STACK #144 Oct 2016

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GAMES FEATURE

One of the most anticipated games of the year releases this month. Battlefield 1 takes the revered series back to the FirstWorldWar. Lead world games designer Daniel Berlin spoke with Paul Jones. History Makers

T here wouldn't have been many people that picked World War One as the next Battlefield setting. We certainly didn't. Most people associate the conflict with Gallipoli, trenches, mud, barbed wire and poignant soldier poetry, but does it really make a good platform for a first-person shooter that would appeal to a modern gaming demographic? As the name of the war suggests, this was a true global conflict and the further you study it, the more apparent it becomes that it’s indeed an era ripe for a developer like DICE to explore. And that’s exactly what they did. According to lead world game designer, Daniel Berlin, the genesis for the project came from two men in particular at the studio: Creative director Stefan Strandberg and designer Martin Kopparhed. “These guys are extremely passionate in regards to the WW1 setting, and they are the ones that built the concept and eventually proved that this was not only a good fit, but a great fit for the future of the franchise," he explains. “Through the project these two guys have guided the team towards authenticity; it’s not an understatement to say that doing a Battlefield game within the WW1 setting is a true passion project for us here at DICE Stockholm.”

The choice of the First World War is an interesting and exciting prospect, but the game still had to align with the studio’s expectations of what makes a compelling Battlefield title. While it must have been tempting to continue with the successful contemporary themes from BF3 and 4, you have to applaud the studio for attempting something completely different. “It’s always a tricky thing trying to figure out what the next Battlefield should be,” Berlin says. “We have certain core pillars that we feel we must deliver upon: A team-play focused core

Doing a Battlefield game within the WW1 setting is a true passion project

OCTOBER 2016

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