No Mod-kit for Battlefield 3, Mirror’s Edge set to return with sequel
Electronic Arts, one of the largest video game publishers and developers, have been busy making announcements that could potentially shape the industry in the coming period.
While the opening sentence may sound like a bit of an exaggeration, the fact is the publishing giant made announcements on two of their best gaming franchises: Battlefield 3 and Mirror’s Edge.
Starting with the game set in modern times, Electronic Arts recently announced that Battlefield 3 would not be shipping with a mod-kit, nor would there be any mod-tools being made available after the game’s release.
The reason seems to be that the Frostbite 2 Engine, which is powering the stunning visuals and awe inspiring destruction in the game, is thought to be too complicated for the general modding population, or as Patrick Soderlund, Electronic Arts’ Senior Vice
President so delicately put it,
“As of now, we are not going to make any modding tools…If you look at the Frostbite engine, and how complex it is, it’s going to be very difficult for people to mod the game because of the nature of the set up of levels, of the destruction and all those
things. It’s quite tricky…So we think it’s going to be too big of a challenge for people to make a mod.”
So to clarify for those readers who do not understand exactly how modding works, the Frostbite 2 Engine is said to be extremely complex. Take the example of Little Big Planet 2; any user generated content was basically, in essence a mod. Gamers could create
their own levels, games and upload and share them using the tools Media Molecule had provided.
What made it simple for the average Joe to become a level designer was the simplicity of the engine and the ease at which gamers could use those tools. That same situation does not apply to Battlefield 3, which has a much more complex and layered engine,
therefore the average Joe would have a hard time getting to grips with the code.
While the hardcore modder would plead his case, EA seems to think there just are not enough of them out there for the mod tools to be a feasible option.
In other news gamers can expect to see another Mirror’s Edge game in the near future after Soderlund dropped yet another gaming bombshell, though this time it was more good news than bad. Soderlund said, “We have not abandoned the franchise. And we are working
on something, but I’m not willing to talk more about that.”
What EA’s vice president was talking about was the Mirror’s Edge franchise. Apparently the next instalment in the series is said to be developed on the Frostbite 2 Engine, the same engine that Battlefield 3 is using.
That should take the game to an entirely new level in gameplay and graphics. Nothing more was confirmed, though readers can expect more news on Mirror’s Edge 2 in the near future.
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