NBA 2K14 Next-Gen Eco-Motion Engine Video and Blog

One example of the Eco-Motion Engine in action is the new fluid nature of player animations. Gone are the days of pre-canned animations that must play out exactly as they were mocapped. Now, players adjust their movements based on the environment around them. Jumpshots will change midair, dribble moves will alter in between dribbles, and players will land in a unique way following every thunderous dunk or block. No two animations will ever appear exactly the same. To illustrate this point, our Dev team recently showed off a looping video of OKC star Kevin Durant taking the same jumpshot ten different times. Sure enough, each clip was unique in some way. In one shot, KD pulled off a perfect shooting motion. But in the next, a defender stepped up and altered the shot, causing him to rush the release and land awkwardly on one foot. These types of play-to-play variations occur constantly in real life sports, but until now it’s been a challenge to capture the fluid and dynamic nature of live sports in a video game. Not anymore.