Recently did post were I spoke of how I felt about the "BattleField 4" 17 minute demo. Basically, I felt that that it looked linear, uncreative, and set-piece ridden. A lot of people who replied felt the same, but rather than dismiss the game I went ahead and read a couple of interviews about the game. What I read genuinely infuriated me.
When asked whether or not Battlefield 4 was going to be more or less a linear experience, PB replied,"I think there's a weird dialogue in the games community where linear means bad and non-linear means good. We can see that's not the case when consumers choose which games to play."
So he's basically saying "Yeah, players say they want a less linear experience, but not according to the sales we've seen." Of course, he then goes on to say that it won't be linear because of a couple of driving sessions they've implemented, but the thought process is still going to be the same. And it makes me wonder whose sales figure they're looking at because games such as Far Cry 3, Skyrim, Arkham, Assassin's Creed, and Dishonored have proven otherwise. They claim that they aren't comparing themselves to other popular shooters(Call of Ducky), claiming they're just trying to build a game they have envisioned, but I simply can't explain this single minded view point any other way.
Later on, the interview asks if they feel mandated to surprise audiences that feel they're going to dismiss Battlefield 4 as another generic shooter.
"Yes and No..." they say, as if if not answering the question well make what he says sound any better; then goes on to talk about the community and what not. "We can't only listen to the community and to your point, nobody asked for better characters - nobody." I actually read this response two ways: either he's saying that nobody in the Battlefield community asked for better characterization and they're going to do it anyway, or they're saying that no one asked for betters characters so they won't even bother with it. If it's the former, I've gotta say that what I've seen in the demo failed to impress. If it's the latter than all I can do is raise my middle finger.
The feeling I get when reading about this guy, and in this eurogamer interview as well, is that they more often than not avoid giving direct answers. If you ask them anything they just reply, "We're trying to make Battlefield 4 feel more like Battlefield." What I want them to do is for them to define what they feel makes "Battlefield", instead of using it as an excuse to do whatever the hell they want with the ip.