Battlefield 5 is True to DICE’s Vision, According to Design Director
Since the E3 announcements for Battlefield 5, the game has skirted a number of contrived controversies by some gamers online. In a recent interview, Design Director Daniel Berlin of DICE explains how the studio responds to such controversies; all while ensuring that the game remains true to the studio’s vision.
How DICE Responds to Controversy and Keeps Battlefield 5 True to DICE’s Vision
Daniel Berlin spoke recently with VG24/7 about Battlefield 5 and how DICE responds to controversies among gamers online, especially when they are likely to be the work of a vocal minority; “We always said this is the game we want to build,” says Berlin; “Particularly with the gameplay, which goes back to the core DNA of what Battlefield was – it’s a game that is squad focused because we feel like that is our space. We want to expand that even more and create more of an identify for ourselves.”
Of course, a controversy was stoked for a variety of reasons around Battlefield 5 earlier this year; the primary being that the game would allow players to play as female soldiers as well as male. (As well as casting one War Story from the perspective of African soldiers instead of White.) Predictably, a certain group of people online seized on the news and took it as though it were a personal affront. While that group received a lot of attention, it seems that fortunately, their volume may not match up to the actual numbers.
“You’ve got to look at telemetry,” explains Berlin; “you’ve got to look at the data for what people are playing. Yes, there has been outrage about certain things, and we’re not deaf to that. We listen to that. But also, we look at what people are saying versus what people are playing. So there’s that discrepancy. Basically it’s about listening to the community and saying, ‘Okay, this is the sentiment right now, this is what people are thinking,’ then taking that sentiment and bringing it back to the dev team and seeing how it applies to the actual data. Is this a minority group that is being loud, or is it an actual issue? But it’s about us staying true to our vision and not making knee-jerk reactions.”