Next Battlefield Is EA’s “Most Ambitious” Project Ever, CEO Reveals

[Tsing]

The next installment of Battlefield, the leading series of first-person shooters from DICE that is partially beloved for its online multiplayer combat, featuring large-scale maps, various classes, vehicular combat, and more, is one of the most ambitious projects ever in the history of EA, according to new comments shared by Andrew Wilson, Electronic Arts' CEO.

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[Shotglass01]

UUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! STOP!!!!!

 

[Zarathustra]

I haven't played a Call of Modern Battlefield game since the original Battlefield 1942, and I probably won't touch this one either, no matter how ambitious.

I simply find the series too "arcade" and "run and gun" after absolutely adoring the Red Orchestra series. Getting into and adoring:

• Red Orchestra:Combined Arms
• Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45
• Mare Nostrum
• Darkest Hour: Europe 44-45
• Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad (at least in the best "Classic" mode, and second best "Realism" mode gameplay...

...there was no going back to any other multiplayer FPS.

I used to be a huge Counter-Strike junkie before that, but I just couldn't get into it anymore. It felt dumb, silly and arcade:ish by comparison, as did anything and everything Call of Modern Battlefield.

I made an effort to get into the ARMA series (wasn't fun, to much obsessing over binds and too many options) and Squad (felt "too soon" and a bit jingoistic) and just couldn't, so the result was that ever since Red Orchestra 2 kind of died off I haven't played any multiplayer games.

For me to play them I now demand multiplayer FPS:s be ultra-hardcore, ultra-gritty, ultra-realistic/tactical, slow moving (not run and gun) demanding cover, and if you don't play as intended it is just a meat grinder where you repeatedly die and spend more time waiting to re-spawn than you do playing.

Part of the thrill of Red orchestra was trying to make a run for it advancing towards a machine gun nest, and diving into a shell crater in the the nick of time as the ricochets can be heard buzzing overhead, and the shear terror of hearing the incoming artillery shells and hoping they don't hit you.

I mean, its a game, not real life, and the consequences of being hit means you have to wait a while before re-spawning, but they did a good job of replicating a sense of fear somehow.

It also required getting your entire side to play as a team. Squad leader, team leaders and all the specialty classes absolutely had to play their roles and play them right, or your side was going to lose. This was often frustrating as beginners joined and picked a squad leader role because they wanted to run and gun with a submachine gun, but it was so effing amazing when you got one good team and routed the other side as a result, and even better when you got two good teams and had a real battle on your hands.

The historical accuracy including modeling of real significant battles (like the assault on the Grain Elevator south of Stalingrad (which is still standing!) accurate recreation of period tanks and weapons, and modeling of soliders based on how each side trained them to run and handle weapons made it even more amazing.

I've never experienced anything better in all of gaming than a true 16v16 (or more) game of RO2 with each side full of competent players.

It probably also helped that the game appealed to a relatively mature crowd, so the kids, their stupid streaming and antics were mostly absent.

I wish more games were like that, and not just some wannabe esports run and gun twitch fest. That gets boring in no time.

 

[Shotglass01]

And for me, it was BF3. That felt like my pinnacle. Didn't have to be too heavy, too realistic, but had great maps, responsive feedback, and just oodles of fun.

 

[Dan_D]

EA and Dice are way too out of touch with what the audience for Battlefield wants to bother being super ambitious with it. That's a recipe for failure.

 

[MadMummy76]

EA and Dice are way too out of touch with what the audience for Battlefield wants to bother being super ambitious with it. That's a recipe for failure.

When some dev says the game is super ambitious nowadays you never know if they mean the political messaging, or something that is actually a selling point.

 

[Dan_D]

When some dev says the game is super ambitious nowadays you never know if they mean the political messaging, or something that is actually a selling point.

It's EA. Given what we saw out of the last two entries in the series, it's going to be a DEI infused nightmare that prioritizes things that the series' fanbase doesn't care about and do not even want in the game. It's likely to completely miss out and fail to deliver the core experience that made Battlefield games popular.

EA and Dice have a track record of getting worse, not better. Based on the last game trying to be like other popular games and losing its own identity, my expectations for this entry in the series are extremely low.

 

[Zarathustra]

It's EA. Given what we saw out of the last two entries in the series, it's going to be a DEI infused nightmare that prioritizes things that the series' fanbase doesn't care about and do not even want in the game. It's likely to completely miss out and fail to deliver the core experience that made Battlefield games popular.

EA and Dice have a track record of getting worse, not better. Based on the last game trying to be like other popular games and losing its own identity, my expectations for this entry in the series are extremely low.

I don't think diversity and inclusion are bad things. It's nice for everyone to be able to play a character they recognize themselves in and can identify with. This probably helps drive sales to everyone, instead of hyper-focusing on just a small mainstream group.

...but ****, it should at least be historically accurate if set in a historical setting.

Most of history was pretty nasty, with groups in power dominating and denigrating minority groups in their areas. If you set a game in history it should reflect that.

 

[Shotglass01]

I don't think diversity and inclusion are bad things. It's nice for everyone to be able to play a character they recognize themselves in and can identify with. This probably helps drive sales to everyone, instead of hyper-focusing on just a small mainstream group.

I don't either. However, when the very first poster/pic I ever see mentioning the new BF is advertising their HR practices, it's really disappointing. No need to be as 'vanilla' as COD, but really?

 

[Dan_D]

I don't think diversity and inclusion are bad things.

It's not a bad thing when its done organically and when it makes sense.

It's nice for everyone to be able to play a character they recognize themselves in and can identify with. This probably helps drive sales to everyone, instead of hyper-focusing on just a small mainstream group.

I don't think this is as "essential" as people think it is. A lot of popular characters are popular with people that look and act nothing like them. Lots of guys play female characters in games. Some games have protagonists that don't necessarily match the player's nationality and its not a problem. That's kind of nice, but I don't think its as important as developers claim.

That being said, catering exclusively to 1% of the population makes no sense from a business perspective.

...but ****, it should at least be historically accurate if set in a historical setting.

Most of history was pretty nasty, with groups in power dominating and denigrating minority groups in their areas. If you set a game in history it should reflect that.

Things like a black king in a wheelchair in Medieval Europe do not make sense. I'm not talking about organic diversity like you see in the movie "Predator". I'm talking about the heavy handed and hamfisted approach we often see in modern entertainment which not only puts people of certain ethnic backgrounds and genders in contexts that make zero sense, but also build up a given group or gender by tearing down another group.

Typically, you see this from young and talentless writers who only know how to create stereo types and self-insert characters that aren't remotely believable human beings even in a fictional setting.

 

[Denpepe]

I don't think diversity and inclusion are bad things. It's nice for everyone to be able to play a character they recognize themselves in and can identify with. This probably helps drive sales to everyone, instead of hyper-focusing on just a small mainstream group.

I don't need a character I recognice myself in as it would not make any sense, I would be dead in seconds. I don't want to play as an overweight half blind white guy that drops dead after trying to run 100m.

The only reason I can think of for all the diversity stuff is that there is a higher number of diverse people working in the entertainement/creative industry compared to the rest of the world.

As other people have said, if it's organic and it's fits, fine but all the shoehorning stuff in is not doing anything in their favor, you win a couple 100 from one side and lose a couple 1000 from the other side.

 

[Zarathustra]

I don't need a character I recognice myself in as it would not make any sense, I would be dead in seconds. I don't want to play as an overweight half blind white guy that drops dead after trying to run 100m.

We are all a little bit different I suppose.

I - for one - kind of like playing as myself in games.

Granted probably a younger version of myself who doesn't creak when standing up from sitting for too long, but yeah. When I have to create a character in a game, I always create the self I expect to see in the mirror before reality hits and I realize I am older now.

The only reason I can think of for all the diversity stuff is that there is a higher number of diverse people working in the entertainment/creative industry compared to the rest of the world.

I don't mean to turn this thread borderline political, but per the last census in 2020, the U.S. is only 57.8% white at this point. And that is probably under-counting many minorities who either themselves or a member of their household are not fully documented, as they don't trust that the census data is private (for 100 years or whatever time-span it is. I just googled. It's 72 years) and thus don't fill it out out of fear that USCIS may come knocking for someone in their household.

And also keep in mind that games aren't made strictly for the U.S. market. It's not even just US and Europe anymore. Gaming is worldwide now.

At ~337M people on an 8.125B person planet, the U.S. as a whole is only about 4.1% of the worlds population.

From a racial makeup perspective its difficult because most places on the planet don't count race categories, but between Europe, the U.S. and some educated guesses, I'd put the traditionally white population of the planet at about ~10% or so. (being the first to industrialize and see your birth rate fall, coupled with being the epicenter of two major world wars resulting in the deaths of millions is a bitch, huh?)

Also, about half of the worlds population are women.

If your goal is to make a game that mirrors your potential customer base (people in the world) to sell as many games as possible, only ~5% of the characters should be white males I don't think its some agenda other than it is just good business.

Though, as for right now, large portions of the worlds population cant afford to play games on high end PC's. That's probably the only thing that keeps the ratio of white characters as high as it is. I'd imagine as time goes on and the rest of the world slowly catches up economically with the west, white characters in games, movies and TV will increasingly become smaller and smaller minorities.

As other people have said, if it's organic and it's fits, fine but all the shoehorning stuff in is not doing anything in their favor, you win a couple 100 from one side and lose a couple 1000 from the other side.

But yeah, it has to be organic and fit the setting, or it is dumb. If a game is set in Russia, the characters should probably be predominantly Russian. Etc. etc.

I forget which comedian I am quoting (Dave Chapelle?) but you obviously don't want **** like "the last n***a on earth starring Tom Hanks" but in reverse. At it really makes my blood boil when they change existing characters from previous installments in a franchise just to make things more diverse. Heck, the reason behind it doesn't matter. Existing characters should never change (unless there is some weirdo explanation for it in the story/universe of the franchise, but this probably only applies to science fiction)

 

[Denpepe]

If your goal is to make a game that mirrors your potential customer base (people in the world) to sell as many games as possible, only ~5% of the characters should be white males I don't think its some agenda other than it is just good business.

Let's just say may remark was more to the orientation then the color of char's where googling tells me around 5% ish of the world is more diverse let's say then the rest.

 

[MadMummy76]

I don't think diversity and inclusion are bad things. It's nice for everyone to be able to play a character they recognize themselves in and can identify with. This probably helps drive sales to everyone, instead of hyper-focusing on just a small mainstream group.

People don't identify with superficial things like skin color or gender, they identify with noble goals and struggles of the characters.
If identifying with characters worked that way I'd have to love all games with a white male protagonist, and unable to identify with different heroes, which couldn't be further from the truth.

And assuming other people need this superficial connection but not me, would be the very definition of soft bigotry of low expectations: "I'm an enlightened intellectual but those people, they need to see their own reflection wink back at them before they can identify with a character"

Diversity for the sake of diversity does not drive sales, good writing and design does.

But here is the kicker, if you were right and most people wanted to see themselves, then the best decision would be to only make games with male and pale protagonists, considering that over 90% of core gamers are male and white or asian.