The story of the game is told through multiple protagonists, and explores the stories of unknown war heroes. According to Berlin, gameplay was the most important aspect when they were developing the game, and he promised that it would not be slowed down due to the game's historical setting. According to creative director Lars Gustavsson, the setting was a concept for a very long time, and it had been the 'dream' for the team to create a game based on that period. Melee weapons were reworked so as to introduce more depth to the system. The game was named Battlefield 1, since the team considered World War I as 'the dawn of all-out warfare'. According to game designer Daniel Berlin, the team picked World War I as the game's setting as they believed that the weapons and gadgets featured in that period of time suit players with different playstyles.
