Vince Zampella has given us a better idea of how far along they are in making the next Battlefield.
In an interview with IGN, Zampella said this:
“We have a program that we’re going to announce next year around getting more community in, because that’s kind of the core of what we have to do — get the community back on our side, get that trust back.
So I think we’re in a really good place. Is it challenging? Of course, but it wouldn’t be fun if it wasn’t.”
Zampella also revealed that the developers are play testing the game weekly now. Of course, that is what you expect them to do, but it is something for us to know that the game is far enough in development that they are doing play testing.
But really, the community program is the bigger news here, since it definitely confirms they are even farther in than just making some development builds. It may not be ready to release quite yet, but if its far enough for gamers to be allowed to test it, than they are getting closer to that finish line.
We won’t dare speculate on how soon this game is coming to release. The feedback they receive from the community, whether it remains positive or not, could lead to the developers taking more time to incorporate into the game.
But it’s easy to take for granted that there is a point in a video game’s development where there are no menus, assets are missing, there are no clearly defined endpoints or goals, etc.
Yesterday, we reported on how industry veteran Laura Fryer made a video on the importance of a feedback loop in video game development. She hypothesizes that Concord suffered from a broken feedback loop, and cited examples of games she worked on where that also happened.
It certainly seems strange and concerning that that sort of thing can still happen in the industry, but if Zampella is on the level, than EA is definitely doing everything to make sure they don’t make those kinds of mistakes.
But we’re certain that those community members will be telling them about Delta Force, the next kid on the block that many gamers say is a better Battlefield than Battlefield. At least, Team Jade’s effort comes out more favorably to the game it supposedly copies, Battlefield 2042.
But then, we can imagine that DICE, alongside Battlefield’s five other studios, have people who are playing Delta Force too. Does DICE need to learn from Team Jade about how to make their own game better? It’s probably more like they want to see what the fans say they like in it, and use that for the new game.
Either way, we may be hearing more about this game soon enough, officially or otherwise.
