NCAA Football 09 Interview

[iamemmittsmith]

GameTap has posted an interview with Kendall Boyd, Product Manager for NCAA Football 09.

GameTap: "What's the hook for NCAA Football 09? How has the gameplay changed?"

Kendall Boyd: "The big focus this year is about wide-open gameplay and the college atmosphere. If you went to the National Championship last season, it was all about electricity. We want you to be able to feel the electricity as best you can when you go in and play the game. You do that by making it a more wide-open experience in terms of giving guys more ankle-breaking jukes. At the same time, when you hit the hole immediately at the line of scrimmage, you'll find your opening. But if you're playing against a lesser team, that hole will open, and after running five or 10 yards, it might come down to a footrace. Blocking is one of the big keys to that and [it's] the area the dev team is really concentrating on right now."

[Sausage]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

I'll believe it when I rent it and see it. If I have enough will power I will wait until the patches are out before I play NCAA or its big brother.

[Jistic]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

I'm buying this anyway...but...

Boyd talks about how Madden stepped up in 08 and it's NCAA's turn to finally rise back to prominence when it hits stores July 15.

Wow....we're just doomed!

[fistofrage]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

Talk is chEAp.

[SageInfinite]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

Sounds like they're working on the atmosphere and presentation. Me LIKES . I wont get excited yet tho.

[Soonerd2]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

Better be more than chearleaders.

[mva5580]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

"I think one of the things for us is really focusing on making the transition over to the PS3 and 360. We're in our third year now, and we're finally at a point where we understand the software, the developers know the ins and outs of it,........"

So he's essentially admitting that we shouldn't waste our money on games within the first couple years of a new system because the developers learning curve is so slow that it takes 3 years of development for a game to actually be worth buying.

Thanks for the confirmation, I appreciate it.

[davin]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

All this sounds great, but a lot of the article was really just the typical talk. I'll buy this anyways. I think we'll have to wait awhile still to really figure out if this stuff is actually coming to fruition the way they say.

[DLaren]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

We want to show the contrast between the home and away teams. The sidelines are now populated and you'll see cheerleaders doing stunts. When you looked at it on PS2, the cheerleaders were part of a cutscene. Now, you'll be driving down the field and you'll see them on the sideline doing stunts and cheers in unison, and it's really cool.

The moves are on both sticks, and you still have the ability to do moves off the button controls. But now, much like when you play Fight Night, you can rotate the analog stick to go into a spin move, and instead of just letting that animation play out, you can now go from animation to animation and juke to juke by your control. It's all about the fluidity.

A lot of the multiple tackle hits that you'll see are all the results of our new mo-cap. Foot-pinning is another big focus, so you can actually see the cuts. When a runner hits and plants, you'll actually be able to see the leverage of the weight.

The influence you're going to see this year is more about the strategic side of the playbook.

Good lookin out on the article, this info made my day.

[baumy300]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

Awesome job!

I don't know boys, this guy sounds like he knows what he's talking about...

I like that they are addressing the atmosphere issues and the uniforms, stadiums, etc.

I have faith in this years version. He even says it's all about gameplay. Awesome.

[therizing02]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

I knew I shouldn't have read this July 15th can't get here fast enough.

[rolltide1017]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

So he's essentially admitting that we shouldn't waste our money on games within the first couple years of a new system because the developers learning curve is so slow that it takes 3 years of development for a game to actually be worth buying.

Thanks for the confirmation, I appreciate it.

No, he's saying that EA's dev team has a 3 year learning curve. Other developers seem to grasp each system quicker, look at MLB 08 The Show. They are only in there second year on the PS3 and have pretty much nailed it IMO. NCAA is always an automatic buy for me each year but, these articles build up the hype so much that the final product can't live up to the hype. Everything sounds great in that article if it is true but, this stuff usually doesn't turn out as great as they make it sound. The one thing I want the most is improved gameplay (always want this) and vastly improved atmosphere. They have got to get the college atmosphere back to where it was on the Xbox and PS2 and quick IMO.

[mva5580]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

No, he's saying that EA's dev team has a 3 year learning curve.

Sooooooooooo, what exactly is the difference? It's total BS that it takes these guys 3 years to figure out a system when they release a game every single year. That just doesn't cut it. To me that equals these games not being worth a purchase for the first 2 years if they're still figuring things out.

I'll keep that in mind from now on.

[J-Unit40]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

I knew I shouldn't have read this July 15th can't get here fast enough.

LOL. I'm the same way. Call me a sucker. Cuz I'm hyped already for July 15th! Damn you EA. I just hope it's not all talk and no show.

Good find on the article.

Edit: I'm really hyped up now! The paragraph about the juking system is something I have put in the Wishlists for 2 years in a row. And the comments about the playbooks have me pumped. There will be all types of the spread now.

Better gameplay & better presentation and atmosphere will equal a better game.

[Rocky]

Re: First 09 Details - GameTap!

Kendall Boyd: A lot of the multiple tackle hits that you'll see are all the results of our new mo-cap. Also, when we were talking about the wide-open controls, now on the left stick, a place where we've never had any moves, now you can go left-to-right on the left stick and you will do a Barry Sanders-esque shimmy. It's really sweet and that's something that came from the motion-capture. Foot-pinning is another big focus, so you can actually see the cuts. When a runner hits and plants, you'll actually be able to see the leverage of the weight. We've also added all-new player models. When you look at an NFL player, they're much more chiseled. Look at a college lineman: They still have muscle tone, but they also have some girth about them. We just want to get those differences between the two to help make the game, not only feel more authentic, but look it.

Looks like they've been playing some All-Pro Football.

This is great news.....hopefully eliminates the psychic DB's and superhuman LB's.