While free-running and parkour have become standard movement elements in recent video games, very few of them feature it as the core gameplay mechanic. While we now have games like FreeJack and the crowd-funded Hover: Revolt of Gamers, it all started back in 2008 with the sleeper hit Mirror’s Edge. Parkour and free-running were popularized in the mid-2000’s by French athletes and actors Sebastien Foucan and David Belle. The concept of each discipline involves getting from one place to another in the fastest way possible, regardless of any obstacles in the way. While both focus on momentum, athleticism and strict body-control, free-running has an emphasis on “tricks” and flourishes, such as flips. Granted, people have been running and jumping off of things since the dawn of man, but parkour and free-running exploded in the 2000’s due to mass-media exposure. One such example can be found in the opening chase sequence of the James Bond film Casino Royale. While 2007’s Assassin’s Creed featured a heavy amount of parkour, DICE’s Mirror’s Edge brought parkour front-and-center in a video game. Mirror’s Edge set players right in the action, controlling Faith in a first-person view as she navigated across rooftops and through the inner workings of various buildings. While the title was praised for its innovative take on first-person action games, it was often criticized for having poorly designed enemy encounters. The “FPS” sections of the original Mirror’s Edge felt awkward- like a gameplay mechanic that was only added as an afterthought. According to a new interview between CVG and DICE GM Karl Troedsson, Mirror’s Edge 2 is being developed with a focus on not just first-person parkour, but combat as well, as shown during EA’s E3 press conference:
“What I can say is that if the last game focussed on first-person movement, it was definitely shown in the movie here that the DICE team will be focussing on first-person combat as well, to really nail and refine that. But I don’t want to go into more detail on what the actual game is.“
While some fans may have been opposed to the idea of combat and FPS elements in the original Mirror’s Edge, Troedsson states that Mirror’s Edge 2 is essentially a re-imagining of the franchise- in his terms, DICE is “building Faith for a new generation”. Another departure from the original, the new game will take place within an open-world environment. A release window has not been scheduled for Mirror’s Edge 2 at this time.