General[]
- The map started out as an "unofficial" project for level designer Adam Hoggatt, who had developed a working design in two days. It quickly became a favorite among the developers at Treyarch.[1]
- In a Treyarch interview, David Vonderhaar said that the map was inspired by the scene in the 2008 film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in which Jones, pursued by Soviet soldiers, comes across a nuclear testing site with a replica of a typical 50s suburb and survives the nuclear blast by hiding in a refrigerator.
- A double rainbow is in the sky, which is a reference to the viral video.
- A Mega Bloks set was released based on the Nuketown area, including the green house and the Doomsday Clock.
Secret RC-XD pathway[]
- Nuketown contains a secret pathway specifically for the RC-XD linking the backyards of the houses.
- From the yellow house, it is between the shed and the swing set.
- From the green house, it is beside the fallout shelter.
- The path includes a ramp that requires the speed boost to clear it, otherwise the RC-XD will explode.
- This route is missing in the Wii version of the game.
Call of Duty: Black Ops[]
Center of the map[]
- On the Welcome to Nuketown sign, there is a population counter stating the amount of players on the map. The Treyarch logo can also be seen.
- A military jeep is parked in front of the school bus and the truck. Four other vehicles are present outside of the map.
- The red moving truck is a 1950 Peterbilt COE. The grill has the letters WMD instead of COE, referencing the term “weapons of mass destruction”.
- The school bus in the center of the map has “Treyarch Unified School District” on the sides.
- The street sign “Trinity Ave”, clearly visible from the loading screen, is a reference to Trinity Site in New Mexico, where the first nuclear bomb was detonated.
- When playing Search and Destroy or Domination on this map, a pile of furniture will be placed between the yellow house and the red moving truck.
Green and yellow houses[]
- On the bookshelves in both houses, there is a book written by Edward Richtofen, referencing a main character from the Zombies mode. In the place where a volume may be set, it reads; DG2 and DG3, referring to the Wunderwaffe DG-2 and its Pack-a-Punched variant.
- The mailboxes in front of the houses are labeled "Woods" and "Mason."
- In both garages, there are tin cans that say “Scientific Beef”.
- On the wall of the garage in the yellow house, an American flag with a peace sign can be seen. This is also seen in the campaign level "S.O.G.".
- A portrait photograph the the upstairs desk of the 'Mason' house is a portrait of Hank Keirsey, a military consultant for Treyarch during the developement of Call of Duty: Black Ops. Similar portraits are present in the campaign level U.S.D.D and the zombie map "Five".
- There is a hidden empty room in the yellow house visible from the outside only. The interior can only be seen in spectator mode.
- The green house contains portraits of U.S. presidents William Henry Harrison in the stairway and George Washington in the upstairs area.
- It is possible to jump on top of the Nuketown sign from the green house's window, except in the Wii version.
- The yellow house and the green house have the house numbers 11 and 13, respectively.
Mannequins[]
- The mannequins appear in different locations every game.
- The mannequins can be attacked, but only their heads and arms can be knocked off.
- When a mannequin's head is shot off with the Crossbow, the head falls off, but the arrow remains "stuck" where the head used to be. This also applies for the Semtex and Ballistic Knife; however, tomahawks ricochet off harmlessly.
- David Vonderhaar of Treyarch stated that shooting the heads off all mannequins within 15 seconds unlocks "a special surprise". This surprise is the song "Sympathy for the Devil" by The Rolling Stones, which plays from the loudspeakers outside the map.
- There are four to six mannequins hidden inside the school bus, which can be seen via Theater Mode.
- The female mannequin seen in the detonation cutscene following each game is located in the yellow house. She can be seen via spectate or by standing in the yard of the yellow house on the far right.
Outside the playable area[]
- There are four houses outside of the playable area.
- Following the road away from the cul-de-sac leads to a gate with a guardhouse.
- On a tower viewable from the deck of the yellow house is the Doomsday Clock.
- The purple house outside the map is an exact replica of the house from the Brady Bunch.
- In a house outside of the map, labeled "14", two mannequins looking out the window appear to be holding hands.
- The nuclear bomb can be seen outside the map, far into the desert, on a tower.
- At the end of every match, the bomb falls and detonates, obliterating the map. On the Wii version, the bomb is shown from the middle of the map.
- It is impossible to get close to or hit the nuke. Rockets will explode before impact.
Map mechanics[]
- Attack dogs in the map can be seen climbing over fences and running into the desert.
- On the Wii version, the muddy paths are replaced with grass and there is no glass in the windows.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6[]
- The door function was intended to be on the map, however, were removed prior to the launch on November 1st, 2024. The doors can still be seen within the loading movie.
- Expert Level Designer Adam Hoggatt would leave a reference to their removal as a door can be seen within the truck in the middle of the map.[5]
References[]
- ↑ http://community.callofduty.com/community/call_of_duty/english/black_ops_2/blog/2012/06/30/nuketown-the-explosive-history
- ↑ https://x.com/DavidVonderhaar/status/253200247302537216
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20170807001526/https://gameological.com/2013/01/call-of-duty-black-ops-nuketown/
- ↑ https://archive.vgfacts.com/thread-1652.html
- ↑ https://x.com/Wrecks_/status/1852483674094411837