NBA Live 2010 - Cover Released

[caliblue15]

NBA Live 2010

WARNING: DO NOT BASH THE OTHER GAME IF YOU DO YOU WILL BE REPORTED TO THE MODS. THIS IS A DISCUSSION THREAD NOT A BASHING THREAD!

Screenshots:

[caliblue15]

NBA LIVE 10. LIVE is back.

That’s right…I said it. And I mean it. NBA LIVE has an extremely rich tradition of creating some amazing basketball video games, but admittedly has had a tough couple of years recently and the product hasn’t lived up to expectations…both internally as well as externally.

Some of you may have read how we’ve changed the team making the game…moving some people around and bringing some people onboard to complement the existing team. We’ve also really honed in on where the game was deficient and addressed those areas. The direction this year has been about making LIVE a great playing basketball game again, while focusing on improving our in game presentation, visuals and atmosphere, getting to a never seen before level of authenticity with our players, providing you with a brand new way of playing OTP and taking Dynamic DNA to an entirely new level, both with how it impacts players and gameplay throughout the NBA season as well as how you as a connected user use it to change the way to play NBA LIVE.

You’ll be happy to hear that gameplay was at the top of that list and I am extremely happy to report that the game (even with 2 months of development left) is already playing better than any other NBA LIVE title. I’ve been saying that we’re “fixing the cracks in the foundation of gameplay”. That basically means we’re focusing on fixing those controller throwing moments where the game does or doesn’t do something that really frustrates you. We will also be offering you an unparalleled level of user control that will completely change the way that you play the game (not marketing speak here…). I’m also really excited about the level of authenticity and team differentiation that you’ll see in the game this year. Again, like nothing seen in a basketball game to date. I’ll let the experts break all of this down for you in the coming weeks as Mike Wang, Jeff Antwi and Novell Thomas will get into more detail on exactly what we’ve done and why.

Matt Lafreniere will be walking you through what was done with the in game presentation. From everything to the individual game atmosphere based on when and where the game is being played and who’s playing in it to the new broadcast graphics package and presentation. We’ve seen the two Czarisodes (http://www.operationsports.co/videoview.php?id=390 and http://www.operationsports.com/newspost.php?id=325692) that were posted on OS. This is another area where we knew we were really falling short in 09. NBA LIVE 10 has taken a huge leap forward in this area and I think the Czar’s scores will look much different when he does his NBA LIVE 10 vs NBA2K10 Czarisodes next year.

Marcus will give you some more insight into Synergy Sports and what they do for their NBA teams as well as how it impacts you when you play NBA LIVE throughout the season. This is a service used by 80% of the teams in the NBA. The fact that we are using their data and tendencies to affect the way players in NBA LIVE play based on their performance during the NBA season is second to none. We’ve completely removed the subjectivity of ratings driving gameplay…everything is based on real world performance on a daily basis. I can go on and on about Dynamic DNA. I really think it’s the most innovative feature sports games have ever seen. NBA LIVE 10 will finally have the core gameplay in a position to really make this innovation shine.

Garreth Reeder will be walking you all through the evolution of Dynamic DNA as well as our online feature set this year. We’re still going to be offering a daily DNA update plus something that should blow you guys away. Not going to divulge anything at this point…except for the fact that there will be a lot of guys who were posting wish lists or ideas about the next steps for DNA throughout the past 6 or 7 months that are going to be pumped about it. Also, as I mentioned above, OTP will take on a whole new meaning that I think you’ll find both relevant and extremely addictive.

The following quote off of the OS boards caught my eye and I thought I’ve give Jamin23 something to look forward to…

“The only thing I want to know is if they have Lebrons rosin or any pregame intro and I'm a happy camper for now” – Jamin23 (http://www.operationsports.com/forum...post2039690565)



Keep in mind…the visuals in this screen shot are a WIP. It is an in game screen shot running at 60 FPS with no Photoshop touch ups. Once we’re in a position to show you guys final visuals and animation, Ryan Santos will post a video that shows the enormous amount of detail that has gone into the players this year. You guys will not believe the attention to detail that has been placed on tattoos, player heads and hair, shoes, uniforms as well as signature shots and moves. We’ll be creating numerous videos to showcase all of this over the summer.

See the happy camper Jamin23 below…



I wish I could get into more detail for you guys right now. With so much time left in the development cycle, I can’t risk divulging too much information at this point. We do have to be mindful that we have a strong competitor that can see this post just as easily as any of you can. That being said, you will be seeing a new blog right here each Friday followed by a guest appearance on our radio show the following Monday touching on absolutely everything that we’ve done to the game this year.

Good or bad, we want to hear your comments and feedback about what we post. Ideally you’re giving us specific feedback or ideas that we can run with. Our goals are the same as yours…we want to create the most authentic basketball game. Authentic basketball is cool regardless of how hardcore or casual of a gamer you are and how sim of an experience you’re looking for. Everybody (including us) is looking to make NBA LIVE 10 the most realistic basketball game and if it’s not it’s only because we haven’t made it yet.

By the time the game ships in early October, you guys will know it all and will have played the demo to see for yourselves what we’ve pulled off this year. I’m not going to sit here and sell or convince you on how great NBA LIVE 10 is going to be…I’m going to sit back and let the game do the talking.

[shadows4545]

BTW, Doesn't D. Howard's face looks like the girl found in the closet from "The Ring" movie?
http://img2.timeinc.net/ew/dynamic/i...the-ring_l.jpg

[mikejet]

LOL just like in real life. NBA Live is second place and so is HOWARD!

[cajmoyper]

I disagree because 09 had the greatest over of all time featuring Tony Parker. Even though I never actually played it.

[MCT]

Originally Posted by mikejet

LOL just like in real life. NBA Live is second place and so is HOWARD!

+10010101010489298723947294



although I must admit last years 2K was a bit of a disappointment. My copy was buggy as hell. So many things wrong with it, I felt like 2K Sports just rushed the game out virtually untested. I played it several times and all kinds of crazy shit happened, so I traded it in after a month or two. I have faith that this years version will no doubt be a strong comeback game for them, they need it badly.

[shadows4545]

Okay, all jokes aside. I have noticed that NBA Live is going in the right direction. Like the article mentioned, I am happy to hear that they are focusing a lot on gameplay because in my opinion this is where LIVE falls short compared to the 2k franchise. Last year's game was the first time in a couple of years that I thought LIVE has a chance if they iron some things out. If they play their cards right in this year or next year's edition; LIVE may be able to sway people, like myself, away from the 2k franchise.

[Horhay]

Originally Posted by shadows4545

Okay, all jokes aside. I have noticed that NBA Live is going in the right direction. Like the article mentioned, I am happy to hear that they are focusing a lot on gameplay because in my opinion this is where LIVE falls short compared to the 2k franchise. Last year's game was the first time in a couple of years that I thought LIVE has a chance if they iron some things out. If they play their cards right in this year or next year's edition; LIVE may be able to sway people, like myself, away from the 2k franchise.

+1

I stopped playing NBA Live since the 05 edition mainly because it was just awful, if they are able to fix all their issues maybe I'll give them another chance.

[Bruce_Banner]

nba live 09 sucked. the scoreboard blocked the left basket

[Wreck]

2k sucks, LIVE 09 kicked its ass and so will 2010!

[caliblue15]

Originally Posted by Wreck

2k sucks, LIVE 09 kicked its ass and so will 2010!

Wreck, don't make me report you, can you not see the big RED letters? lol

[Mystique]

The cover is really cool looking, but I'm not buying it though because you know why!

[sugarsnaps]

I'm happy to see NBA live going in a better direction or atleast trying to. It's always not good when one developer always dominates every year against 2 other titles. I have to say NBA live 09 still had issues but it's definitely a change from previous titles. 2k9 didn't really do much, although it still beat out Live 09 and NBA 09. So we'll see this year who wins.

[Wreck]

Originally Posted by caliblue15

Wreck, don't make me report you, can you not see the big RED letters? lol

I tried to hold myself back , but I saw all these guys bashing my favorite NBA game since .... FOREVER ... and I just couldnt hold back .. someone had to step in and defend its name. Especially from that Horhay guy

There's alot of 2K loyals, but they'll switch eventually as LIVE is getting better and better and 2K is getting worse. IMOOOOOOO!

[caliblue15]

Last year the world was introduced to the EA SPORTS Virtual Playbook. A combination of a real life analyst and virtual players extracted from Madden 09 appearing on screen together to break down the game. It was an amazing accomplishment for everyone involved and the technology’s success opened the flood gates to other applications.

Fast forward a year later to the 08-09 NBA playoffs and you may have seen one of those applications with players from NBA Live 09 appearing next to Jon Barry. EA SPORTS and ESPN had linked up again and for the first time created a virtual playbook for basketball.

EA and ESPN decided they wanted to shoot Virtual Playbook segments with NBA Live 09 and use it for the playoffs and I got to go to Orlando and be a part of the shoot. I was there to help produce the different sets and plays with NBA Live 09 that ESPN wanted to showcase and breakdown. This meant sitting down with 1 to 3 other people (a great assortment of guys from Jason Parker to a number of different members of ESPN’s emerging technology group that were producing the segment) playing the game and trying to run the different plays.



In order to get a usable take the play had to be one continuous shot, which meant the whole play had to be run perfectly in one take. We did all the plays together on the fly and came away with some really cool stuff. It was challenging with some of the more complex sets we did (IE. The Lakers’ triangle offense) and some of these ended up being too complicated to try and fit in. With the time crunch the shoot was under, there were some classic late nights with Jason and the ESPN crew and I think everyone had a pretty great time being a part of something new like this.

I think the coolest part of the whole week (besides eating lunch with Jon Barry and reminiscing about the Vancouver Grizzlies and tossing out once famous names of players we remembered; Blue Edwards, Pete Chilcutt, Michael Dickerson to name a few) was learning about the ways that the basketball shoot was different than what they did with football. The Madden shoot was a huge breakthrough and since it had been proven it they could do it a lot had been learned about what else was possible. Learning about these things as the production went on was pretty interesting. Jason Parker outlines some of the major ones:

• The biggest difference between the two was the environment. The football segments were taped on a set that was significantly smaller than a football field. To make it work, not all of the 22 players on the field could be visible at the same time.

• Since the NBA shoot was done on a real basketball court, we didn’t have to hide any players (although some were hidden during the second shoot).

• Another difference was the virtual basket. Other than the ball, there were no in-game props used in the football tapings. The virtual basket allowed the virtual players to hit field goals.

• The final major difference was sound. The football segments were silent, but the basketball ones had shoe squeaks and ball sounds. It really helped make the players feel like they were there.

I find it really interesting how the technology we deal with and present in video games now has the potential to play a new role in the way people see and understand sports. Hopefully this can lead to creating more excitement about the real sport and in turn make the video game more relevant; maybe even one day using EA SPORTS games as teaching tools. In the end I think one of the goals that everyone who works on a sports video game has in one way or another is to make a game that can make people see the real game in a different way. In doing so there is an opportunity to get fans excited about everything from the real thing to the potential for their own involvement in both virtual reality and real life. I think the path that is being paved with this technology is certainly steering us in that direction.



The logical next question is: What could be next for the Virtual Basketball Playbook?

Well, after playing the game and seeing what we could and couldn’t get to the first time, there are a number of areas that have yet to be fully tapped. I think a major catalyst for exploring those areas will come with being able to use NBA Live 10. Playing Live 09 for an extended period of time while shooting after having been playing Live 10 so much makes me see just how far things have come in the last year. With NBA Live 10 I think we will be able to examine a wider variety of the finer points of the game that Live 10 captures which will lead to: more intricate plays, broader scope of teaching points and the opportunity to look deeper into individual player and team styles and tendencies. Some of the technical improvements that could be ahead include: projecting virtual shadows onto the real court and virtual player scaling relative to real life people.

All these elements will continue to advance a technology designed to show fans what is beyond the video game and expose and teach them new things in interesting ways which will take them deeper into both the real and virtual world of sport.

-Sean Cambpell, Producer

[sugarsnaps]

I just hope they fixed the bugs in 09, I've been an avid 2k player for years and had bought Live 09 last year and saw a lot of improvement in it. Still had some bugs in the game (especially the repetitive offensive rebound dunk). Hopefully 2010 is the start of a another basketball gaming run for video games, as 2k has dominated for the last few years.

[Bad8511]

So let me get this straight. You lose in the Finals and you get the cover of a video game? How about some respect for the Lakers. Has Kobe ever been on the cover? I f he has, then it's time a cover featured a whole starting five.

[Wreck]

Originally Posted by Bad8511

So let me get this straight. You lose in the Finals and you get the cover of a video game? How about some respect for the Lakers. Has Kobe ever been on the cover? I f he has, then it's time a cover featured a whole starting five.

This happens all the time, tons of diff sports games, so yeah.

Starting Five .... The Dream Team or nothing else.

[toneloctr]

Originally Posted by Wreck

This happens all the time, tons of diff sports games, so yeah.

Starting Five .... The Dream Team or nothing else.

I think they should do what they did with the NCAA Football cover a few years back and had a player from the past on it, they could use the actual dream team from 1992 which would be awesome.

[caliblue15]

Originally Posted by Bad8511

So let me get this straight. You lose in the Finals and you get the cover of a video game? How about some respect for the Lakers. Has Kobe ever been on the cover? I f he has, then it's time a cover featured a whole starting five.

He was on NBA 07 sonys bball game.