In an attempt to recognize the copious talent that exists in the Call of Duty PC gaming community, BASHandSlash.com has been hosting the Call of Duty Hall of Fame (CoD HoF) since April of 2007. We officially brought the Hall of Fame to people's attentions during BASH 37, when we announced the first of what would be many hallowed members of the Hall.
During that induction ceremony, we singled out two modders, an eSport co-ordinator and a server admin guru for the honor of entry into the CoD HoF.
Shifting tastes and fortunes have seen less and less participation from these once dominant forces within our community. It is for this reason that this month's inductees may be the last in a long while. For that reason, I wanted to ensure that we highlighted a very deserving group of folks.
MODDER CATEGORY
Paulo88
Without a doubt the greatest mapper we have ever had in the Call of Duty PC community. Paul is now working at Treyarch where his skills at creating compelling fragging environments are finally being recognized. However, long before Treyarch came calling we here in the CoD community knew he was destined for greatness. Working with PST*Joker's eXtreme+ crew in 2006, Paulo88 went on to distinguish himself many times. Since we started following Paulo88, he won the coveted BASHandSlash.com BASHIE award numerous times...a reward he would go on to redesign, showing off his great skills at graphic design.
Without a doubt, his skills in the graphics department reached the greatest heights when he was creating maps for us to play on. Whether it was Murmansk back in CoD2 or NewVillers in CoD:WW, Paulo88 had no equal.
To allow you to glimpse Paul's skill, here is a little tour of NewVillers:
What can you say about these guys? The folks at the Blackmonkeys.de created one of the best mods in the history of the Call of Duty franchise: Galactic Warfare. GW is a professional looking mod, one worthy of any gaming studio. From the weapons, to the music to the maps...these guys brought the goods:
BUILDER CATEGORY
Chris aka "England4Eva"
For all the work he did putting together Commod and then using it to build the best CoD:WW eSport tournament in the world, cod5league, Chris, aka England4Eva will go down as a CoD great.
PLAYER and MODDER CATEGORY
Ryan aka "Raf1"
Raf1's short stint at in the CoD4 modding world brought us Promod, one of the most influential eSport mods since Garetjax's PAM. Raf1's tenure as the most important modder of his generation was somewhat short and frazzled. Would he stay with eSport and with modding or would he leave? Would he blow up and cuss out competitors in forums or would he be cool? In the end, Ryan would come, go, come again and then leave for good, but not before he lost his temper with people. He didn't suffer fools gladly that boy. It was that instability that had kept him out of the Hall...until now. We need to finally recognize his great service to our community. He gave us, in the perfection of Promod the CoD4 competitive (eSport) mod, a mod that would become the foundation of tournaments and ladders around the world. It was the most popular mod in CoD4 and deservedly so. Raf1 new what it was like to play eSport and had a successful career as a player.
An end to a great era?
Up until now, PC FPS Gaming had been the domain hardcore gamers. The Hall of Fame reflected that. We have had a sea-change lately and the game is less of a "hobby" and more of an off-the-shelf entertainment experience, one that is no-longer modder/mapper or admin-centric. Gamers now rule the roost. Call of Duty is a more complete game and arguably now transcends the need for community technical assistance. For that reason, BASHandSlash.com will shelve the nominations and induction ceremonies from here on out. Unless there is a change to the fundamental dynamic in CoD FPS gaming, we would simply like to thank all of you who made this hobby great...you all deserve to be in the Hall.
The Complete list
A listing of all the CoD HoF inductees can be seen by clicking the banner below:
