DICE man "ashamed" of Bad Company 2

By Fred Dutton Published 29 September, 2011

Patrick Bach won't even turn it on.

Battlefield 3 executive producer Patrick Bach is so ashamed of his work on Battlefield: Bad Company 2 that he refuses to even the boot the game up.

Speaking in an interview with The Wall Street Journal about the QA process, Bach explained that he can only ever see the faults in the games he works on.

"I don't know why, but I always feel ashamed about the games I'm involved in making," he said.

"I can't even bring myself to start up Battlefield: Bad Company 2, our last game, because I feel so ashamed. I know it is a great product but still I only see the things we could have done better."

It seems that same exacting attitude is carrying over to Battlefield 3. Bach added that although work on the finished game is almost coplete, he still only sees areas for improvement.

"Right now we are weeks from being done. The only thing you see when you are so close to finishing is more opportunity.

"When you have been building a game for such a long time you get bored with the things that you liked so much before, that you feel like changing them just for the sake of it. You agreed with everyone that the line this guy said, the sound of that gun, was perfect but suddenly you want to change it, just because you're bored with it since you've seen it too many times. But just because you're bored with it, it doesn't mean it's bad."

He's wrong about Bad Company 2 of course - it was rather brilliant, as Eurogamer's 9/10 review bears witness.

Battlefield 3 isn't looking too shabby either. The game entered open beta this week and is due for launch on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 28th October.

Picture of Fred.

About Fred Dutton

Fred Dutton is Eurogamer's US news editor, based in Washington DC.

Read more articles from Fred by visiting the Fred Dutton archive page.

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Comments (71) Latest comment 8 months ago

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  • CaptainQuint #1 8 months ago

    Bach added that although work on the finished game is almost coplete, he still only sees areas for improvement.

    Glad I'm not the only one.

  • Daddy-Doom-Bar #2 8 months ago

    Yet another misleading headline, EG. I'm getting bored of The Sun-a-like headlines...

  • ThePissartist #3 8 months ago

    I only played the first few missions. Most over rated game this gen in my opinion.

  • local_celebrity #4 8 months ago

    To be fair, it's still better than that hunk of shit you're about to put out, mate.

    Played the Battlefield 3 beta last night. What a massive disappointment. It's Medal of Honor reskinned ffs! They can't even be arsed to change the bloody siren sound, the lazy toads.

    And as for the graphics, there were jaggies all over the shop. Certainly no sign of these amazing groundbreaking visuals they've been banging on about for months on end. Stuck Gears of War 3 on straight after - and the difference was staggering. DICE can only dream of serving up that level of eye candy.

  • Snake_2011 #5 8 months ago

    if only people could understand they are playing a beta the amount of exaggerating on how bad it is just BS.

  • mode7 #6 8 months ago

    If I made Battlefield: Bad Company 2 I'd be well chuffed with myself.

  • kinky_mong #7 8 months ago

    @ThePissartist: Buying Bad Company 2 for the single player lol.

  • Raiko101 #8 8 months ago

    He says he's ashamed, but thinks Bad Company 2 is a great game. What?

  • Kano-11 #9 8 months ago

    If he's talking about the campaign portion of BC:2 he has every reason to feel ashamed. The story was incomprehensible shite and the characters were as dull as pencil lead. The multiplayer on the other hand was something special.

  • DreadedWalrus #10 8 months ago

    I'm fed up with this whole bad-mouthing the previous game right before/after the newest game comes out thing. Molyneux turned it into an art form, but now it's getting ridiculous. "That last game we made? The one you really enjoyed? I'm ashamed of it! I can't even play it I'm so ashamed of it! But this new one is AWESOME." yeah? Well why not patch it so that you're not ashamed of it? Why wait until right before the newest game comes out to say this? By all means talk up how much better your new game is, but not by saying you're ashamed of your work on the previous one.

    Call me when a developer rubbishes their latest game while it's still new. If, a few weeks after the release of Fable: The Journey, Molyneux says how rubbish it is, or a few weeks after BF3 is released the developer wants to talk about how ashamed he is of his work, then I'll listen and assume it's anything more than a stupid PR decision.

  • ThePissartist #11 8 months ago

    Didn't like MP either

  • RedPanda #12 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • Iain815 #13 8 months ago

    "he still only sees areas for improvement"

    You're fucking right. As much as I've enjoyed the beta so far, the sheer amount of bugs is staggering. And folks stop using the "Give over, it's a beta!" excuse, the game is out in a month. A proper beta would have started ages ago.

  • handsonhips101 #14 8 months ago

    Love bad coy. Love it. Beats call of duty hands down. With a stick.

  • Gastrian #15 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • dagas #16 8 months ago

    I love BC2. Multiplayer is so much more fun than CoD and I really like how it handles. I thought I was doen with FPS games until I played BC2.

  • RedPanda #17 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • AnsemsApprentice #18 8 months ago

    Wouldn't you get sacked if you said you thought the game you're working on was shite? I don't know how it works, but I'd keep my mouth shut too.

    Didn't Francis Ford Coppola hate Apocalypse Now? I agree with him there, but it's still one of the most highly regarded films ever. I like the honesty, but it's not so strange. It's like when the family all gather round to watch a tape of you singing when you were five; you just want to turn away and fall through the floor.
    Edited by AnsemsApprentice at 29/09/11 @ 21:13

  • Brainz #19 8 months ago

    maybe he was responsible for the server browser. that one is a mess (imagine a polished server browser like TF2īs in a BF game)

    else BC2 rocked imo
    Edited by Brainz at 29/09/11 @ 21:11

  • Gastrian #20 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 17:56:43 13-04-2012

  • RedPanda #21 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • RedPanda #22 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • AnsemsApprentice #23 8 months ago

    Yeah, I completely understand where he's coming from. I'm downloading a video from the PS store of all the directors from the God of War series sharing their thoughts on the games. I fully except them all to mention things they really don't like about them; most creative people are perfectionists.
    Edited by AnsemsApprentice at 29/09/11 @ 21:26

  • arcam #24 8 months ago

    In my old job I used to do a lot of the in-house print design work. When something finally was delivered from the printers I could barely bring myself to open the box to look at the finished article. I knew it wasn't bad, but I just know I will not be happy with it. I would usually pretend I was though, and people seemed to agree.

  • peppergomez #25 8 months ago

    How's this for a headline? "Patrick Bach "ashamed of" Battlefield"

  • RedPanda #26 8 months ago

    Post deleted at 14:31:59 28-01-2012

  • dirtysteve #27 8 months ago

    That's software for you, even without the creative side, it seems like you could always use more time.
    Obvious exception been Duke Nukem Forever, short turnaround, and absolute perfection to boot.

  • IMD1_Pk #28 8 months ago

    I'd rather play BC2 over the BF3 beta. I'm praying there was a huge number of improvements between the beta's build and the final game.

  • metallicorphan #29 8 months ago

    i thought the BFBC2 campaign could do with a few more laughs like the first game,i still want a BFBC3 though


    as for the BF3 beta,i am a little underwhelmed with it,and i am hoping we have been given the Alpha instead,but then again i am not a fan of Rush so gimme some good ol' Conquest and i'll be happy

  • pauls_1979 #30 8 months ago

    @Daddy-Doom-Bar : I couldn't agree more! The headline makes it sound like he's insulting all his colleagues by saying the game was bad, when in fact he's probably just being self critical, which is perfectly natural.

  • Seehuusen #31 8 months ago

    The first mission in BFBC 2 was amazing...too bad they didnt go for a WW2 game instead...the rest was not worth mentioning

  • BlinkeredAxis #32 8 months ago

    It was a super game, and the characters were really funny, especially if you left them talking.

    I get the point, though. Creative people often stay awake thinking about what they could have done better,
    and forget about the genius stuff. There's both in BC2.

  • aphex187 #33 8 months ago

    I love how people slag a game off going by a one map beta, dear god are you that f'n retarded or what? One word to ease your pain CASPIAN.

    F'n level is bananas on PC with 64 players.....oh and those jaggies are probably on the xbox, PS3 looked A OK IMHO.

    Lol how unusual and again shows the maturity of gamers when they neg me down because i mention the XBOX360 which i actually own. Get a life and start being mature towards why consoles and games sometimes have flaws just like humans do which is evident here....
    Edited by aphex187 at 30/09/11 @ 08:20

  • simonpm #34 8 months ago

    If the game is almost complete and all he sees is room for improvement, I suggest he starts getting a move on and fixing it! With all the hype for BF3 over the last few months, if he releases a crock of shite then it's going to piss a lot of people off ... not to mention his shareholders.

  • Killerbee #35 8 months ago

    I can't quite understand all the negativity about the Beta. I played on the PC alpha and now the PS3 Beta and sure, there are graphical differences, but it still looks good on console. Killzone 3 still has the edge on it, sure, but that game also has the benefit of being a platform exclusive that is fully tailored to its host console, plus the destructibility in BF3 is much more pronounced than KZ3. I've had no problems getting into a game and it's been rock solid reliable with zero lag, which is more than you can say for some online games even months after release.

    Seriously, if you think BF3 isn't good looking enough, your eyes are going to be bleeding when Modern Warfare 3 arrives...

    (Oh yes, BFBC2's single player was so-so, but the MP was brilliant. I can't wait for BF3)

  • RevanNL #36 8 months ago

    This guy should be watched 24/7. Because who knows what he'll do if he looks back on the console versions of Battlefield 3. If he's ashamed of a good game, how is he going to handle Battlecrap 3?

  • HeNiCiDe1988 #37 8 months ago

    Man they got a lot of problems in the beta, like its crashed my ps3 4 times, its disconnected from EA several times, its also unresponsive sometimes when I try to sprint (like I havnt sprinted then try too and it doesnt respond), the jumping over covers doesnt respond very well sometimes plus I got stuck in a corner because of like a bin that you couldnt walk over without pressing X. Also had major problem with my friend didnt work properly and also when we got into a game it seperated us onto different teams

    No vehicles in beta, wud of thought be a top thing to have in beta (plus in team deathmatch mode they brought no vehicles yet halo seems to do it pretty well) and hit registering sometimes funky, plus my ingame screen sometimes becomes a haze blue and I have to press start and resume to fix it, also the labotomizing of the destruction really pisses me off.

    Local Celebrity its a beta its unfinished so silence my complains are still made from knowing its a beta but it seems really rough though compared to UC3 beta, its more like what you expect from a beta, so local celebrity you talking rubbish in the grand scheme of things because the game is gonna look incredible when finished and make gears 3 not look so far out.
    Edited by HeNiCiDe1988 at 30/09/11 @ 01:11

  • Totza #38 8 months ago

    He's wrong about Bad Company 2 of course - it was rather brilliant, as Eurogamer's 9/10 review bears witness.

    Battlefield 3 isn't looking too shabby either. The game entered open beta this week and is due for launch on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on 28th October.
    Right.. if bc2 got a 9/10 bf3 has to get a 10/10 since its a much better game no excuses

  • TVoJ #39 8 months ago

    If the team at DICE wasn't so self critical they would have stopped at 1942 and just done what Acti do and re-skin the mofo time and time again.

    To the people moaning about the BETA not looking pretty enough. It's a f**king BETA, they're testing netcode and s**t. It's not a Demo, which you would expect to be representative of the final product.

    Also the console bashing is getting pretty old now. I have the PC and 360 Beta's and they both perform admirably. I am highly impressed with the 360 version and would go to say that my online experience has actually been better with the Xbox, but that's probably because I'm a little rusty at PC FPS.

    Some people just need to admit they're crap at online gaming and stop blaming the game.

  • TVoJ #40 8 months ago

    Just realised I didn't need them *'s. Damn you TeamTalk for making me think the whole fucking world was PC.

  • TVoJ #41 8 months ago

    Just realised I didn't need them *'s. Damn you TeamTalk for making me think the whole fucking world was PC.

  • rockavitch #42 8 months ago

    Bad Company was pretty decent and as for Battlefield 3, I'll check out the real game when it's released as the controls in the Beta were fine but I have all ready deleted it because everything looks too shiny and sparkles so much it distracts me. I understand the lighting looks good but that doesn't mean everything has to be coated with a sheen.

    I'm also fully aware it's just a Beta so I'm more than willing to wait for the real game with improvements (as it seems like it could be fun) rather than have the Beta ruin it for me.

  • chanandler #43 8 months ago

    Been playing the 360 beta for a couple of days and the sheer number of bugs showing up and graphical glitches is pretty staggering bearing in mind the game is supposed to be released in less than a month. I can only guess that they have released old code for the beta as I would be surprised if they can get this fixed in time. I gave up after a few hours when I threw a grenade and saw it fly off into the distance only to then explode right next to me lol! Maybe its just the console port that is this bad, but I'm definitely cancelling my pre-order until I've read a review or two. Back to Gears 3 now, which is a really good looking game.

  • AshTray #44 8 months ago

    He should be ashamed, BC2 was crap.

  • Puriel #45 8 months ago

    IMO BC2 on the 360 has been one of the best MP games of the generation. Not a rush fan as it channels the gameplay but conquest is amazing. Not been overly impressed with the BF3 beta. Hoping the full game is alot more polished and also I wont be playing operation corridor rush game type.

  • Brownie-uk7 #46 8 months ago

    "DICE man "ashamed" of Bad Company 2" - full story page 4.
    "Jessica (23) from Manchester thinks World Peace is the answer." - Page 3

    Shameful headline, author!

    What's next? "Nathan Drake dead!!!" ........................................... "but alive again as it was only a game and you can restart after death" Julie (19) from Doncaster blames the government.

    We don't expect too much from website journalism but please have some respect for us ... and yourselves.

    Edited by Brownie-uk7 at 30/09/11 @ 08:39

  • bf #47 8 months ago

    One area of improvement they could dig into right now is the server browser for BF3. Going browser based with plugins that does things browsers are not really supposed to do is bad and dumb.

  • zubnut #48 8 months ago

    Had some fun on the 360 beta last night and will try the ps3 beta today just to see how compare.

    But from what I've seen so far, mr Bach is just being overly critical of his own work, which isnt uncommon in any trade. Seems like a pretty modest guy just wanting to do better all the time. Bit of a non-story to be honest.

  • Agent_Orange #49 8 months ago

    BF2 was awesome, what's he on about :p

  • octavedoctor #50 8 months ago

    Well there's a slap in the face for all the people who worked hard on that previous title eh? Rumour has it that it was a pretty outstanding game.

    Now I'm certainly not one for resting on laurels, and you should always strive to make the next thing better and higher quality, but seriously you need to be proud of your previous achievments also.


  • asphaltcowboy #51 8 months ago

    Apart from the fact it's a dreadful headline (and once again, an article that hasn't been spellchecked - (ffs EG)), it's understandable what he's saying. After working on any game for a long enough time, you'll start to take for granted just how good it actually is and only see the problems, the issues, the tough phases of the development.

  • Spekingur #52 8 months ago

    To play BF3 on the PC:
    Must download Origin, install it and then use that to download and install BF3 (Beta). When you push 'Play' on BF3 in Origin you get taken to a website (Battlelog). There you need to download and install a plug-in (Game Manager). They weren't kidding about a server browser, you will really use a browser to browse servers. At this point you haven't even touched up on any settings regarding video, audio or controls yet. For this you need to go in to the game by clicking on a server in the browser. You need to be in-game and in a killable state to enter the options.
    There is a lot of this weird shit going on. Why this can't be done in-game as well as in out of game boggles the mind.

    You are running at least three applications to run one (and before anyone compares it to Steam; for Steam it's at least two applications to run one).

  • MerricK #53 8 months ago

    seems that same exacting attitude is carrying over to Battlefield 3. Bach added that although work on the finished game is almost coplete

    Should this read complete? Also I do love the game but it still seems pretty broken on ps3 and PC just made me lol and delete it from my pc

  • Iliad #54 8 months ago

    RIP BF.

    After going on about doing their own game, making a true successor to BF2 etc they go and release this shocking vision of what's to come. It's not a Battlefield game in feel at all. It's bloody MoH (i.e. CoD clone) with Crysis 2 visuals.

    As a lifelong BF fan, and a massive BC2 multiplayer fan, I'm so overwhelming disappointed. I understand the beta is actually two month's old code, but still, I can't see them changing from the MoH physics and controls now.

    DICE may say it's not, but as it stands, BF3 has been built to attract the CoD players first and foremost.

  • LittleRiver #55 8 months ago

    Devs should stop naming their Public Beta tests "Beta" as most morons read that as "final build demo". Idiots literally seem to think that a Beta is quickly knocked-up the day before it is released.

    Devs; call it "public stress test" instead.
    Edited by LittleRiver at 30/09/11 @ 11:12

  • username84 #56 8 months ago

    Yep, sounds like any other artist.

  • darleysam #57 8 months ago

    "He's wrong about Bad Company 2 of course - it was rather brilliant, as Eurogamer's 9/10 review bears witness."
    See, other sites just slap a number up there. Eurogamer has a team of highly-trained grizzlies to verify the scores.

  • Iain815 #58 8 months ago

    @chanandler

    The PC beta had all the same bugs as the 360.

  • Ahskay #59 8 months ago

    PC version is shit if only for origin and battlelog. Thanks E.A. but my pre-order is cancelled.

  • Phantom_Dynamite #60 8 months ago

    I'm ashamed for him BC2 was great, the Nam' expansion also great.

  • Architect_z #61 8 months ago

    I'd be ashamed of a game that people can't stop playing and inspired one of the biggest game releases of the year, possibly in gaming history.

    You should be ashamed Patrick!!!

  • Matfink #62 8 months ago

    The BF3 beta is an old-ish codeline - it's meant to test the multiplayer infrastructure mainly. Which is good, as the battlefield games are usually shaky in that respect on release.

  • sjmlondon #63 8 months ago

    I can hardly fault the multiplayer on BFBC2. I've played over 1000s hours of multiplayer and it never gets boring. Admittedly the campaign on BFBC1 was more interesting partly due to the humour throughout.

    Like many others, I am very disappointed with what I've seen of BF3. Apart from the problems getting connected, setting up a squad, second rate graphics, the frigging return of prone, floaty characters, confusing menu system. It feels like a reskinned Vietman pack crossed with the dreadul Medal of Honor multiplayer with none of the gloss and finesse that made BFBC2 the polished article and classic it is. It may be a beta but they have got just a month to fix all this shite before it's official release.

    Looking at what they have released as a beta, I wonder how many preorders of the game itself have just been cancelled.

  • Sir_STRESSHEaD #64 8 months ago

    I know it's been said already but damn... every time I see somebody judging the game on this Beta I just want to implode. Fucking dead skulls.

  • whitenoise #65 8 months ago

    I really like first Bad Company.... but second one is horrible, really dull singleplayer. That game is even uglier than the first one! And its not only about little details like lowered sound effects of weapons and explosions in BC2... why?

  • Collymilad #66 8 months ago

    God EG you really are sinking to new lows.

    It has nothing to do with Bad Company 2, he obviously says he feels that way about all the games he makes, says it's a great product and only mentions it because it happensto be the last game he worked on.

    Pathetic really.

  • Ali360 #67 8 months ago

    hey EG press cntrl and F then type COPLETE. hah see what comes up

  • sjmlondon #68 8 months ago

    To Sir_STRESSHEaD You prat!!

    We all know it's a beta, and accept minor glitches, but the actual release is due in less than a month. The game has been in development for several years at least. They must have all of a couple of weeks to tweak stuff which isn't very long. Surely one point of a beta should be to suitably impress and have you gagging for the final release and of course you are going to judge ithe beta and possibly base a purchase decision of what you've seen.

    As a huge fan of BFBC2 and less than impressed with Medal of Honor (Dice Multiplayer), from what I've seen BF3 falls into the MOH category.

    Hopefully we'll all be pleasantly surprised with the final product.

  • Intifadah #69 8 months ago

    Campaign was nothing to write home about but MP is immense. About the Beta, I'm aware that the game will be tweaked further before release, but the Op Metro map just seems like a COD rip, really not liking it and hope for huge improvement in the larger maps. Also think prone position is threatening to turn it into Campfield. Slightly worried now.

  • jamieleng #70 8 months ago

    You won't hear this from the makers of MW3, because there is nobody left at Infinity Ward that actually worked on MW2.

  • Sir_STRESSHEaD #71 8 months ago

    @sjmlondon

    I was there right with you on the BETA and I experienced no bugs that won't be a quick fix. Other than that I thought it played nice... i also know that there is way more to the game than what was being TESTED in that BETA...

    We shall see when it's released won't we... (been a long time since I've heard anyone use the word prat... you've gone and hurt my feelings now)