by There’s no doubt that fans of the franchise are very excited for next week’s release of Battlefield 4, which IGN has already described as “an insane new level of destructibility.” So what’s with DICE’s executive producer, Patrick Bach, saying to The New York Times that Battlefield 5 will have “More features. More extras. More destruction”?
I don’t think such a statement will deter fans from making their Battlefield 4 purchase, but it doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. It’s kind of like an NFL coach saying to the press moments before the Super Bowl kickoff, “Wait till next year. We’ll be a better team then.”
Deflating the storytelling in Battlefield 4
I’m not sure fans should expect a great story in the game either, since Bach also said that “the story is just the coating on the game. The game is now the experience of playing it.” This is reinforced by what EA executive Patrick Soderlund said:
I hate to say this, but storytelling does not come naturally to Swedes. But we’re good at designing systems, and that’s what these games really are. Minecraft puts a box in front of you and says, ‘Do whatever you want with it.’ Battlefield is a system designed for entertainment rather than for telling you a story.
Personally, as video games become the dominant source of entertainment, a looming fact proved by the record-shattering GTA V, I think storytelling is also becoming increasingly important to the industry. I know many gamers who would agree.
Games with great story lines
I don’t like plugging IGN twice in the same article, but just this past August they published a list, based on one writer’s opinion, of the “best game stories ever told.” See, people pay attention. Notably, the games were fairly modern ones since the importance of storytelling in games has grown in recent years. Here’s a quick rundown of that list: Silent Hill 2, Red Dead Redemption, Kingdom Hearts 1, Tell Tale’s The Walking Dead, The Mass Effect Trilogy, The Last of Us, Assassins Creed 2, Bioshock and Bioshock Infinite, Final Fantasy X, The Metal Gear Solid series, plus a number of honorable mentions.
The Swedes would do well to improve their narrative skills and their sales technique going forward. Just sayin’.
Battlefield 4 will be released on October 29, 2013, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions will soon follow.
Rock Hard \m/
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