INTERVIEW
approach the same level in different
ways to unlock unique rewards. What
wider design goals does this serve?
Eric: There are many types of players
out there. Some don’t give two hoots
about collectibles. But there are
explorers and completionists who
must go everywhere and get
everything. The collectibles are
principally for them. The payoff is
somewhat simple – our letters – but
we hoped they would give a little
more life and depth to our world.
Nothing revolutionary there.
To also occasionally pair up the
collectible with a uniquely placed
tool allows players of all types to find
new ways of approaching the
Eric:Thanks for the kind words! I
will pass them on to Steven Hall, our
lead writer on both this game and
Battlefield 1. Steven is the real hero
here – he was the guide through the
emotional journey and often
dangerous ground.
One guideline we started inBF1
was to “let the era speak”. I think that
led to a lot of interesting choices as to
what and how to depict certain
things. For example, I think we at
DICE are all very proud of what theencounter at hand, thus broadening the attraction to go
looking for these collectibles.
The challenges are about more than just replay value.
They build player familiarity with the weapons and
vehicles of the core game. Our hope was players who
engage with them find themselves building skill for that
inevitable confrontation in multiplayer.The writing in the campaigns, from the Guy Ritchie-esque
comedy in Under No Flag to Tirailleur’s retrospective
structure, seems particularly sharp this time around. How
did your teams approach the writing for Battlefield V? Did
you make any major changes compared to Battlefield 1? I
imagine capturing concepts traditionally associated with
World War II, like heroism or brotherhood, is difficult
without straying into what have become cliches.BELOW: Lars
Gustavsson is a
Battlefield veteran,
starting in 2002. prologue invoked. The Second World War is a different
beast from the first. Faster. Broader. Bigger. More
dynamic. That informed our prologue for Battlefield V, for
example. But the Second World War also has a special
type of darkness that is unique to that setting. And we
knew we had to confront and acknowledge that somehow.
Another differentiator was new additions to the
cinematic team, for example, our director Pelle Hallert.
Our cinematic directors on BF1 were Markus Kryler and
Fredrik Akerstrom – a phenomenal double-team. But for
this title, they were already booked on another project. So
we looked far and wide to find someone who could match
them, but not imitate them. After an exhaustive search,
we found we had the chance to work with Pelle. His style
is his own, and I think that helped to differentiate the two
just by his eye and hand being his own. He has an
extensive history in TV – check out Jordskott – for which
I believe he was the director of photography.
Meanwhile, in gameplay, we have Justin Langley
working across each story providing a barrage of VO for
countless events to bring our story into gameplay. Justin is
a pro that knows game VO like nobody else – check out
his game credits on Mobygames. He and his team pore
over the game to squeeze in story anywhere they can.
There are so many contributors to the final result that
I wish I could name them all. Collaborating from the
structure, writing for gameplay and scenes and placing
each event is a real team effort driven by a group of
passionate, talented professionals.
Steven: WWII is a very familiar war, compared to WWI,
so we were very aware from day one that whatever we
did needed to work a little harder to find an identity of its
own. From a writing perspective, I tried to vary the tone
and narrative structure of these War Stories more than
those in BF1, to give each one a distinct voice and identity.
And much like he did in BF1, Eric brought a whole armful
of WWII conflicts, battles, and events to the table that I
hadn’t even been aware of. So between us, we started to
find some interesting things. It’s a team effort as always,
ABOVE: Sneaking
through a Nazi heavy
water plant.