For a layman, the Star Wars: Battlefront trailer presented at the 2014 E3 may have been disappointing. After all, it contained precious little in-game footage and much more of the “people dramatically entering an office” sort of thing, as one reviewer so keenly pointed out.
For a true fan however, the trailer told much more than a straight hour of in-game state-of-the-art graphics frenzy would have, and it really did say what every fan out there wanted to hear: that the folks at DICE were treating this project with utmost respect and that they were aiming to make a game that they, as Star Wars fans, always wanted to play.
The trailer also showcased the lengths the team went to in order to create as authentic a Star Wars experience as possible, immersing themselves into the annals of the Star Wars universe in ways only true fans would ever be willing to. Above and beyond the original Star Wars paraphernalia they surveyed at the Lucas Archives, visiting the actual movie locations gave the team the opportunity to capture genuine environments which are capable of conveying genuine emotions.
While the early in-engine footage included in the trailer was minimal indeed, it was still enough to give fans a thorough glimpse into what the Frostbite engine can deliver. The early results did indeed look more than impressive from a visual perspective as well as from the angle of authenticity. Two locations were featured: the ice planet of Hoth and Endor, both from the original trilogy. Obviously though, DICE have a great deal of flexibility in this respect, so other locations, from the Clone War era and even as yet unknown characters and places (to be introduced in Episode VII) may – and probably will – be added.
While the commitment of the developers does indeed seem ironclad at this point, nothing gives more cause for optimism than EA COO Peter Moore’s statement, according to which the title will be treated with the utmost respect because the developers are fully aware that most of their potential customers have a very clear-cut idea of what a Battlefront game should be like.
