We still don't know much about the state of what Battlefield developer DICE is currently working on. We know that it's making a Star Wars: Battlefront reboot and a sequel to the 2008 cult classic Mirror's Edge, but beyond those titles and some concept art, the games are mysteries. DICE is, however, willing to talk about the way it's going about development.
General manager Karl-Magnus Troedsson recently spoke to GamesIndustry International about the new way DICE is approaching feedback and market research with regard to Mirror's Edge. In June, Troedsson described how the studio is approaching the game with a new design philosophy. In this new interview, he stated that the decision to make the game came down to a love for the original Mirror's Edge, even calling it a game that "needs to be built."
"You can feedback your game to death just by having people like me and executives and everyone else pulling the team in different directions."
According to Troedsson, "We're so passionate about this product; it's a game that needs to be built, basically. Is there an element of a leap of faith here, no pun intended? Yes, there probably is, as there is with all games as they're being built. You don't know if they're going to be a smash hit from the beginning. But do we feel like we're swimming out into an unknown ocean? Absolutely not."
Troedsson also described how DICE has changed since it became successful with Battlefield. He said that the studio experienced this distancing from the community as it grew bigger. Battlefield brought amazing success but also a growth that prevented the developer from keeping in touch with its community. "In the journey of Battlefield," he said, "we started to become pretty big, and maybe we lost contact a little bit with our players."
But now, the studio is trying to make itself better and more in tune with the audience. Troedsson explained, "We want to get closer to our players as much as possible. And some people are going to say, 'That's buzz word bingo, direct-to-consumer, feedback, whatever.' But it is very important for us. We want to listen to what our players have to say."
But he also mentions that DICE has learned valuable lessons and knows how to approach community feedback now. It's a balancing act of what the community wants on one hand, and the creative vision on the other. He said, "Any great game team that delivers a great game has a very strong idea of what they want to do. If you have a game team who starts listening to every piece of feedback, you can feedback your game to death just by having people like me and executives and everyone else pulling the team in different directions."
"We want to get closer to our players as much as possible. And some people are going to say, 'That's buzz word bingo, direct-to-consumer, feedback, whatever.' But it is very important for us. We want to listen to what our players have to say."
Troedsson continued: "But the team itself needs to have the integrity to stand up and say, 'No. This is not in line with our vision. Remember, this is what we said is the core of the game. That's great feedback, I'll take that. We can mold that into it.'"
At this year's E3, publisher Electronic Arts didn't say much about Battlefront or Mirror's Edge. We got some concept footage and images, but that's about it. Both games are scheduled for release some time in 2015 for current-gen consoles and PC. Keep an eye on GameSpot for more news about both games when it becomes available.
Are you excited by what Troedsson said about Mirror's Edge and DICE's new approach to game development? Let us know in the comments.
Alex Newhouse is an editorial intern at GameSpot, and you can follow him on Twitter @alexbnewhouse
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