UX Journey

By Nicholas Pagonis

The following images are from the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 Zombies map, Der Eisendrache. It tells the story of the Wolf King who once led a mighty army and spread prosperity throughout his land and to his people. There’s zero words contained in his paintings, yet they all speak volumes of what went down on these once royal grounds. From the vast color pallet to the cohesive narrative from one painting to the next, it’s a tale chock full of meaning and substance.

Great King Prepares For Battle… Mans Best Friend At His Side. With the way the king and his wolves are posed, this painting appears to be a self portrait. It’s almost as if he knew they would be going down fighting, like he wanted his next of kin to remember him as a valiant, steadfast, and courageous leader. The light shining onto the king and his wolves gives the viewer a glimmer of hope as to the outcome of their upcoming war. The kings armor and sword are made of the finest steel ever forged, the hounds look healthy and unwaveringly loyal, and the insignia on the kings shield glows with an unmistakably majestic aura that will prove to be everlasting throughout the story.

When Armies Clash… The king, his wolves, and his comrades claw and scratch their way through the battlefield to protect their kingdom. The arrow-ridden grounds are scattered with smoke and bodies of allies and enemies alike. The bright colors contained in the sky and the yellowish hue of the painting could imply that the tides have been turning in the kings favor. One of his wolf companions scours the terrain, for it is his duty to be a vicious bodyguard. His noble steed is alive and well, his white hair being the only pure, good thing in the painting. The king himself proudly waves his royal insignia up high, hopefully being able to secure the victory for himself and his people.

A War With Hell. This is where our story takes a much darker turn. Fire and brimstone surround the kings castle, engulfing any and all land in the area. The sky is lit up furiously with vibrant red and orange strokes, and the kings sword and shield are stranded amidst the rubble and destruction. But the real attraction of this piece is the giant tentacle monster emerging from the darkness of the clouds. It sends irate lightning bolts crackling through the atmosphere and flashes it’s evil purple energy around it. It appears that whatever it was that the king was up against was far out of his depth. It clearly wiped the floor with him and his army, a stark contrast to the previous two paintings.

Only One Outcome. After all the carnage and chaos, the war is over. And unfortunately for our Wolf King, he has succumbed to his injuries, dying beside his distraught wife and royal insignia. The painting is very dark and indicates that the king died in a forest. It’s devastating seeing the arrows in his shoulder, his body slumped over, his wife crying hysterically, and his wolves nowhere to be found. Then the thought creeps in suddenly, that perhaps the wolves didn’t make it either. As we’ll see in the rest of the pictures, that is most definitely the case…

Reunited At Last. Many eons later, four travelers discover the Wolf Kings castle and put the pieces back together of these defiled grounds. It seems that one of the wolves’ remains are scattered throughout the Wolf Kings land, and it’s vital that the travelers reunite it’s skull with it’s body. Perhaps the wolf cannot be put to rest until it fulfills it’s mission and duty to it’s king, judging from the blue aura around the skull.

A Haunting Mission. The travelers end up finding the skull of one of the kings wolves, and it’s spirit awakens. It travels all around the castle, sniffing the ground and digging up objects of some kind. The blue and black smoke radiating off the wolf along with the paw prints leave a ghastly trail behind. The wolf perfectly displays what real loyalty looks like: Looking out for your closest allies even from beyond the grave. We’ll finally get to see the ending of this tragic tale and the wolf’s plan revealed!

Finally Laid To Rest. As it turns out, the wolf was gathering the bones of it’s master, it’s partner in crime, it’s best friend. Throughout the centuries of disrespect of the kings castle and land from one generation to the next, his bones were lodged all around the area in disarray. The wolf was trying to give it’s king a true, proper burial, and it succeeded. With the help of the four travelers, the king is able to bestow the power of his wolves’ spirits into a mighty bow and arrow. Fitting for a king and his hounds that charged straight into the heat of battle to protect their sacred kingdom!