Star Wars Battlefront Details and Concept Art Revealed
Studio members of DICE speak out about the use of Frostbite Engine 3, managing fans' expectations and restarting the rebellion in Star Wars Battlefront.
In an interview with IGN, DICE has revealed a bunch of details regarding the development of Star Wars Battlefront. More importantly, we got to see one of the first official pieces of concept art, which tells an amazing story on its own. This piece of concept art (provided above) features a pair of Rebel Alliance members on Endor, hiding behind a tree as a platoon of Imperial Stormstroopers and AT-STs are firing their blasters at unseen enemies in the distance. One AT-ST was already destroyed, setting the forest backdrop of Endor is ablaze. In the far distance, you can see the platforms of an Ewok village being held up by trees. One rebel is about to aim his blaster, ready to fire at the unsuspecting Stormtroopers, as his partner readies a Thermal Detonator. DICE's Design Director, Niklas Fegraeus, explained some of Battlefront's designs.
“The scale of our maps and modes offer a great variety,” Fegraeus said. “We have actually made the decision to specifically tailor certain maps to certain game modes and what we get from that is not only incredibly varied scales, but also gameplay that will allow players to live out some of their most memorable Star Wars battle fantasies.”
Surprisingly, Battlefront was revealed to be a first-person shooter, tremendously changing up the series' tried-and-true third-person style of warfare. We have a feeling that once your character hops into a vehicle or uses a turret, the camera will pan out to give you a better view of the action.
Fegraeus mentioned the hardships in trying to incorporate change while still developing in accordance to what the fans want to see:
Perhaps the hardest part about bringing the franchise back is managing expectations. Star Wars fans, including ourselves, are incredibly passionate about the universe. Each of us have our own personal favorites. However, with the talent we have here at DICE, the Frostbite technology at our fingertips, and the fantastic working relationship we have with Lucas, I believe we will deliver a Star Wars experience that excites fans around the world and gives them the chance to play out battles in some of the most iconic locales in the series history. We’ve been showing the game to some close partners and one of the things we hear is that it doesn’t feel like other shooters and that it’s fully born from Star Wars. That really strikes a chord with me and the team as that is exactly the emotion and feeling we are going for and we can’t wait to show the world more this spring.
While no release date has been set, we have a feeling Star Wars Battlefront will launch this holiday season in time for the release of 'Star Wars: The Force Awakens.'