Interview with former EA & Ripple Effect Developer, James Kono

Exclusive conversation with former EA and Ripple Effect game designer James “Kemo” Kono, only on Battlefield One Podcast

In Episode 21 of Battlefield One Podcast, we sat down for an unfiltered, deeply personal conversation with James “Kemo” Kono, a former developer at EA’s DICE LA studio (now Ripple Effect) who played an instrumental role in several Battlefield titles over more than a decade. From pioneering the Community Test Environment (CTE) in Battlefield 4 to experimenting with competitive play in Battlefield 1’s Incursions mode, Kemo pulls back the curtain on game development’s hidden chaos, creativity, and cost.

For fans who still wonder what really went down behind the scenes during the franchise's golden era, this interview is essential listening. And for those who want the extended insights and context, this article goes deeper.

Kemo worked on several high-profile EA titles, including:

• Medal of Honor (2010)

• Medal of Honor: Warfighter

• Battlefield 4

• Battlefield 1

• Battlefield 4 CTE

• Year Two content for Battlefield 4 (Never released)

• Incursions (Battlefield 1 Competitive Mode)

  
  

As someone embedded in both live service design and community-focused iteration, he lived through the transition from art-first game design to business-driven production pipelines. His stories illustrate the evolution of Battlefield’s identity and the harsh realities of AAA development.

Kemo’s legacy is most visible in Battlefield 4’s Community Test Environment, or CTE - a player-driven sandbox that repaired, refined, and resurrected Battlefield 4 from a rocky launch. It allowed players to test new builds, give real-time feedback, and shape the future of the game.

But the CTE wasn't just a tech platform, it was a philosophy. Players and developers collaborating as equals. And for Kemo, it became both a career high point and, ultimately, a burnout catalyst.

His post-CTE journey included experimental modes like Incursions (5v5 competitive play with Battlefield’s classic mechanics), hard lessons about corporate analytics, and even philosophical concerns about AI and the soul of modern games.

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Q: How did your journey into game development actually begin? Was it always your plan to work in the industry?

Kemo: “It honestly started by accident. I wasn’t aiming for game dev directly. I just loved games. One day, I stumbled on a Craigslist ad looking for QA testers at EA. I show up to the interview and the guy running it is half-asleep on a couch with powdered donuts on his shirt. It was bizarre and informal, but somehow perfect. I got the job and ended up working on Medal of Honor 2010. That moment opened the door to everything that followed. It taught me that the industry is full of weird, passionate people trying to make cool stuff.”

Q: Can you walk us through what led to the creation of the Community Test Environment for Battlefield 4?

Kemo: “The CTE was a direct response to how badly Battlefield 4 launched. It was broken. I mean, rubberbanding, crashes, bugs everywhere. The community was furious, and rightly so. Internally, we knew the only way to recover trust was to bring players into the development loop. David Sirland really drove that, and I was all in. We carved out a live environment separate from the main game, and players could test upcoming builds. The feedback loop was fast and brutal, but it worked. It was also exhausting - I’d show up at 4 AM, manage spreadsheets for weapon balance, deploy builds, monitor forums, all in real time. CTE saved Battlefield 4, but it cost us a lot behind the scenes.”

Q: How was feedback from CTE players different from the general Battlefield community?

Kemo: “It was night and day. CTE players weren’t just there to complain - they wanted to help. Some were modders, some were future devs. They gave detailed breakdowns. Like, they'd say, 'Hey, if you increase this recoil value by 0.05, it'll match the handling curve from pre-patch X.' That level of detail was gold. We even hired a few of them eventually. But I also had to be the bad guy sometimes - telling someone that their idea, even if brilliant, wouldn't work for 90% of players. That balance between vision and community need was delicate.”

Q: What was the relationship like between the CTE devs and the community behind the scenes? Were there moments of real collaboration?

Kemo: “Absolutely. We had Skype and Discord channels buzzing all day. Some of the top testers were basically shadow developers. I remember one guy who reverse-engineered TTK data from packet loss captures. It was insane. We would bounce ideas around and prototype things overnight. Sometimes it felt like working at a startup inside a giant corporation. Some of those guys got hired later on. We built genuine friendships out of that work.”

Q: Did any ideas or features from the CTE get rejected even though the community loved them?

Kemo: “Oh yeah, tons. There was a community-driven idea for customizable squad roles, kind of like 'build your own support class' using modular abilities. It was brilliant, but way too complex for production. We also had a refined minimap that tested super well but conflicted with UI branding. So it got cut. A lot of great stuff died in meetings.”

Q: Did you ever feel like CTE could have evolved into a permanent public beta platform across Battlefield games?

Kemo: “100%. I pitched that idea a few times. A persistent public test realm where seasonal content gets tested ahead of time, not just fixes but entire gameplay shifts. Think of it like how Blizzard runs PTR for Overwatch. But it required constant staffing, moderation, backend support. EA just didn’t want to commit long-term. They wanted faster ROI.”

Q: Any ideas or tests from CTE that turned out to be complete disasters?

Kemo: “Yeah, one time we tried giving DMRs the ability to pierce walls like sniper rifles. Players instantly abused it to shoot through half the map. It was hilarious and awful. Feedback came in within 30 minutes. We rolled it back that night.”

Q: What was the most unexpected positive outcome from running the CTE?

Kemo: “Honestly, how much it humanized us to the community. Devs weren’t just faceless robots anymore. When people saw that we were listening and adapting, the hate cooled. One guy DMed me after we fixed his feedback and said, ‘I didn’t think anyone gave a s***, but you proved me wrong.’ That was worth more than any Metacritic score.”

Q: Battlefield 1’s Incursions mode was a big shift from the traditional formula. What inspired that, and how did it go internally?

Kemo: “Incursions was our experiment to see if Battlefield could go competitive without losing its identity. It started as a challenge: can we take this massive sandbox and make it tight, tactical, and watchable? We went 5v5, but kept things like vehicles and squad mechanics. Early on, we were skeptical. Like, 'This is gonna flop.' But once we had a working prototype, it actually felt like Battlefield - just with more intensity and less chaos. Internally, there was tension. Competitive gaming was hot, but Battlefield wasn’t seen as a good fit. We tried our best, and I’m still proud of it even though support faded quickly.”

Q: Let’s talk scale. What’s your take on the push toward 128-player matches in games like Battlefield 2042?

Kemo: “That decision always comes up every few years - someone high up wants to go bigger. But more players doesn’t mean more fun. The chaos becomes noise. You lose clarity in combat roles, objectives get diluted, and pacing suffers. I was in meetings trying to explain that 64 is already hard to balance. Once you go 128, you’re not playing Battlefield anymore, you’re just participating in a crowd. It sounds good on a marketing slide, but it’s a mess in practice.”

Q: What do you think the industry gets wrong about live service?

Kemo: “Live service started as a way to keep games fresh, but now it’s just monetization by another name. CTE wasn’t a live service. It was collaborative development. Now everything is KPI-driven. 'Did this item increase engagement?' 'Did we sell enough of this skin?' I get that it’s a business, but the soul of the game gets lost. Players can feel that. They can tell when something was made for passion or for profit.”

Q: What are your thoughts on how AI is entering game development now?

Kemo: “AI will be the biggest disruptor the industry has seen. It’s going to kill jobs, but it’s also going to empower creators who never had access before. Imagine a kid in Nigeria with no resources generating a full game on their phone. That’s magical. But it’s also terrifying because it challenges what we consider craftsmanship. I think there will always be a place for human storytelling, but the workflows will evolve fast.”

Q: If you could build your dream Battlefield game, what would it look like?

Kemo: “It would be smaller scale, high fidelity. Think 32v32 max, with deep sandbox tools. Dynamic weather, map evolution, class synergy - like squad leaders with unique commands. Vehicles that require multi-crew coordination. A focus on teamwork and chaos, not just visual spectacle. And no battle pass.”

Q: What’s one moment from working on Battlefield that always makes you laugh?

Kemo: “One time during CTE we tested a snowball fight mode just for fun. We coded it in a weekend. Seeing people chuck snowballs at tanks while yelling on VOIP like it was a serious game mode - I cried laughing. That kind of stuff never makes it to launch, but it’s why we loved the job.”

Q: What about the time with the bug where melee kills would send people flying across the map?

Kemo: “Oh god, yes! That was in an internal test build. You'd stab someone and their ragdoll would rocket like a missile into the sky. We were all crying laughing, but then it actually slipped into an early CTE build. Forums lit up with clips, people thought it was a feature! We had to hotfix it, but I kind of wish we kept it for April Fool's.”

Q: Do you remember the dev who accidentally replaced all tank sounds with goat noises?

Kemo: “Haha, yeah! That was actually a placeholder audio joke that made it too far in the pipeline. So you had this heavy World War I tank rolling across the desert, but it was going ‘baaaah’ the whole way. QA flagged it, but we couldn’t stop laughing long enough to fix it. It was peak stress comedy.”

Q: Any final advice for aspiring developers who want to get into Battlefield or any AAA studio?

Kemo: “Start small. Make mods, join discords, share your work. You don’t need a degree. Just show up and be useful. Don’t chase titles - chase skills. If you can fix a bug or improve a system, someone will notice. But don’t do it for the glory. It’s a hard, thankless path. Do it because you love games.”

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Kemo’s story is about more than just Battlefield. It’s about a changing industry, where creativity and connection are often sacrificed for profit and scale. Yet his experiences—from snowball fights in CTE to late-night passion projects - show what’s possible when love for the craft leads the way.

CTE, Incursions, and even ideas like a Battlefield Battle Royale aren’t just features. They’re windows into a time when developers listened. When players shaped games. And when the soul of Battlefield felt alive. At Battlefield One Podcast, we believe in preserving that spirit. That’s why we bring these stories to light. To educate. To inform. To inspire. If you ever loved Battlefield, or wondered how the magic happens, let this be your invitation to look behind the curtain.

Because without voices like Kemo’s, we risk forgetting what made these games legendary in the first place.

This article is brought to you by the Battlefield One Podcast, where we break down announcements like this, analyze gameplay footage, and track the development of Battlefield week to week. Whether you're new to the franchise or a returning veteran, follow us on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you listen, and get the full picture behind the frontlines.

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