LOS ANGELES (AP) – How do you make a video game about World War I fun?
After nearly 15 years of creating shoot-’em-up games about World War II, the Vietnam War and fictionalized contemporary and futuristic military conflicts, the creators of the “Battlefield” series are going back – way back – with their latest installment. Uncharacteristically, the new “Battlefield” is set amid a century-old war rarely depicted in the interactive medium.
“In the beginning, we had many preconceptions, such as there were only single-bolt rifles and the action was primarily in the trenches,” said Lars Gustavsson, design director at Stockholm, Sweden-based studio DICE. “As we dug deeper, we realized the Great War was really the dawn of all-out warfare and paved the way for everything we’ve done in the past.”
For the interactive industry, it’s already a challenge to realistically and thoughtfully construct virtual wars based on real ones, but WWI has always been the ultimate tonal challenge. With its gruesome reputation and political complexities, it’s typically a no-fly zone for mainstream game developers who rely on easy-to-understand, good-versus-evil narratives.
The bold departure for the series is right there in the latest edition’s title: “Battlefield 1” – not “Battlefield 5,” as it would’ve traditionally been called. In the game, out Friday, players won’t only engage in ground skirmishes and dogfights across the Western Front, they’ll also do battle in the Great War’s lesser-known theatres, such as Arabia and the Italian Alps.