Battlefield 1: Why Say No to Sci-Fi?
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The current trend of first-person shooters is to look forward to dystopia and the moral greys of future weapons like robots and AI. From Overwatch to the floaty Call of Duty space skirmishes, developers always look to the future for our entertainment. So why is DICE looking backward for its new game?
Well, director Lars Gustavsson spoke to GameSpot at Gamescom this week and said:
“Every time we open the research books, we find a new weapon or technique we didn’t know was used during World War I. The misconception is that it was all trenches and slow-paced combat – but this was a war of ‘firsts’. These empires were experimenting every chance they had.”
Looking to WW1, this has given DICE a lot of breathing room for experimentation. The amount of research that has gone into the game is astounding. While there are traditional WW1 weapons and grenades like mustard gas, bayonets and water-cooled machine guns, somehow it seems like a breath of fresh air.
But as well as the weapons, you have the motives behind the countries involved. DICE has used this opportunity to explore the geopolitical and cultural changes that were brought about by the Great War. And while DICE has yet to mention any specifics of the campaign, Gustavsson has said the studio will make use of the turbulent era.
Odd that in a time plagued by one futuristic shooter after another, a WW1 shooter is now something of a novelty. There was a time not so long ago where you couldn’t move for WW1-2 shooters.
It’s good to see the first resurgence.