V-9
13-08-2002, 12:11:AM
Source: http://www.computerandvideogames.com/front_index.php
INTERVIEW: FIFA - THE NEXT GENERATION
Several years in the making, EA recently unveiled the new direction for its massive FIFA franchise - associate producer Danny Isaac gives us the low down on 2003
17:15 Bigger than J Lo's arse and worth more money than Noel Edmond's beard, EA's gargantuan FIFA franchise has been the dominant force in football gaming since the 16-bit era. With unparalleled presentation and realistic visuals, the series instantly captured the hearts of the casual gamer and footy fan alike, while offering a solid, playable experience to boot.
But recently the tide has been turning, with Konami's masterful Pro Evolution Soccer series finally making an impression on the mass market. Conscious of this, EA has gone back to the drawing board in an attempt to retain its position as top dog, with a variety of new features planned for the 2003 edition.
Following a demonstration of the PS2 version, we spoke with associate producer Danny Isaac, who detailed the team's new vision for the FIFA franchise:
EA is billing this as a major step in the FIFA series - what's new this time around?
Isaac: I think we're going in the right direction. I think for any sports game - especially football - you're never going to get it exactly right and it's never going to be the perfect game. The real life game is just too complicated for that. Everyone plays this game whether it's in the backyard with their brother or sister or at a semi-pro of professional level. This year we're working with professional footballers who will be playing our game.
The way it plays is more football-like - you have to pass the ball around and the ball movement's more realistic now. I think we're going the right way now and will have a very strong foundation to build upon so we can get better and better.
There are always avenues for us to explore, control mechanisms to try, new features to implement, so each year it's the same game but it's different, which is a challenge.
But it's still very much a mainstream product, right?
Isaac: I think we've done that well in the past with all EA Sports products, making them all very accessible. But where we've maybe not pushed as hard as we could is in giving them depth - what we want is for people to pick it up and have fun, but to still be having fun and finding out new things two months down the line. The only way we can do that is by improving things like physics - when you have a ball in a physical space with lots of things happening it's always going to be different. That's where you get your depth and your new gameplay experiences.
In terms of the front-end, presentation and authenticity, FIFA pretty much wipes the floor with the competition, but many hardcore fans will cite Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series as the greatest in the genre - how do you feel about the competition?
Isaac: We love it and play it. It's a funny thing to say but we love the competition it gives us, as it keeps pushing us and making us work harder. We like what they do - they're good at some things but not at others and we're good at some things and not so good at others. We can learn from them and they can learn from us.
I think people will be surprised how far we've come this year from a gameplay point of view, but we don't want to simulate what PES does as a lot of our audience don't like it - the hardcore do, but a lot don't. We want to get a happy medium, and if we can get the depth into the product where a casual user can pick it up and have fun and a hardcore user can pick it up and have just as much fun, that's the goal.
Why should someone buy FIFA 2003 over PES2 later this year?
Isaac: I think Konami has a good game and we have a good game. Before, people would say that yes, FIFA has all the bells and whistles, but it doesn't really play football - if you want a football game go for Pro Evolution Soccer. But this year they won't be able to say that - FIFA 2003 is a good game, it's solid, it plays football, gives you a great experience, and that's how we see it. As I said, if we can get a nice solid foundation then we can build on this and make better games.
From people I've been talking to in the press, Winning Eleven 6 [soon to be PES 2 in Europe - Ed] is a good game, but it hasn't really moved on from the last version. Konami is going to find out, as we did, that it's tough doing this stuff each year. You can't change the fundamental game - there has to be eleven men against eleven men, you can't pick the ball up, you can't have different types of balls or pitches, so there is a very stringent set of rules.
Each year people are not just looking for a database update; they want a new experience that takes them to the next level. That's hard.
With that in mind, will FIFA 2002 veterans find enough new features in 2003 to satisfy their cravings?
Isaac: Yes. When you sit down and play the game, it's not just the gimmicks we put around it - the free-kick system's great, different and realistic, but that is not what people buy the game for - they buy it so they can play, move the ball around and score great goals. They can be their heroes, go to Old Trafford and be David Beckham - we're the only company that gives you such an immersive experience and now we have the gameplay to match that.
You'll have to use your footballing brain to beat the game - you're gonna have to know how to pass, know how to do through balls, know how to play certain systems. That's very different from FIFA 2002 and 2002 FIFA World Cup
What would you say is the biggest improvement in 2003?
Isaac: The separation of ball from player - to me that's the biggest thing from a development point of view. When you say it people are like: "D'uh - yeah!" but we haven't done this before and it gives such a different gameplay experience than we had before. It's not a sexy thing that you put on the back but it's fundamental to the way you play football.
The knock-on effect is fantastic. As you saw, when I ran with the ball it moved further away - you get that into player attributes and the whole game dynamic changes. You have to make tactical decisions as to when you're going to do certain things. Whereas before it was more like a simple arcade game, it's now a lot more like a strategy or puzzle game - like chess, which is what football is in a way.
Is it hard to keep coming up with new ideas year on year?
Isaac: We always have ideas, but we never have enough time to do everything we want to. But that's good as it separates the good ideas from the bad as there are certain things that don't work that we get rid of.
We can always make the gameplay better, make the controls more responsive and make the players do more things, so I think we've got enough to keep it going for a few years.
Where do football games go from here - do you see online as the future?
Isaac: I'm not so sure. Here at EA we see online as a platform rather than an add-on - it's a different experience. The big thing about football games is the social interaction and I'm not sure you'll get that if you're in one room and your friend's 200 miles away. Some of the best times I've had is when I have a few beers with friends and sit down and play football - I think that's going to continue for a long, long time.
Maybe one day we'll have a situation where you can have eleven players on one team, but at the moment we're very much focused on our current platforms. We have some cool ideas for online but we want to get this right first.
How soon do you see yourselves implementing online features? For 2004, perhaps?
Isaac: Maybe. As soon as Europe comes up to speed with broadband, that will make it easier for us.
---LOL I love these answers. Doh. That's what everyone who have played PES or WE6 will tell you that it is a different game when the ball and the player are not one object although in real life a good dribbler and the ball become one. Football is like chess in a way. No really??? Does it takes EA this long to realize this?
What would you say is the biggest improvement in 2003?
Isaac: The separation of ball from player - to me that's the biggest thing from a development point of view. When you say it people are like: "D'uh - yeah!" but we haven't done this before and it gives such a different gameplay experience than we had before. It's not a sexy thing that you put on the back but it's fundamental to the way you play football.
The knock-on effect is fantastic. As you saw, when I ran with the ball it moved further away - you get that into player attributes and the whole game dynamic changes. You have to make tactical decisions as to when you're going to do certain things. Whereas before it was more like a simple arcade game, it's now a lot more like a strategy or puzzle game - like chess, which is what football is in a way.
INTERVIEW: FIFA - THE NEXT GENERATION
Several years in the making, EA recently unveiled the new direction for its massive FIFA franchise - associate producer Danny Isaac gives us the low down on 2003
17:15 Bigger than J Lo's arse and worth more money than Noel Edmond's beard, EA's gargantuan FIFA franchise has been the dominant force in football gaming since the 16-bit era. With unparalleled presentation and realistic visuals, the series instantly captured the hearts of the casual gamer and footy fan alike, while offering a solid, playable experience to boot.
But recently the tide has been turning, with Konami's masterful Pro Evolution Soccer series finally making an impression on the mass market. Conscious of this, EA has gone back to the drawing board in an attempt to retain its position as top dog, with a variety of new features planned for the 2003 edition.
Following a demonstration of the PS2 version, we spoke with associate producer Danny Isaac, who detailed the team's new vision for the FIFA franchise:
EA is billing this as a major step in the FIFA series - what's new this time around?
Isaac: I think we're going in the right direction. I think for any sports game - especially football - you're never going to get it exactly right and it's never going to be the perfect game. The real life game is just too complicated for that. Everyone plays this game whether it's in the backyard with their brother or sister or at a semi-pro of professional level. This year we're working with professional footballers who will be playing our game.
The way it plays is more football-like - you have to pass the ball around and the ball movement's more realistic now. I think we're going the right way now and will have a very strong foundation to build upon so we can get better and better.
There are always avenues for us to explore, control mechanisms to try, new features to implement, so each year it's the same game but it's different, which is a challenge.
But it's still very much a mainstream product, right?
Isaac: I think we've done that well in the past with all EA Sports products, making them all very accessible. But where we've maybe not pushed as hard as we could is in giving them depth - what we want is for people to pick it up and have fun, but to still be having fun and finding out new things two months down the line. The only way we can do that is by improving things like physics - when you have a ball in a physical space with lots of things happening it's always going to be different. That's where you get your depth and your new gameplay experiences.
In terms of the front-end, presentation and authenticity, FIFA pretty much wipes the floor with the competition, but many hardcore fans will cite Konami's Pro Evolution Soccer series as the greatest in the genre - how do you feel about the competition?
Isaac: We love it and play it. It's a funny thing to say but we love the competition it gives us, as it keeps pushing us and making us work harder. We like what they do - they're good at some things but not at others and we're good at some things and not so good at others. We can learn from them and they can learn from us.
I think people will be surprised how far we've come this year from a gameplay point of view, but we don't want to simulate what PES does as a lot of our audience don't like it - the hardcore do, but a lot don't. We want to get a happy medium, and if we can get the depth into the product where a casual user can pick it up and have fun and a hardcore user can pick it up and have just as much fun, that's the goal.
Why should someone buy FIFA 2003 over PES2 later this year?
Isaac: I think Konami has a good game and we have a good game. Before, people would say that yes, FIFA has all the bells and whistles, but it doesn't really play football - if you want a football game go for Pro Evolution Soccer. But this year they won't be able to say that - FIFA 2003 is a good game, it's solid, it plays football, gives you a great experience, and that's how we see it. As I said, if we can get a nice solid foundation then we can build on this and make better games.
From people I've been talking to in the press, Winning Eleven 6 [soon to be PES 2 in Europe - Ed] is a good game, but it hasn't really moved on from the last version. Konami is going to find out, as we did, that it's tough doing this stuff each year. You can't change the fundamental game - there has to be eleven men against eleven men, you can't pick the ball up, you can't have different types of balls or pitches, so there is a very stringent set of rules.
Each year people are not just looking for a database update; they want a new experience that takes them to the next level. That's hard.
With that in mind, will FIFA 2002 veterans find enough new features in 2003 to satisfy their cravings?
Isaac: Yes. When you sit down and play the game, it's not just the gimmicks we put around it - the free-kick system's great, different and realistic, but that is not what people buy the game for - they buy it so they can play, move the ball around and score great goals. They can be their heroes, go to Old Trafford and be David Beckham - we're the only company that gives you such an immersive experience and now we have the gameplay to match that.
You'll have to use your footballing brain to beat the game - you're gonna have to know how to pass, know how to do through balls, know how to play certain systems. That's very different from FIFA 2002 and 2002 FIFA World Cup
What would you say is the biggest improvement in 2003?
Isaac: The separation of ball from player - to me that's the biggest thing from a development point of view. When you say it people are like: "D'uh - yeah!" but we haven't done this before and it gives such a different gameplay experience than we had before. It's not a sexy thing that you put on the back but it's fundamental to the way you play football.
The knock-on effect is fantastic. As you saw, when I ran with the ball it moved further away - you get that into player attributes and the whole game dynamic changes. You have to make tactical decisions as to when you're going to do certain things. Whereas before it was more like a simple arcade game, it's now a lot more like a strategy or puzzle game - like chess, which is what football is in a way.
Is it hard to keep coming up with new ideas year on year?
Isaac: We always have ideas, but we never have enough time to do everything we want to. But that's good as it separates the good ideas from the bad as there are certain things that don't work that we get rid of.
We can always make the gameplay better, make the controls more responsive and make the players do more things, so I think we've got enough to keep it going for a few years.
Where do football games go from here - do you see online as the future?
Isaac: I'm not so sure. Here at EA we see online as a platform rather than an add-on - it's a different experience. The big thing about football games is the social interaction and I'm not sure you'll get that if you're in one room and your friend's 200 miles away. Some of the best times I've had is when I have a few beers with friends and sit down and play football - I think that's going to continue for a long, long time.
Maybe one day we'll have a situation where you can have eleven players on one team, but at the moment we're very much focused on our current platforms. We have some cool ideas for online but we want to get this right first.
How soon do you see yourselves implementing online features? For 2004, perhaps?
Isaac: Maybe. As soon as Europe comes up to speed with broadband, that will make it easier for us.
---LOL I love these answers. Doh. That's what everyone who have played PES or WE6 will tell you that it is a different game when the ball and the player are not one object although in real life a good dribbler and the ball become one. Football is like chess in a way. No really??? Does it takes EA this long to realize this?
What would you say is the biggest improvement in 2003?
Isaac: The separation of ball from player - to me that's the biggest thing from a development point of view. When you say it people are like: "D'uh - yeah!" but we haven't done this before and it gives such a different gameplay experience than we had before. It's not a sexy thing that you put on the back but it's fundamental to the way you play football.
The knock-on effect is fantastic. As you saw, when I ran with the ball it moved further away - you get that into player attributes and the whole game dynamic changes. You have to make tactical decisions as to when you're going to do certain things. Whereas before it was more like a simple arcade game, it's now a lot more like a strategy or puzzle game - like chess, which is what football is in a way.