Escape The Level

The Art of Battlefield 1942 | #29

So, Battlefield. One of the biggest first person shooters in today’s industry. Every time a new iteration of Battlefield is released it shifts millions upon millions of copies, it has one of the largest first person shooter communities and has been nominated (and won) a substantial amount of awards over the years..

But. Where did it all begin? Battlefield 1942 is where it began.

(Courtesy of GameInformer, thank’s Ben Hanson!)

The millennium was a big thing for everyone and everything and the same can be said for Battlefield. Battlefield 1942 had begun development around the turn of the millennium,  and to put things into perspective the likes of Photoshop (CS came about in 2003), graphics tablets and even the original Xbox and Playstation 2 came about in 2000/2001… So the work you are seeing below is the barebones concept for Battlefield 1942.

In time we will be building upon this Art of Battlefield series – you will see us covering almost all the titles within the franchise – so join us as we begin to take a look back at such an iconic franchise.

“ Even back in the days when we were concepting Battlefield 1942, we had ideas about how to implement destruction as a tactical element in the game.

We wanted players to be able to remodel the battlefield by driving tanks through walls, for example.

Obviously, the technological limitations 10+ years ago didn’t quite permit this. Our first real stab at destruction (albeit in a relatively small scale) instead made its entry in Battlefield 2.“

 – Stefan Vukanovic, Lead Artist for Battlefield 1942.

An overview of the map Market Garden in Battlefield 1942 – recognizable by the two bridges shown.

Concept showing how tanks would take cover in the game. Which was later moved into other Battlefield titles.

Overview of strategic routes for Iwo Jima.

First person view of Operation Market Garden, to portray the atmosphere in the game.

Some of the original concepts for outfits within the game.

Storyboard for Wake Island, one of the most recognizable Battlefeld maps to this day. Still holding true to Battlefield with its many reimagining’s in its franchises history.

Naval Defense Gun for combating enemy ships.

A shovel melee concept which was cut from the game before release.

Everything has a counter, it’s part of Battlefields “Rock, Paper, Scissors” ideology.

We had a little dig for further concept art for Battlefield 1942 but given the early days of when development began it is very limited. As time goes by and we move closer to the recent titles in the franchise we’ll be able to share even more concept art.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this grassroots look at Battlefield 1942 nonetheless, stay tuned for more on Battlefield here on Escape The Level.