DICE took a bold risk when they decided to pick World War I as the setting for the gameplay of Battlefield 1. This decision was a large departure at the time because of the futuristic themes dominating the FPS genre, notably those in the Call of Duty series.
Design director Lars Gustavsson admitted the team was nervous before the game’s reveal at E3 2016. But their decision was validated in the end as the game got record breaking beta with over 13 million players.
The Challenge of Moving Battlefield 1 To The Setting of The Great War
In an interview with RedBull, Lars Gustavsson talked about the approach that the studio took in making Battlefield 1 while also expressing the team’s nervousness about the game’s reception.
It wasn’t until early May when we revealed Battlefield 1 that we were allowed to talk about it. We were extremely nervous about whether or not people would like the concept.
Gustavsson explained that maintaining the familiar gameplay loop of a franchise like Battlefield while incorporating the unique tactics and technology of WWI was one of their key hurdles. The team had to make sure that the gameplay reflected the era it was set in.
This period was where it went from marching armies and weak firepower to the introduction of mechanised warfare towards the end of the conflict. That was one of the big challenges; how can we turn elements from this era into gameplay.
Moving the Battlefield franchise to World War I meant that they had to balance the historical accuracy of the narrative with the main gameplay features that players wanted. DICE had to reconsider things like melee combat and the use of archaic tanks, which differed significantly from the modern, standardized ones used in games of the time.
They added a new tanker class, allowing players to customize their vehicles, and changed combat styles to suit the era’s military tactics.
The Eventual Success of Their Efforts
DICE’s dedication to historical accuracy extends to both the game’s storyline and multiplayer aspects. They wanted to avoid the stereotypical focus on the Western Front that was prevalent in popular media at the time.
And instead they focused on the worldwide reach that the war had through different maps and narratives.
When we talked about this game for the first time the first thing that came into people’s minds was the Western Front and the trenches, but it quickly became clear that this war stretched around the world on many different battlegrounds that were quite far away from the typical idea of trench warfare.
This blend of realism and gameplay tied to the historical setting helped the game stand out, offering a refreshing change from the modern, gadget-heavy shooters that dominated the market back then. Gustavsson talked about how thankful he and the team were that the internet blew up in favor of the idea.
The introduction of unique game modes like the Operations mode, for instance, linked multiple maps into a continuous campaign and made the game stand out even further.
Features like war pigeons for calling in artillery strikes added historical flavor while maintaining the dynamic, sandbox nature of Battlefield gameplay, showing DICE’s innovative approach to integrating narrative into multiplayer.
Battlefield 1‘s combination of historical accuracy, creative gameplay, and a respectful representation of WWI resulted in a memorable game. Gustavsson was proud of the team’s accomplishments and the game’s capacity to challenge and advance the genre. Despite its obstacles, Battlefield 1 effectively brought the Great War to life.
