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It’s the war EA declared on our free time. The one we swap water-cooler stories over (“So there he is parachuting, thinking he’s safe, when I steer my plane through him…”) and the one we’re willing to sleepwalk into work on three hours of shut-eye for (“Screw it, one more match”). What’s next for land-sea-and-air shooter Battlefield 2? We interrogate producer Mike Doran for newly declassified intel.

CGW: DICE has gone from a group of guys who came out of nowhere to blockbuster developer. Did you think the game would get so big?

Mike Doran: From the get-go, and all during Battlefield 1942’s development, we knew we were working on something special. When 1942 shipped, we then sat down to search for the next big idea and to set about making a bigger and better sequel, as we knew that new vehicles weren’t enough. It was through these meetings that we set the foundations for strategic teamplay, as well as the ranking system. So yeah, it’s fair to say that we had high expectations for BF2 from the very beginning.

CGW: What lessons did you learn from (Battlefield 1942 mod) Desert Combat and Battlefield Vietnam, and how is BF2 a better game because of it?

MD: BF2 benefited immensely from community feedback. We’ve also learned loads about what needs to be ready when a game of this type ships—from Linux support on down to network code testing on consumer-level hardware. At the end of the day, I’d say that one of the biggest lessons we learned from the Battlefield franchise is that realism is overrated. Once upon a time, BF1942 was supposed to become more simlike. We joke about it now, but I personally cringe when I think how that might have turned out.

CGW: What parts of the project are you proudest of?

MD: Beyond the core vehicle stuff, I’d say the infantry experience, especially compared to BF1942’s. It’s a direct result of the team developing the squad-based gameplay that everyone wanted. Also, the stat-tracking system really came together, making it a rewarding experience for everyone.

CGW: That’s an understatement! With stat tracking it’s almost like leveling up in an MMO. Have you considered taking the service a step further, perhaps adding the ability to personalize your soldier’s appearance?

MD: Actually, at one point in time we had planned on having visual unlocks as well as weapon unlocks; we wanted to give gamers the ability to customize their characters extensively. Sadly, that didn’t work out, due to technical complications and the amount of memory it would’ve consumed.

CGW: Previews showed soldiers fast roping from helicopters. Advertisements promised a hovercraft. What happened?

MD: We tried the helicopter rappelling thing when we were working with the trauma team to prototype Battlefield 2 features in a special version of [BF1942 mod] Desert Combat. While it was pretty fun, most folks still preferred to hit “e” and then parachute to wherever they wanted to go. As for the hovercraft, we cut that because only one or two levels featured it, and we weren’t getting the bang for the buck in terms of work involved/fun factor.

CGW: What are the odds we’ll see either of them in an expansion after Special Forces?

MD: No comment.

CGW: …and CTF and objective modes?

MD: We’ve found that 90 percent of the Battlefield 1942 community plays conquest, so we cut CTF and objective modes to focus on polishing other parts of the game.

CGW: North Korean newspapers pointed fingers at Ghost Recon 2’s near-future plot. Has Beijing commented on BF2’s Chinese campaign?

MD: That’s classified information that I can’t even fill my family in on.

CGW: Fair enough. Certain out-of-the-way crates on Mideast Coalition maps are packed with pink teddy bears—sly commentary on the search for WMDs, or something else? What other secrets haven’t we seen?

MD: Let’s see...from what I remember, there are DICE T-shirts on clotheslines in certain levels; there’s a spot where, if you shoot the water, fish fly out; and there are some posters that show BF1942’s box art. At one point, we even wanted to make the wheelbarrow a drivable vehicle….

CGW: Speaking of vehicles…slightly scraping one is fatal (sort of like keeling over after nicking a side mirror), which not only rules out wing walking and tank riding, but makes it too easy to kill teammates. Any plans to patch the problem?

MD: Have you been winged by a Hummer in real life? It isn’t pretty. Silliness aside, we’ve seen and experienced the problem and agree that it’s no fun. At this point, we can’t comment on the time line for the next patch release, but sure, it’s something on our radar.

CGW: What’s your take on sites like bf2.slawed.net that let players look at the competition’s stats? Why not build/patch a similar browser into Battlefield HQ?

MD: This is something we’re keeping our eye on. We think it’s a natural win to be able to browse the competition’s stats in-game.

CGW: Name a few of your best Battlefield mo-ments, stuff you simply have to see to believe.

MD: The first that comes to mind is the missile flying clear through a Blackhawk’s cabin without hitting the airframe. People swore that the footage we caught of that was scripted, but I can assure you that it was pure chance. Also, Ben Smith—one of the guys on our production crew—discovered that if you parachute into another player, the impact of your body against his actually kills ’im. That’s made for a memorable moment or two. Another one of my personal favorites is what I call the ultimate shame kill. It’s neither a knife to the back nor death by electric shock paddle—I come up on a prone enemy sniper, crouch behind him, and slowly nudge him off of a building so that he plummets to his death. Unfortunately, it’s not called out on the scoreboard, but there’s something immensely satisfying about it all the same. And it’s great for griefing AFK teammates on carriers, too.

CGW: Sounds like you should start hosting battle-recorder movies of the month….

MD: That’s a great idea. We’d just need someone who watches every single submission to pick one.