Start Anywhere Functionality
Chris Busse, Producer on Medal of Honor Airborne addresses the airdrop and the 'start anywhere' functionality resulting from this feature:


Introduction

The ability to allow gamers to "start anywhere" in a FPS was one of the 1st elements of Medal of Honor Airborne that really got the team excited about how this game will provide fans with a really unique experience. Not only is it something completely new to gaming, but it's inspired by the experiences of real Airborne paratroopers during WWII.

Player choice is a key element to our game design, so allowing the player to determine where they want to start the experience from, in any level, was our 1st step. If the player is then curious about what might have happened had they started from somewhere else, they can jump again and choose a new starting location, and they can do this again, and again, and again. The images and descriptions below focuse on the moment the player decides to leap from the C-47 (or is pushed out if they wait too long) and take control of the chute to find the ideal landing position in just one of our game levels, Operation Husky. Personally, I've played some of our levels hundreds of times and I still have a new experience every time. The development team had hoped for some re-playability when we started down this road, but it has massively exceeded our expectations.

• Town Hall Roof - Landing in the thick of things on top of the Axis headquarters could prove costly to the novice paratrooper, but if you're looking for a heroic challenge, this might be just the spot to land.
  
  


• Tower Plaza - This quiet corner of the village is marked with green smoke and a flare. These areas are your safest landing spots, having no Axis troop activity, and usually containing valuable health and ammunition supply canisters.
  
  


• Marketplace Rooftop - Landing on the roof of this central marketplace affords you quick access to a number of battles raging throughout the village, but it could also leave you exposed to Axis troops who might spot and fire on you from the Town Hall.
  
  


• Northeast Gate - Landing by the Northeast Gate can be dangerous, but it will give you close access to one of your objectives. Close doesn't necessarily mean quick, however, since the Axis soldiers won't give it up without a tough fight. Be sure to keep your eyes open for flanking opportunities throughout this area
  
  


• The Hill Houses - Landing near the Hill Houses gives you a chance to ramp up the difficulty of combat. It might be an easy space to fight into, but it becomes a difficult part of town to secure entirely.
  
  

In Addition to the drop locations supported by screens, other unique starting locations include with Operation Husky include:

• Village Wall - Land on the village wall and you'll have easy access to most points in the village, height advantages over your opponents, as well as access to one of your most valuable combat assets- the rooftops.


• Basement Back Alley - If you find your way into the back alley behind the Town Hall, you can sneak in behind enemy lines to break down their defenses. Remember, however, that going behind the lines means you'll be all alone, with no allies to assist in your assault.


• Church Steeple - Proving your worth as a paratrooper, land on the steeple of the village's old church to earn one of several skill drops.


• The Tower - Land in the top of the tower to find a decided height advantage over Axis troops who are defending the Town Hall. If you've got a sniper rifle, this is a great spot to warm it up.


• Find Your Own Path - Steer to your own landing spots throughout the village and craft your custom assault on the Axis forces that you encounter. You're the hero - it's time to start making some heroic choices.

Starting anywhere is just the first step of embracing total player choice. The jump and the airdrop takes the player to their starting point but depending on what that player chooses from there offers them the ability to change their entire experience. Weapon load-outs, play style, these are all choices and preferences that vary from player to player - with this game the team has had to make sure that each operation plays well from all directions and caters to all different play styles.

Allowing for the player to pick their start position as well as what comes next created a design philosophy that forced the team to change everything about how we designed and programmed Medal of Honor Airborne.
The player has complete control over where they start - and finding a new way of attacking an objective, with new weaponry, or a new flank, or a new angle is when you can really start to appreciate the "on your feet" thinking that real Airborne heroes had to use many years ago.