The Battlefield series has always been one of the most environmentally interactive games in the entire gaming industry. The franchise introduces this element where players can destroy their surroundings and create a completely unique map for themselves and it is different each time.
It is speculated that the destructive element of the environment will prove more powerful in the upcoming BF installment which is known as Battlefield 6. Let’s delve deeper into why too much of this unique feature is devastating to the game.
Battlefield 1 introduced the perfect amount of environmental destruction
Among the many features that make the Battlefield games unique and different from other FPS shooters, the destructive and dynamic environment takes the lead by a long shot. This entire concept was an absolute game-changer when it was first introduced in the game Battlefield: Bad Company which used the Frostbite 1.0 engine. This feature was known as Destruction in the later installments of the series.
Battlefield 1 which is the tenth installment in the series (despite the name), uses this feature at a reasonable rate, making it a staple in the entire franchise. Although this title was made with the Frostbite 3 engine, the developers of the game decided to keep the destructive element to a moderate level.
In a 2016 interview, between The Verge and BF 1’s senior producer, Alex Grondel, states that destruction creates individual stories in the games, but too much might be detrimental to the gameplay.
Destruction helps create individual stories, It facilitates the kind of action that players enjoy so much, that makes them upload videos, tell people ‘Oh I blew a hole in the roof and there was a tank below me, but I blew it up with dynamite.’ If you allow too much [destruction], it just becomes unplayable, [and] no longer fun, we have to leave some bits behind for the game’s sake.
Grondel also mentions how he knows that people want more destruction but he believes that there should also be some realism in the game. While DICE wanted to make the destruction feature standout more, more of it in BF 1 would have made the buildings feel flimsy and not accurate to the real world at all.
The Destruction features has its pros and cons
In a recent leaked footage from a Reddit user named, u/Caledor152, the video showed the destruction feature of Battlefield 6’s pre-alpha and it is exactly what Grondel was scared of. In the video, you could see how the building collapsed after just a few hits, emphasizing how fragile the infrastructure is going to be in the game.
If the leaked footage is anything to go by then Battlefield 6 might be taking destruction to an extreme level which might hurt the gameplay rather than enhancing it. Although destructive environment has always been the staple for BF games, if the infrastructure is destroyed and collapses too easily, the game will lose various strategic depth and tactical engagements.
If environmental destruction is too prominent in the upcoming game, players will be constantly forced to play in open-barren lands with no cover and defensive path. We’re not really sure whether DICE will strike the perfect balance between destroyed structures and complete wasteland, but one thing is for sure: if DICE actually gets it right, then no one will be happier than the fans.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
