Seven days have passed since the successor in the Call of Duty sequence has been released to finally make the CoD fans' wet dreams all happen; the long awaited status of a true eSports game and a highly competitive game next to CS with more depth than Call of Duty 2 had. However, the evolution of the game into such a game is already in trouble...

It is safe to say that everyone agrees this game is great. Competitive gamers cheer for vast amount of variety of commands, Infinity Ward has put into the game for the community to adapt, tweak and change how it pleases.

Nevertheless, this flexibility has put Baby CoD4 in a whole load of trouble as the community is split up over how the game should look like for competition.

Even a non-gaming dumb blond will understand that if no agreement can be found on one stable and fully accepted rule set, which results in different pools of players supporting different leagues and events each with their own set of rules, it will surely delay or kill off all early chances of finally having a great long future for this 'Call of Duty'.

It can work

The flexibility that CoD4 now poises and possibility of the community to influence the game proved to be the key success of Enemy Territory. Why is that?

Every loyal fan to Enemy Territory remembers the lengthy discussions within the community on how the game should be shaped.

It was clearly evident that in whatever way ET was changed, there would always be heavy opposition, with no but at times good arguments. In the end, not everyone would be pleased. Many times, I actually thought, these changes caused more uproar that it was actually worth the "improvement".

Regardless on whoever (CB and other leagues in many cases) initiated or "forced" those changes onto the scene; if we look back, we can definitely say the game has improved massively with regard of the high-end players, John Noob at the bottom and even the amazingly loyal spectators.

The success of the game can be contributed to two forces. On one hand, there was a small group of people that made the final decisions and had genuine knowledge of the game, which included for example, Frop and yes even the CB admins.

However, they just could have not done it without the massive input from the community. That raw input of opinions, ideas and tweaks proved to be the large pool of options for those guys to weigh against, balances the changes and come with the best possible compromise.

Although both groups sometimes clashed heavily, it was all of the greater good of the game. There is no one that can ever deny that the success of ET can be contributed to just the community or just those few so-called "elite" which had the power to enforce changes. Both needed each other. The community needed the select few to make sure two or more sub groups within the community did not tear the scene apart and actually make decisions. Vice versa, it was to keep the game for the people and make sure those chosen ones did not gain too much power.

The current problem with Call of Duty 4

If I look back on those days, it had great resemblance of a governmental cabinet and a huge parliament.

Right now Call of Duty 4 does not have a widely accepted cabinet of neutral people who listen to its parliament. There are just too many people that have the desire to be that cabinet, but lack the support. And that is at the expense of the game...

Call of Duty 4 is only out for days, it has had its first LAN and now the shit is starting to hit the fan on how the game should develop. Top players, admins and whoever wants to make its mark on the game are heavily advocating for whatever changes, tweaks and formats they think is best.

With the huge variety of weapons, attachments (the add-ons such as silencers on weapons), perks (e.g. deeper impact of bullets, faster reloads) and customizable commands, the resemblance to the possible influence the community could have on a game is now wide open and it is an open fish market on what should happen with the game.

With Call of Duty 4 poised with so much potential of being a great game and the shot at gaining more acceptance as a true eSports game, the entire community is getting overly concerned that the game turns out well. And who is the victim, that little 7 day old guy we want to grown into a great game.

So what is going on?

A large group (not all) of top competitive gamers and top teams has joined up in what is called the Cure initiative for CoD4. Some people consider it a great initiative to include many people that have had much knowledge in CoD2 to develop CoD4.

Then there is ClanBase, which are also jumping the gun quickly to release their own set of rules for its ladders. Even though their claim this time is not to "dominate the scene", with them being the largest CoD2 competitive community out there, their decision will have a large effect on the scene once again. And that surely causes higher blood pressures among others, who don't agree. Do you see the resemblance already with ET?

However, it has been rumored that among those who have been excluded from the cure initiative, a new alliance has been which advocate very different changes, which might actually pit the community against each other.

The difference

Enemy Territory had always been in the hands of the community, while a select few in the very end made a compromise of all the suggestions and ideas coming from the community. The discussions have been utterly heavy and at times tiring, but everyone treated ET as their baby, which should have the best "childhood" and growth.

Call of Duty 4 seems to be in real trouble. While this game should be nurtured in a cradle, the community has ruthlessly kicked it out of its cozy bed and is being fought over by many. Is this what God really intended to happen when it released CoD4?

In the upcoming days, I will try to map the current issues and arguments that are currently brewing in the new community.