Edmontonian helps bring inclusion and diversity to upcoming Call of Duty video game
A passionate fan of video games is living her dream as she helps write the plot and character development of an upcoming Call of Duty release.
Shelby Carleton works remotely from Edmonton as a narrative designer for Call of Duty Vanguard, developed by Sledgehammer Games.
“I always loved video games and writing,” she told CTV News Edmonton.
It was a high school tour of Edmonton’s BioWare studios that showed Carleton that she could work in the video game industry. That visit further inspired her to study English and video game development at the University of Alberta.
She described this newest iteration of Call of Duty as an all-rounded title, offering an extensive campaign mode taking players into World War II battles, multiplayer, zombies mode, and battle royale-style Warzone.
“The single-player campaign itself covers many different areas of the world and our main characters, there’s five of them, and they each come from a different walk of life,” Carleton said. “So you get to see World War II from all these different perspectives.
“I’m really excited for people to see these new areas and stories that you’ve maybe never heard before, you get to maybe learn a little bit as you play.”
Shelby Carleton works as a narrative designer for Call of Duty: Vanguard (CTV News Edmonton)
For Carleton, the most rewarding part of her job is bringing more diverse and inclusive storylines to the industry.
“We are doing a lot different than all these games early on,” she added. “Hopefully, when you’re sitting down to pick a character, you see somebody that you love, that you feel represented by.
“I’m just proud to be at a studio that is contributing to that (inclusion).”
Call of Duty Vanguard releases on Nov. 5 on Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
Saskatchewan households will continue to receive carbon tax rebate: Trudeau
Households in Saskatchewan will continue to receive Canada Carbon Rebate payments, despite the province refusing to remit the federal carbon price on natural gas, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
Senate expenses climbed to $7.2 million in 2023, up nearly 30%
Senators in Canada claimed $7.2 million in expenses in 2023, a nearly 30 per cent increase over the previous year.
Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko won't play in Game 2
The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.
Pedestrian, baby injured after stroller struck and dragged by vehicle in Squamish, B.C.
Police say a baby and a pedestrian suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a vehicle struck a baby stroller and dragged it for two blocks before stopping in Squamish, B.C.