Presentation: THIS is how you do it

[TheWatcher]

MLB 2K9

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJvka9IQ4SA

MLB The Show 09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiETNxnBeK8</EMBED>

MLB The Show 09

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14307517/mlb-09-the-show-/videos/mlb09_020409.01.html

... that's how you get it done. Wow. I think I'm gonna start playing Baseball games now.

You guys think Madden could be like this someday?

[johnprestonevans]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

I couldnt agree more. I wonder when Ian will comment on their plans for Madden's presentation. I feel it is the biggest issue with that franchise right now. Im not even much of a baseball fan, but MLB 09 The Show looks SO good, that im considering ponying up for a PS3. Great gameplay, authentic presentation, deep franchise, online league depth, proper camera angles, accurate and natural sounding commentary, sweet looking broadcast quality replays, impressive graphics...what else can you ask for? If only this was NFL Football! This is what all sports games should be striving for. I really hope Madden 10 is heading in this direction.

[Rashad19]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

I had a chance to play the 2K9 Demo last night and it finally hit me why presentation is such an important aspect of sports gaming. It truly felt like I was watching a broadcasted game on TV and I was fully immersed. I guess you can say I have seen the light. I really hope Madden 10 gives us this level and depth in the presentation department.

[FadeEmAll]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

Yeah most reasonable people would agree that The Show has the deepest Franchise experience, best presentation, top gameplay, and well hell is pretty much the best sports sim out there. It suffers however from the fact that baseball has a 162 game season and the sport is just so boring to play for 9 inning on a consistent basis. I usually buy every major sports game each year (MLB, NBA2k9, Madden, and College Football) and for 5 years straight I have still failed to ever get past year 2 in baseball franchises. I only set out to play about a quarter of the games (about 40) but after 1 year man that's a whole lot of games....football and basketball iare just so more exciting.

[johnprestonevans]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

I had a chance to play the 2K9 Demo last night and it finally hit me why presentation is such an important aspect of sports gaming. It truly felt like I was watching a broadcasted game on TV and I was fully immersed. I guess you can say I have seen the light. I really hope Madden 10 gives us this level and depth in the presentation department.

Thats just it. Ive said it before and ill say it again - it doesnt matter how good your player models and stadiums are rendered, if you dont approach your sports game with authentic camera angles and polished presentation then you are taken out of the experience. MLB2K9 has crude graphics, jerky animation transitions and not very detailed models, but it does presentation extremely well and thats proof how such elements can define the immersion of the experience. Madden has some incredible looking graphics, but they still havent figured out how to show them off properly IMO. I wont sleep easy until I see that EA is really working to make Madden look more broadcast authentic.

[wheelman990]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

MLB 2K9



MLB The Show 09

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/14307517/mlb-09-the-show-/videos/mlb09_020409.01.html

... that's how you get it done. Wow. I think I'm gonna start playing Baseball games now.

You guys think Madden could be like this someday?

For me, this is the video of the 3 that I would base my presentation wish off of. Its still not perfect, I can think of some better ways of doing things to move us out of the current trends of presentation in video games, but I will say I would be very happy if Madden equaled this. Very good.

Also, why not show some animations of the guys in the broadcast room every once in a while to show who is talking in the booth?(face with the voice) You could even do this between plays when they are making there comment. Timeouts and end of quarters take time, this is the perfect place for some nice presentation animations, dont rush the players back to the line, we were just doing that the last 10 minutes of that quarter. Time for a refreshing break. As far as halftime, build on 2k5, and make it much better. 2k5 was right on the mark in there time(2005). We should be way past the mark by now.

[FadeEmAll]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

Well Ian says he has a copy of 2K5 that he streams in his office as ha reference point, so maybe some of that stuff will make it in the game.

[roadman]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

For me, this is the video of the 3 that I would base my presentation wish off of. Its still not perfect, I can think of some better ways of doing things to move us out of the current trends of presentation in video games, but I will say I would be very happy if Madden equaled this. Very good.

Also, why not show some animations of the guys in the broadcast room every once in a while to show who is talking in the booth?(face with the voice) You could even do this between plays when they are making there comment. Timeouts and end of quarters take time, this is the perfect place for some nice presentation animations, dont rush the players back to the line, we were just doing that the last 10 minutes of that quarter. Time for a refreshing break. As far as halftime, build on 2k5, and make it much better. 2k5 was right on the mark in there time(2005). We should be way past the mark by now.

If you are going to have all that, I'd like in-game saves as an option. 10 minute quarters in 09 are already taking over an 1 hr to play.

[wheelman990]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

If you are going to have all that, I'd like in-game saves as an option. 10 minute quarters in 09 are already taking over an 1 hr to play.

But these animations have always had the option to be skipped by a simple A button tap, so why not include them. My point is, MLB 09 the show has them, and you dont see anyone complaining about having to much presentation. The beauty is with the skip option, it works for everyones game situation.

I will agree with you, in game saves should be in. How many times have we all had to turn off a great game? This should never happen, good call!

[FadeEmAll]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

I would have vehemently disagreed with broadcasters being shown on the game, a week ago, but after reeing the halftime show of 2K5 I think it is an excellent idea. Although we all know that stuff would just be skipped after a month of playing the game.

[johnprestonevans]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

But these animations have always had the option to be skipped by a simple A button tap, so why not include them. My point is, MLB 09 the show has them, and you dont see anyone complaining about having to much presentation. The beauty is with the skip option, it works for everyones game situation.

I agree 100%. Put them in with an option to skip. I like how 2K offers the option to customize the kind of presentation you want. Replay frequency, highlight frequency and the like should totally be an option. I understand it's not important for some people who want a more arcadey experience. But I think for those of us who want a true "sim" - everything you see on Sunday type of NFL game, this stuff needs to be in the game at least as an option to turn on or off.

[djordan]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

GREAT POST!!!!!!!!

[green94]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

I think the real time stuff would be great, especially getting different packages on and off of the field in time - would add a completely different element to the game.

[TheWatcher]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

Is it just me or are MLB The Show's animations just incredibly fluid?

The ones that impress me most are the ones that I've always thought Madden this generation desperately needs improvement on:

*Standing still

*Jogging and then slowing down to stop

*Walking

*Changing directions

Sony really nailed it. Judging from the past 4 games, Madden would have a long way to go just to catch up to those 4 examples.

[johnprestonevans]

Re: Presentation: THIS is how you do it

Is it just me or are MLB The Show's animations just incredibly fluid?

The ones that impress me most are the ones that I've always thought Madden this generation desperately needs improvement on:

*Standing still

*Jogging and then slowing down to stop

*Walking

*Changing directions

Sony really nailed it. Judging from the past 4 games, Madden would have a long way to go just to catch up to those 4 examples.

Absolutely. You can really tell that the developers of MLB The Show love the game of baseball and have paid very close attention to detail and painstakingly worked to recreate the sport. It's that extra layer of polish to get the transitions animations right, the cameras set properly and the atmosphere authentic that sets it apart. I do feel confident that Ian and the team at Madden have this same love for the NFL, and have the skills to polish the game to offer a similar level of authenticity for football. The question is whether or not this is a key area of focus for Madden 10. They have SO many areas that require attention. I like what ive seen for the gameplay advancements from Ian, but I really want to hear about the presentation.