Thoughts on Customization

I hope this video proves to be thought provoking. I jump into all sorts of specific details pertaining to what we know about BF1 as of this moment, but these are the leading principles from which the video is based. Let me know what you think: Full video below.

-Customization has become so important because it gives the players a sense of control and accomplishment. However, it seems that many game developers have gone over the top in the customization department lately, and as a result have diminished the sense of accomplishment that customization used to bring—and sometimes even drastically effecting the sense of immersion and realism that many players enjoy.

In my mind, there are three areas of customization that will be important in making BF1 a great game in the eyes of posterity
• Weapon customization
• Uniform Customization
• Vehicle customization

Before we dive into each of these three areas, I think it would be wise for DICE to stick to two guiding principles in regards to each:
• First: Make customization meaningful—by which I mean make customization difficult to attain. Attaining new weapons, camos, attachments, vehicle skins should come with real challenges attached.

• Two: Don’t kill immersion by blindly throwing customization options into the game. It necessarily isn’t about the sheer number of customization options in a game that makes customization in a particular game great. It is more about the meaning and purpose behind each customization option available.