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1.
Despite the belief
that soldiers spent
years in the trenches,
the Allied forces would
rotate infantrymen so
they would only spend
around ten days a
month in the trenches
with only around three
or four on the frontline.
2.
The weapon of
destruction that
immediately springs
to mind with the Great
War is the machine
gun. However, the
greatest number of
casualties was caused
by artillery fire.
3.
While the common
perception was that
life in the trenches
was more perilous,
nine out of ten soldiers
survived the war.
Conversely, in 1915,
Allied pilots had a life
expectancy rate of just
11 days.
WW1
Misconceptions
game that fits into the rock-paper-scissor dynamic,
a dynamic and destructible world that changes as
the players' actions take effect on the landscapes
and structures, and of course the promise of all out
warfare, which includes air, land and sea battles.
“It also expands on the original formula with the
almost otherworldly weaponry and vehicles, together
with horses and a focus on hand-to-hand combat.”
Working within a theme unfamiliar to the studio
would’ve required an inordinate amount of research
to become knowledgeable of the period, the uniforms
and weapons – which differed greatly between the
years 1914 to 1918 - and of course the vehicles. WW1
began with antiquated tactics more accustomed to
those employed at the Battle of Waterloo
a hundred years prior, and concluded
with combat strategies and
methodologies that influenced
how the next World War would
be fought 20 years later.
“Huge amounts of research
has gone into
Battlefield
1
including what type of
weapons and vehicles were
used,” outlines Berlin. “We
visited museums to see
and feel the actual weapons
ourselves, and we also visited
the actual locations where the real
battles took place and gathered photo
references from these locations to be able
to depict the landscapes, villages, forts and cities
properly.
“We also read many personal testimonies from
soldiers at the front sending letters back home; in
these letters you can see how soldiers did not even
believe the stories about the new machines of war. We
really wanted to depict this feeling in the game; how
small a soldier would feel when standing in front of
these completely new machines of war, and how they
altered and changed how war was waged.”
But these machines were very much of their time;
slow, lumbering tanks prone to breaking down, so
there's a fine line in authentically replicating the arms
and vehicles of the era and producing something that
is entertaining and in line with what is expected from
a shooter in 2016. Anyone who spent time with the
beta in August would’ve noticed weapon and vehicle
speeds more attuned with that of Word War 2. But
the developer is in the business of entertainment
and slow-loading bolt action rifles and slow vehicle
speeds just don't fit that brief. We asked
Berlin where the studio sits in terms of
delivering historical realism and entertaining
content.
“It’s important to mention that we don’t
want to be the History Channel; this is an
entertainment product first and foremost
that is set and draws inspiration fromWW1.
The weapons, vehicles, locations and armies
are authentic to the era, but of course we
have taken some liberties with the setting
in favour of gameplay."
We mention that pilots during the First
World War were not issued parachutes (it
was believed that if the pilots had a means
to escape, they wouldn’t be as committed to the
fight). In the beta, players can bail out of the planes
and descend to continue the fight. Admittedly we are
being a little picky here, but we’re keen to understand
how they prioritise fun over fact.
“This has been something we’ve been working
with throughout the entire project and we’ve
tried to stay as true as we can to the era without
compromising fun gameplay,” Berlin counters. “It’s our
interpretation of WW1 within a battlefield wrapping,
seen through a modern lens.
“It’s never been our intention to push historical
accuracy at the cost of fun gameplay, and the tank
movement speed and parachutes for pilots
are good examples where we think
altering these aspects enforces
the fun within our game, while
still staying within range of
authenticity for the era.”
There is no doubt that
Battlefield 1
is entertaining.
From what we played at E3
in June to the beta, this is
probably the game we’re
most looking forward to playing
in 2016, and we still haven't
sampled the campaign levels.
Berlin says the studio thoroughly
enjoyed its work on the game.
“The width that the setting offers put us in
a really good position to choose the types of locations
that perhaps are not the most commonly mentioned
when talking about the Great War.
“Being able to depict the Italian alps, the deserts of
Arabia, the city streets of Amiens and the deep forest
of Argonne has been a true eye opener for myself in
terms of how global this conflict actually was.
“It’s been a mantra from day one that we want to
touch and show the more untold stories of WW1, and
visiting and portraying these locations in the game
does just that. I think
Battlefield
1
offers a more diverse palate of
scenery than previous titles.
“Never before have we had
this many different biomes
present in a Battlefield game at
launch. A big take-away from these past years is the
strength of these diverse biomes, and how the nature
of these locations pushes gameplay to be different in
each and every map we deliver in the game.”
•
Battlefield 1
is out Oct 21
It's been a mantra
from day one that we
want to touch and
show the more untold
stories of WW1
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FEATURE
GAMES