NBA 2K8 Conference Call Highlights
Posted by David Redkey on 09.29.2007
2K Sports gave 411mania the opportunity to hear what is going into this year's NBA 2K8. Read on to find out what they said since the game will be out on October 2nd, 2007.
2K Sports and Visual Concepts will be bringing out a new version of the 2K series for people to enjoy. The name of this game happens to be NBA 2K8. 2K Sports was kind enough to allow various media outlets to participate in a Q & A session involving the game prior to its release on Tuesday (including 411mania.com). They want people to understand that they want to people should be expecting with this game's release on October 2nd, 2007.
Here's is a list of the people that provided the answers to our questions concerning their game.
Rob Jones - Gameplay Project Manager, 2K Sports Mike Wang - Lead Gameplay Designer, 2K Sports Erick Boenisch - Lead Features Designer, 2K Sports
Highlights from the conference call with 2K Sports:
~With NBA 2K8, the biggest thing they wanted to continue was the momentum created by the series by focusing on graphics, beefing up external features, adding the Slam Dunk Contest, and adding new features to the Association mode.
~Besides the Slam Dunk contest, 2K Sports focused on the Simulation aspects of the game and also making it has options to make it a "Party" game. They wanted to make it easier for first time players; in addition, they wanted to expand upon the pre-existing structure for high level players.
~There are very few differences between the 360 version and the PS3 version. They are 99-100% identical; however, the Rumble feature will have to wait for next year's version (at the earliest).
~The designers try to make it like real life because the A.I. will focus on strengths and weaknesses and take advantage of them.
~They monitor what other series are trying to unveil to gauge how far ahead of the competition they really are. However, competition forces 2K Sports to step up their game to make this year's game a worthy purchase for new and old fans alike.
~They feel they are (sometimes) two steps ahead of the competition because they take feedback from the player's of their games. 2K Sports listens to their strong fan base and they take suggestions from high level players. They may implement what they want in the following year's game.
~2K Sports really focused on player animations this year. They feel they were improved when stacked up to last year's. 2K7 added signature shots; now, 2K8 is about signature styles which impacts the way the players post, dunk, and dribble style. 2K8 wants the game to be "organically perfect" (O.P.).
~2K Sports focused on the team's real life tendencies. Therefore, the teams run set plays much better than previous years. This will allow the player to understand what it may feel like playing in "real life." This allows the player to understand what it is like playing a real team.
~To keep the interest high by the player, the player can adjust the mechanics, moves, and A.I. so a player won't have to sit through a game that resorts to nothing but dunks or lay-ups. This keeps the interest high by the owner of the game.
~The injuries have been updated and revamped to make them more in-depth. The injuries will heal over time and the player will improve. They can recover enough to become playable prior to fully healing from the injury. To balance this out, if the player returns too soon, they can aggravate the pre-existing injury.
~On the animation side, they updated Iso-moves, among other things. They rewrote the motion model. A way that it shows a difference between this year's and last year's game because the player's ability to stop and start has been impacted to be more realistic. This translates to the NBA player's motion and momentum. This can really translate to any player picking it up and playing the game.
~Right out of the box this year, Reel Maker will be available in the PS3 version and the X-Box 360 version.
~Because of a partnership with Stats.com, the Ticker updates will be available to the player while he or she plays the game.
~A player can save replays from the game. They can also add text to the description of the replay. They can the highlight update on the fly; or, they can wait to the end of the game to choose the best highlights (if you want to use any).
~Besides Iso-motion, the new system allows players to move realistically. The players will move a lot better and feel better. This will also eliminate the "robot" feel from last year's game.
~The Lock-On feature allows the player to lock on an NBA player with the ball and play defense by staying on that player. The A.I. helps the player stay lock onto the opposing player to play defense.
~According to the developers, it feels "good" stopping the opposing team on offense. They are trying to make the game feel more realistic.
~In prior years, the post game felt cumbersome when playing. It never felt fluid. Because of this, players would rely on their outside game, instead of the post game. They added a lot to the gameplay mechanic to make it feel more balance. This will make it more "fun' and explosive on the offense. Also, it will be a feature that players will actually utilize with this years version.
~The right stick hasn't really changed in this year's iteration. The majority of the time it is used for the shot stick; however, players have the option to use it as dribble moves as well.
~One of the reasons for the additions, they wanted to improve the "draw and kick" game in NBA 2K8. The A.I. will be cagey and take the ball away from you in you are careless with the ball.
~Chris Paul (the cover athlete) really contributed to this year's game. He spoke on things he could do in the game and insisted on them being added to the game. He provided comments on what he thought would be needed in the game. He insisted that he should be able to dunk in the game because he can do it in real life.
~The development team has a ton of ideas. Inspiration is the easiest part because they always have ideas of what should be added each year. Tons of the ideas have to put aside to next years game because of time constraints and technology.
~NBA Blacktop mode, the three-point shoot out, and the dunk contest are all alternatives for veterans to keep the game feeling fresh. They are there to help new players enjoy the game as well and provide the "fun" atmosphere that can make it a party game and a NBA simulation on the same game disk.
~The NBA 2K-developers lean a lot on the guys that develop the College basketball game. They are really strong about letting us know what is in the game and what player may thrive or struggle in the NBA. Some fragile players don't have the same impact on the professional game because they are fragile. However, there are exceptions to the norm.
~To make the Association seem more realistic, the developers have implemented four player personalities and five player roles. This allows the player to honor the roles which will have an impact on the gameplay. Not honoring roles can have negative effects on your team chemistry.
~If the player's low morale is hurting team chemistry, you can trade the player away to improve morale of the whole team.
~The A.I. is a lot better this year when passing the ball. The ball gets there much faster than previous years. This has an impact on the number of steals this year because of the speed of the passes. On a whole, the developers are never completely satisfied and always have ideas about improving the game. That allows them to approach each year with an idea of what needs to be done in next year's game.
~On the PS3, you can play online five on five. On the X-box 360, it is only four on four. This is because of the number of controllers supported by each console and this translates into online games as well.
~Fantasy draft is still a feature available online in both versions.
~They don't know the finale number on vintage jerseys. It takes time for new content or updates to make it into the game (especially for games on Microsoft's console). Even with roster updates, it has to be submitted to Microsoft before it can be downloaded via X-Box Live.
~College Hoops players and NBA 2K8 players will look drastically better when you added them to NBA 2K8. They will look exactly the same (besides team apparel).
~One thing the competition doesn't offer that is in NBA 2K8 is the dunk contests are available online.
