were too large for the technology of the time. These planned areas were:
- A large French town in between the central mound and church.
- A system of underwater tunnels underneath the central mound, explorable via a Panzer suit.
- A fully accessible zeppelin airship.
Origins was originally envisioned as a much, much bigger map… in the first layout, we had a whole French village in between the center mound and the church. Under the mound, we had four large subterranean chambers that were accessible only through flooded tunnels. The player would have to get in a Panzer Soldat suit to traverse the underwater sections. And we had plans for players to teleport up into the zeppelin floating above the map.
To be clear, bigger isn’t always better, especially when it comes to a Call of Duty Zombies map. Still, when considering how masterfully crafted everything else in Origins was, from the elemental staves and Primis’ debut to the giant robots and side quests, it’s safe to assume that these areas would have been similarly incredible. The tunnels seem particularly well-thought-out, as to traverse these flooded areas, players would need to acquire a Panzer suit. Whether they would have been able to wield the terrifying mini-boss’ claw and flamethrower is unclear, but the idea of building the suit just like gamers did in the original BioShock with the Big Daddy gear certainly sounds special.
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Being able to reach the zeppelin flying above the World War 1 battlefield sounds like a logical extension of reaching the giant robot heads, too. Getting into the likes of Thor, Odin, and Freya may have been a satisfying (and terrifying) step toward acquiring the staves and completing the main quest, but Treyarch could have made it feel even more rewarding by doing more with the launch pads used to exit the machines. Perhaps players could do something to trigger a launch that tosses them up unto the zeppelin, and they could then go inside to carry out quest steps or get some kind of special equipment. As for the French town, it could have been used to add more non-trench playable space to the map, perhaps feeling like a piece of Totenreich within Origins.
Obviously, the Origins that players did end up getting turned out to be a masterpiece, but it’s hard not to imagine the version of the map where players could get into the zeppelin or become a Panzer Soldat following this reveal. With Black Ops 7’s Rex Infernus map right around the corner, and this new art book providing fresh insight into the maps that made the mode so popular, it’s an exciting time to be a CoD Zombies fan.
