How did Battlefield 1943 begin
According to Patrick Liu Battlefield 1943 actually didn’t start as a grand plan. It just happened. He said that they were toying around with ideas after he was through with his part on Battlefield Bad Company and other people were still working on their parts. Among other people were also the creative director Lars Gustafsson, who was also, involved in the original Battlefield 1942.
Patrick further briefed that they had this great engine, Frostbite, that Battlefield Bad Company is based on, and we all love Battlefield 1942. So, they thought why not try to recreate a level from it. It was really an experiment for them, which turned out to be great gradually. Too good not to release.
DICE, the maker of the game, has also always been about trying out new things for Battlefield Bad Company, and they haven’t done small downloadable game yet, So they want to try it out and reach new fans with it. As a result Battlefield 1943 came about, trying to recreate the spirit of BF1942.
Battlefield 1943 - A mashup in miniature
Growth of download services in digital form on consoles over the past few years means that developers and publishers can explore new ways to offer this new experiences of gaming and also at the same time rewind back to familiar old ones, whether a classic arcade game or the return of the dual-stick shooter.
Sierra, Konami and Namco have been on board from the initial stage with numerous titles, but Electronic Arts wasn’t so quick to the draw. With the beginning of this year, however, EA has made a significant turnaround and also at the same time has significantly ramped up releases, the first one with NHL 3-On-3 Arcade, then the upcoming Hasbro Family Game Night, and finally the today’s burning topic - Battlefield 1943.
The developer EA DICE has taken the ideas behind 3 classic Battlefield 1942 maps, had recreated them using the Battlefield: Bad Company engine and then tinkered with each, and intends to release them as a standalone download for the Xbox Live Arcade, PlayStation Network, and also for the PC called Battlefield 1943.
DICE will be transforming in a more casual gamer-oriented studio
Many game developers have created their own individual identities through the games they have created. The same is the case with Digital Illusions CE, or better known as DICE by the fans. They are the creator of the famous Battlefield shooter franchise and recently Mirror’s Edge, the recent one. The Electronic Arts-owned company has just announced 2 new titles. They are Battlefield: Bad Company 2, the follow-up to a very successful console-only title, and the next is Battlefield 1943, a mini-sequel to 1942 that was launched a couple of years ago.
Fans are very confident about this team with a consideration of Battlefield Heroes. Battlefield Heroes is a free-to-play online shooter, which aims at a more amusing and interesting side to battles, and the “entry-level shooter” that will be 1943. Some people are concerned that DICE will be transforming in a more casual gamer-oriented studio.
But yes, this is not exactly true, says Patrick Liu, a producer at the studio. He recently in an interview with Videogamer and went on to reinstate the commitment that DICE had with hardcore gamers. He also added that although it may seem like the games would be a little bit more simple, they would aim at a wider market in the world, not only the die-hard shooter fans who knew everything there was to know about the series of Battlefield games.
DICE’s Leap of Faith
The Battlefield and Mirror’s Edge guys, Lars Gustavsson, also the creative director at DICE showed up at the developer conference, ‘DICE 2009,’ to talk about the history of the company. Also, the future and perspective on design of Battlefield. The panel started with an overview of the company’s history, from showing Battlefield 1942 at E3 1999 and also being informed that it wouldn’t work up to the release of Mirror’s Edge.
Gustavsson then said something but worth about the risks and innovations in its two most recent titles i.e. Battlefield: Bad Company and Mirror’s Edge. The issues that were included were building an engine at the same time as the content to creating its first two single-player-focused titles (the Battlefield 2 single-player portion was handled by an EA studio).
Next to this discussion the topic turned to focus on Mirror’s Edge. Mirror’s Edge came out of some tests and prototypes to come up with a new IP. DICE wanted of expanding on its library so that it should not be entirely reliant on the Battlefield franchise. He also showed a few concept drawings for Faith’s moves along with a quick reel of the game in various prototyping stages. Nothing was surprising there because the early clips of the game just looked rough, but not really different in terms of design or gameplay.
DICE brings more Battlefield fun
DICE announced that it will release Battlefield: Bad Company 2 on the Xbox 360, PlayStaion 3 and PC gaming platforms. In this new version the developer say that there will be fights through snowy mountain tops, dense jungles and also dusty villages. There will be heavy arsenal of deadly weapons with slew vehicles. The crew is ready to destroy anything that gets their way in the game.
Bed Company 2 will be developed on DICE’s Frostbite gaming engine. DICE also says that the upcoming downloadable title, Battlefield 1943 will be available by this summer through PlayStation 3, Xbox Live Marketplace and on the PC.
This 1943 multi-player game is described by DICE and EA that it will take players back to WWII. It will offer endless hours of 24 player multiplayer action. It will take gamers through three classic and tropic locations; Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima.
Battlefield Heroes Beta
The team of Battlefield Heroes is seen to be really excited in announcing that the number of signups for their upcoming Beta phase had reached more than one lakh and three thousand. That too only in fifteen days. This means that there are close to seven thousand signups in a day, close to three hundred signups in one hour. Sounds something great for the Heroes team.
The Beta has started on 11 Feb. Those who have a Beta key from the earlier phase need not to sign up again. New mails has also been sent to all the signups with guidelines and instructions about the Battlefield Heroes.
Beta is the pre-version of a launch. Before launching it to open public a Beta version is launched to check whether every thing is going fine with the game. It is something like a rehearsal for the launch.
Key Features of Battlefield Bad Company
Key Features of Battlefield Bad Company are as mentioned below:
War, your way
The environments of Battlefield: Bad Company are highly destructible, that means there are very few safe points to hide. Gamers can easily shape up the battlefield to match their play style – the possibilities are literally endless.
Genre-defining multiplayer
Support for twenty-four players online in such a world that is designed to take complete advantage of the game’s massively destructible environments.
New vehicles, weapons and toys
Land, air or sea. Dozens of new tools waits for explosive experimentation. Battlefield: Bad Company provides the gamers the building blocks to become creative and usher in a new era of their own “Battlefield moments.”
Cinematic single-player experience
A very good campaign is loaded with attitude that follows a wayward band of ordinary soldiers who always risk it all on a quest for personal gain.
Frostbite™ game engine
Frostbite game engine of DICE raises the bar for the complete next-gen gaming, with stunning HD graphics that bring characters, vehicles, and environments to life like it has been seen never before.
2 new Battlefield sequels
Electronic Arts better known as EA has revealed 2 new Battlefield sequels from the DICE that is currently titled as Battlefield 1943 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 respectively. Battlefield 1943 will take all game lovers 1 year ahead in the WWII from Battlefield 1942. Specific date has not been set for the release, but the two games are scheduled for release on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.
The Bad Company 2 is powered by Frostbite game Engine that is used in the first Bad Company. Developer studio gives promise that this new sequel will be as similar expansive and will have fully-destructible environments.
On the other hand the Battlefield 1943 will take game lovers to WWII with 3 reworked maps of Battlefield 1942 - Guadalcanal, Wake Island, and Iwo Jima respectively. The maximum players joining 1943 game are 24 instead of traditional lavish 64 players.
Electronic Arts will also offer digital download of this Battlefield 1943 on PC, Xbox Live, and the PlayStation Store.
The release of open beta very soon
6th of May EA and DICE, the Swedish counterparts, released the closed beta of Battlefield Heroes. The closed beta feedback also included information that were concerning about how RAM Hungry the game was. It also welcomed reports of various bugs and faults.
Now the EA is claiming that they have fixed the problem related to further beta releases. They will be releasing the open beta very soon.
The first scandal was when the server crashed while people tried to obtain a select number of closed beta keys. As an aftermath the players had to solve the riddles to obtain keys. Disputes erupted over the riddles release times. The website managers failed to open up to the fans waiting for the information on the website.
However, it is a good sign of bad publicity that too many players rushed to get closed beta keys. This proves to be the future success of the game.
Many are expecting the release within the next 3-4 months and always checking the official website for any sign of release dates.
