War Is Hellacious
Commandeer jets, boats, tanks and more in the explosive Battlefield 4
Aleks Grondal, lead multiplayer designer for DICE, enjoys long walks on the beach, gruyère and the smell of napalm in the morning. He welcomes us to Battlefield 4.
What is the DICE Frostbite 3 engine, and how does it make Battlefield 4 a different gaming experience?
Grondal: The number one thing we did for next-gen consoles was to go with 64 players and 60 FPS. That is something we’ve always wanted to do. The hardware that the first party created allowed us to do it. We had to rethink how we did things to make it work. In addition to that, the Frostbite engine has allowed us to do things with water we’ve never done before. Players can ride waves and play against one another. We’ve also given all the systems a brush-up. Those are the highlights.
Do next-generation systems—PS 4 and Xbox One—make it easier to tell the Battlefield 4 story?
They allow us to do the things we’ve always wanted to do. We’ve been developing Battlefield for the PC for quite some time now. That’s always a bit ahead of the consoles. With the new consoles, we can bridge the gap to a level never seen before. With the PC, they’ve had 64 players for a long time. Now that experience is available on the consoles only with Battlefield.
Environments are destroyable. How does that change the strategy?
We’ve had that for a few games: destructible environments. The difference is the environments are usable to your tactical advantage. You can use your own creativity to solve the problems in front of you.
I hear you can fly jets. Any other cool vehicles gamers can helm?
The most important thing for us was to tie land, sea and air. So, we wanted to keep things focused. It’s not arcade-y, but it’s more our version of how it all fits together. You can live the fantasy of being a jet pilot while the rest of the battle is going on. In addition to jets, we have a flying gunship. A flying AC-130. We have boats, which are more like tanks on sea. We have jet skis, ATVs, tanks. There’s quite the variety of vehicles in Battlefield.
What do you hope gamers walk away with after playing Battlefield 4?
I hope they will feel like we’ve taken a step in the right direction. That they feel like we’re serious about expanding the game. Making interesting choices for them. That they feel like it’s a new experience. It’s fresh. We are all about not necessarily being what we’re about. We’re interested in evolving and innovating. I hope that’s what players feel like after they’ve played it for a while. Especially those that have played the previous titles. For new players, I hope we can attract a bunch of new players. We know that once they’ve gotten into Battlefield, people love it.
What is the DICE Frostbite 3 engine, and how does it make Battlefield 4 a different gaming experience?
Grondal: The number one thing we did for next-gen consoles was to go with 64 players and 60 FPS. That is something we’ve always wanted to do. The hardware that the first party created allowed us to do it. We had to rethink how we did things to make it work. In addition to that, the Frostbite engine has allowed us to do things with water we’ve never done before. Players can ride waves and play against one another. We’ve also given all the systems a brush-up. Those are the highlights.
Do next-generation systems—PS 4 and Xbox One—make it easier to tell the Battlefield 4 story?
They allow us to do the things we’ve always wanted to do. We’ve been developing Battlefield for the PC for quite some time now. That’s always a bit ahead of the consoles. With the new consoles, we can bridge the gap to a level never seen before. With the PC, they’ve had 64 players for a long time. Now that experience is available on the consoles only with Battlefield.
Environments are destroyable. How does that change the strategy?
We’ve had that for a few games: destructible environments. The difference is the environments are usable to your tactical advantage. You can use your own creativity to solve the problems in front of you.
I hear you can fly jets. Any other cool vehicles gamers can helm?
The most important thing for us was to tie land, sea and air. So, we wanted to keep things focused. It’s not arcade-y, but it’s more our version of how it all fits together. You can live the fantasy of being a jet pilot while the rest of the battle is going on. In addition to jets, we have a flying gunship. A flying AC-130. We have boats, which are more like tanks on sea. We have jet skis, ATVs, tanks. There’s quite the variety of vehicles in Battlefield.
What do you hope gamers walk away with after playing Battlefield 4?
I hope they will feel like we’ve taken a step in the right direction. That they feel like we’re serious about expanding the game. Making interesting choices for them. That they feel like it’s a new experience. It’s fresh. We are all about not necessarily being what we’re about. We’re interested in evolving and innovating. I hope that’s what players feel like after they’ve played it for a while. Especially those that have played the previous titles. For new players, I hope we can attract a bunch of new players. We know that once they’ve gotten into Battlefield, people love it.