DICE says early Mirror's Edge visuals resembled other Unreal games and caused nausea

Gamesradar reports that DICE's developers said Mirror's Edge initially resembled other Unreal-engine titles and that looking at that early version literally made people nauseous, in a new interview with Design Room.

Art director Johannes Söderqvist called the initial art "generic," noting it featured "more run-down, sort of New York-style rooftops with these water towers" and a "pretty brown, like a regular game, if you will" palette. The developers said the project had been set to join its apocalyptic siblings — "looking very, let's say, piss yellow" — before the style was changed.

They ultimately adopted the sleek, futuristic silver skyscrapers the game ended up with; developers said, "Moving very fast through the world, you got simulation sickness." The interview reflects on that visual shift during the game's development.

Key Topics

Culture, Mirror's Edge, Dice, Johannes Söderqvist, Design Room, Simulation Sickness