DICE: Star Wars: Battlefront Development is "Scary"

[StewShearerOld]

DICE: Star Wars: Battlefront Development is "Scary"


Executive producer Patrick Bach says that DICE "need to do [Star Wars: Battlefront] right."

For years, many Star Wars fans pined after one thing: a new Star Wars: Battlefront title. For some time the prospects for that <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120884-Battlefront-III-Died-Just-Inches-From-the-Finish-Line>looked grim. Then, seemingly out of the blue, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/120408-Disney-Acquires-Lucasfilm>Disney bought Lucasfilm and a series of events was set in motion that led to Battlefield-developer DICE taking the reins of a new, rebooted Battlefront.

According to executive producer Patrick Bach, it was in many ways a case of happy happenstance. "For some strange reason - coincidence, I don't know - we had a discussion at the office about what happened to Battlefront." he said. "Just a week later it was like, 'Oh, by the way, that discussion you were having about Star Wars? Do you want to make it?' 'Well, yeah.'"

Electronic Arts, which currently has <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/123783-Electronic-Arts-Signs-Exclusive-Star-Wars-Game-Deal-With-Disney>multi-year exclusive rights to publish Star Wars games, has <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125155-Star-Wars-Battlefront-In-Good-Hands-At-DICE-Claims-EA>expressed in the past that it believes DICE to be a perfect match for Battlefront. That being the case, Bach and company are very much aware of the passion of the Star Wars fanbase and admit that that does lead to bit of anxiety. "To take on something like this is scary," said Bach. Rather than dwelling on fears of failure however, DICE has set its sights to success. "We've been promising ourselves if we're doing this we need to do it right. So trust me, we're hard at work to figure this one out."

Source: <a href=http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/10/15/dice-making-star-wars-battlefront-is-scary>IGN


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[Fasckira]

Really rather excited for this, I agree that DICE will be able to pull this off; end of the day, all I essentially want is an enjoyable Star Wars themed multiplayer experience. Last time I had that was playing Jedi Knight 2 Outcast.

 

[Sanunes]

If they keep to the same philosophy that they have with Mirror's Edge 2, making sure that its done right and not release something that isn't I will be definately interested in seeing their take on the Battlefront franchise.

 

[Nimcha]

To be honest, I'll be satisfied with just Battlefield with a Star Wars skin.

 

[Oskuro]

Will they be able to top the Galactic Battlegrounds mod for Battlefield 1942?

Somehow I doubt it.

This being a profitable project, I expect to see it turn out as a CoD:MW-style infantry-focused achievment-laden quick-reflex-shooter, instead of the "being part of an actual Star Wars battle"-simulator it should be.

 

[BrotherRool]

I'm a lot more excited after this, unlike the people above, I was really worried that it's just going to Battlefield in a Star Wars skin (because then I'd just play Battlefield instead), but this sounds like they're going to make it it's own thing.

Also I feel like a Star Wars battle simulator is one of the few star wars things where influence can uncontroversially and beneficially be taken from the prequels.


Actually thinking about, the prequels seem fantastic sources for games (Even pod-racing was cool), bigger battles, longer duels, even more variation of planets and settings. Dual-lightsaber blades, a more hokum view of the force. Tons of Jedi etc...


Just maybe not so good as films in their own right

 

[fix-the-spade]

I was very briefly excited about this, then I looked into who was actually making it.

It's a couple of DICE guys.... and Danger Close, as in Danger Close of Medal of Honor 2010/Doorfighter fame. Yes they've been rebranded (again, fourth name now) as DICE Los Angeles, but lets see what their last three games were.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter
Medal of Honor 2010
Command and Conquer 4

Doesn't that just fill you with anticipation?
I'd be happy with BF2142 with Star Wars skins, or BF4 with Star Wars skins, if we get Doorfighter with Star Wars skins I think the internet will explode, EA needs to learn that renaming studios after more successful ones won't suddenly make them good, you'd have thought after trying that with Bioware (all seven studios) it would have occurred to them.


EDIT
It seems DICE is actually making this after all, with Danger Close paying some sort of supporting role. Ignore my little rant...

 

[bjj hero]

I was very briefly excited about this, then I looked into who was actually making it.

It's a couple of DICE guys.... and Danger Close, as in Danger Close of Medal of Honor 2010/Doorfighter fame. Yes they've been rebranded (again, fourth name now) as DICE Los Angeles, but lets see what their last three games were.

Medal of Honor: Warfighter
Medal of Honor 2010
Command and Conquer 4

Doesn't that just fill you with anticipation?
I'd be happy with BF2142 with Star Wars skins, or BF4 with Star Wars skins, if we get Doorfighter with Star Wars skins I think the internet will explode, EA needs to learn that renaming studios after more successful ones won't suddenly make them good, you'd have thought after trying that with Bioware (all seven studios) it would have occurred to them.

Im quietly optimistic. Yes MOH was not great but it was battlefield without vehicles... BF is about destructable environments and mahem with vehicles. Perfect for Starwars. If I wanted just infantry there are lots of other shooters I would pick first.

 

[Saelune]

My worry would be I feel like Dice is going to try too hard to make it awesome, and end up souring it because of it. Also EA...shouldn't need to say more than that.

 

[Battenberg]

I think there's a few people with rose tinted glasses dismissing this game before it's even happened because "it'll never live up to Battlefront 2 etc etc blah blah blah". Battlefront (1+2) was amazing, especially at the time. That being said shooters have come a long way since thanks in no small part to DICE and the fact they are crapping themselves about this game shows that they know the enormity of the task ahead of them and are taking the right kind of attitude to it.

Although one thing I am worried about is that there will be no split screen/ LAN, that may actually be a dealbreaker for me.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

My greatest fear for this game would be that they screw up the Dark Trooper like BF2 did. BF1's felt like the ultimate shock trooper with the shotgun/jetpack combo, whereas BF2's was a glass cannon that was awkward to aim and fire. So long as they get that right again the rest of the game could be screwy and I wouldn't care too much. The Dark Forces fanboy is strong with this one.

To be honest, I'll be satisfied with just Battlefield with a Star Wars skin.

I think you're in the minority there. If that happened we'd get a case like MoH:Warfighter, where all the die hards get it, play it through, and then tell everyone else that while it is playable it's missing its soul. Yeah, with my fanboyism I'll buy it either way, but what's going to keep most people playing it for 8 years in a row (like BF2) is the dedication to making it feel Star-Wars-ey.

 

[Battenberg]

I think there's a few people with rose tinted glasses dismissing this game ...

It's the people with "rose-tinted glasses" that are looking forward to this title. They're the one's not expecting always-online DRM, in-game microtransactions, or day-one DLC. You know, the three things that EA has stated will be in every new title from now on.

Oh I know, I'm one of them, I meant from a gameplay perspective rather than the things you mentioned though as people seem to be under the impression you can't improve on the original games. EA's intereference with games still hasn't stopped them producing good titles OR scared off the top developers they have working for them. I think anything they force into the game will be a minor annoyance at worst though as opposed to anything game breaking. I hope so anyway.

 

[rasputin0009]

Battlefront was essentially a re-skin of Battlefield anyways (Changed the camera and a word in the title), so I'm not worried about it at all. I'm actually excited for a sequel to 2143. They better bring back Titan mode, though.

Wait, they're gonna try doing a single-player? Return of Bad Company, maybe? Like a squad of malfunctioned clones or something that save the day? I could get into that.

 

[tmande2nd]

Color me...not exactly looking hopeful right now.

DICE and EA are not exactly a group of people who fill me with the hope.
At the bad end it could be a game filled with linear, QTE, bad DRM and Day one DLC.

Battlefront was fun because of the freedom it allowed you to have in a battle.
Just honestly....improve the AI and let rebels fight droids, and empire fight clones in SP.

I just want it to be fun really.

 

[tdylan]

snip

Im quietly optimistic. Yes MOH was not great but it was battlefield without vehicles... BF is about destructable environments and mahem with vehicles. Perfect for Starwars. If I wanted just infantry there are lots of other shooters I would pick first.

I think MOH was BF doing it's best COD impression and failed to establish and identity of its own. I fear the same will happen with Star Wars - EA's probably saying "take this established Star Wars title, and make it appeal to the COD audience. We already know the battlefront fans will buy it. We don't need to market it to them. Make us a game that will attracted the Modern Warfare crowd."

Would anyone hear be the least bit surprised if you were calling down orbital strikes from imperial destroyers, had "sentry gun" battle droids, and "care package" drop pods?

IMO, battlefield without vehicles is NOT battlefield. Vehicle combat is what made BF, BF. During the Counter Strike Days when 24/7 "Strike At Karkand" servers were all the rage, so much so that DICE created an infantry only mode for a franchise best known for its large environments and vehicles, I feared battlefield would lose its identity. EA, hoping to chase the success of CODs run 'n gun model, only hastened that loss. They'll bastardize the franchise hoping to cater to the lowest common denominator.

- Lowest common: I want infantry only combat. I don't wanna have to worry about Tanks and APCs
- Common sense: Play counterstrike.
- Lowest common: But I'm playing battlefield. They should make it so that battlefield doesn't have vehicles. That way I won't have to make tactical decisions that might bite me in the ass when I run into an enemy tank unprepared. I want to know that I'll be facing infantry and infantry only, effectively reducing how much thinking I have to do.
- Common sense: So you want to render the Anti-Tank class' anti vehicle ability useless, as well as the engineer's anti-vehicle mines, while neutering the need for his repair wrench? You want remove the need to 2 of the 6 classes, instead of simply switching to a game that provides that very experience?
- Lowest common: Yes!
- EA: Dice...these people are paying to rent servers from us. Make this "infantry only" thing happen!

If they keep to the same philosophy that they have with Mirror's Edge 2, making sure that its done right and not release something that isn't I will be definitely interested in seeing their take on the Battlefront franchise.

Their philosophy with Mirror's Edge 2 is:

we're taking more of an action adventure approach on it....

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/125341-Mirrors-Edge-2-Was-Always-Going-To-Happen

Love the generic, all encompassing, "action adventure" umbrella that they're lumping it into. Also saying that the very things that it's cult following love about the game are the things they are going to "address" in order to broaden it's appeal. In business terms: We don't want to make a game a small number of people will love. We want to make a guy a large number of people will buy.

Listen, if you do the same thing again then it's not going to work. You have to be very, very honest with yourself and look at what went right and what went wrong. It's obvious that people loved the art direction, loved Faith and loved the idea of what you did in the game,

So, don't make the game that people liked, but didn't sell as well as you would have liked. What went wrong is that it didn't sell enough/garner enough praise, so let's take it, reboot it, add more first person shooting, and dumb down the free running. Even though the point of the game was that guns were a hinderance,

 

[tdylan]

Battlefront was essentially a re-skin of Battlefield anyways (Changed the camera and a word in the title), so I'm not worried about it at all. I'm actually excited for a sequel to 2143. They better bring back Titan mode, though.

Wait, they're gonna try doing a single-player? Return of Bad Company, maybe? Like a squad of malfunctioned clones or something that save the day? I could get into that.

I would honestly like to see another, improved upon, Republic Commando game.

 

[Buizel91]

To be honest it doesn't matter if this game will be good or bad, there are always going to be people who hate it simply because of EA/they prefer the older BF games.

Having said that, i have full confidence in DICE, and i really hope they can surpass everyone's expectations.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

After all of the recent hate on EA and DICE, I'm just not gonna get hyped for Battlefront 3 and just adopt a "Wait and see" approach to Battlefront 3. DICE has the potential to make Battlefront 3 one of the best games of the year, but at the same time, corporate marketing or just sheer watering down will be the death of the game.

I'm just gonna wait and see how it eventually turns out.