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Exclusive: This Is Football 2004 Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
09/02/2004
Online support, EyeToy Support and Multiple Career Paths - TVG, gets the definitive answers...
There is a list of premier football games that over the last few years have pretty much stayed constant. There are no new pretenders, just the good old faithful. Everyone has their own favourite - be it the polish and realism of FIFA or the sheer challenge and competitive nature of PES. This is Football, you could say, sits comfortably between the two and has its own fan base, an exclusive one, on the PS2.
As the calendar years moves on, we can annually expect a new improved version, with tuned up features and new idiosyncrasies that make you wonder why they were never there in the first place.
Our resident features writer, Derek dela Fuente, who is a Millwall supporter and so appreciates that no one likes him, got the opportunity to chat with Kevin Mason, Senior Designer on the game.
TVG: Could you tell the readers a little about the make up of the team developing this game, what have you done before and what you believe is the teamâs core expertise?
The make-up of the team has changed quite dramatically over the 18 â“ 24 months of development. In the final analysis, 29 programmers, 16 artists, 4 designers, 2 graphic designers, 1 sound engineer, 1 project lead and 1 producer have formed the core team, although several people have left and arrived during that time, so we probably peaked at around 45 core team members. Being quite a large team, we have quite a diversity of backgrounds and experience. We have people here who have previously worked at Silicon Dreams, HotGen, Studio 33, EA, Rebellion, Criterion, Bam and Rare. We also have a lot of graduates straight from university with degrees in computing, maths and physics. Sadly, there is only a couple of TiF veterans left who worked on the original PSone game which began development back in 1997. As a result of the diversity of the team itâs impossible to single out a core expertise.
TVG: When you began the 2004 version, what were the ideology and aspirations and do you also take note of other football games and try to offer some new ideas that others have not?
Our ideology hasnât changed since we began work on the original TiF back in 1997. The ideology comprised four main points â“ Accessibility, Depth, Authenticity and Fun â“ and we still measure our game against those ideals now.
First of all, we design and focus test our game to make sure that it is accessible, otherwise the majority of users will not play it enough to discover its depth and we would have certainly failed in making the game fun for those users. We try to ensure that itâs simple to do the simple things, such as pass, shoot and tackle. Once the user has gained confidence in the basics, they then start to explore with the varieties of moves, such as one-twos, give-and-gos, chip shots and special skills.
In terms of depth, we have not only a depth of teams and competitions, (we have over 900 teams in the game and 23 different league seasons) but we also have a lot of depth within the game play for users to discover as they grow more experienced. This depth is found in all elements of the game, especially in the passing, shooting, tackling and dribbling systems. As mentioned above, the user can perform one-twos and give-and-gos to penetrate defences, there is a range of cross types which the user can employ, there is a rich variety of shots, chips, headers and volleys, there is a selection of dribbling and control moves based on whether the player is standing, running or sprinting with the ball and there is a host of different tackles with varying degrees of aggression. There is also a great deal of depth in getting to know your team and the individual playerâs abilities. The stats play a crucial role in defining what players are capable of and youâll find very different challenges when you take control of Brazil compared to say, the Cook Islands.
It would be fair to say that FIFA and PES have represented the two ends of our ideology with regard to Accessibility and Depth, with FIFA representing a very accessible game and PES representing a very deep game. We have aimed to place ourselves between these two games, such that we are very accessible for new or casual users whilst also having the depth of game play and game modes that hardcore gamers enjoy.
Another ideology that we felt was crucial to football fans was the authenticity of the game. Football game fans rightly demand that the latest transfers are represented, that player and team names are correct, stadiums and kits are accurately modelled and competitions/ leagues adhere to their real-world rules. We have a FIFPro Licence that allows us to use the vast majority of real player names. Unfortunately, owing to various legal rulings in recent times, we are not allowed to use real names for the Dutch and German national teams, so we use fake names in game, but we do allow the user to re-name players using the custom team options, so it hopefully isnât too inconvenient. We also have the latest transfer data after the close of the January transfer window, so everything is bang up to date. We have a mixture of real and âfantasyâ stadia in TiF 2004, although our fantasy stadia were designed by a leading architectural agency, HOK and Lobb, so they seem completely authentic. They have been responsible for Sunderlandâs Stadium of Light and Benficaâs new stadium which will host the final of Euro 2004 and which we are delighted to have in our game.
Although our final (and most important) ideology, Fun, is blatantly obvious and is a âgivenâ in any design for a game, we try to quantify the types of fun that the user should be having when playing TiF. Basically, we have a tick-list of emotions we want the user to feel when playing the game, because there is fun to be had even in stressful game situations as the user tries to battle against adversity. When we test the game we are aware of how the game is affecting us emotionally and as long as the right emotions are being triggered through the challenge of the game, then we are confident that our game is fun.
When looking at other football games, obviously yes, we play and enjoy all football games, not just FIFA and PES. Games like Squareâs World Fantasista have offered new and interesting game mechanics, especially with regard to their tackling system. Namcoâs Libero Grande is a radical approach to the genre as it only allows you to play as one player and has a third person camera, as opposed to the traditional side on view of almost all football games. We believe that there is great potential for an online game mode which utilises this type of play, which we will investigate in the future.
As for new ideas, weâre very excited about our online mode. By the time FIFA 2004 came out we already had our online element working, so we were keen to see how we matched up. Although FIFA does play a decent online game, what it does lack is a co-operative mode and that is a crucial element that TiF has which FIFA does not. When we think of our favourite games, the vast majority of them are multiplayer co-operative games and it is the co-operative element that makes us return to them again and again, so obviously we were very keen to have co-operative online play in TiF. TiF 2004 allows 4 versus 4 game play, with users able to play separately on different PS2s or join together on the same PS2, using a Multi Tap if necessary. It is this co-operative element that makes TiF 2004 a far more social game than FIFA and one that hopefully people will return to time and time again.
TVG: Continuing on from the last question. With the standard of football games so high and most of these games stretching the PS2 to its limit, how can you improve on the current batch of games and what kind of improvements will this version offer over the 2003 offering?
Having re-worked the technology which drives TiF, we now have a game that looks and feels more realistic and enjoyable than any previous version of TiF ever. The main improvements in-game have been to the ball physics, which in turn have allowed us to have new dribbling, passing and shooting systems. All of these systems offer more realism and variety than weâve seen in a TiF game before.
As mentioned above, weâre also really pleased with our online game and weâre looking forward to some exciting and ambitious online game modes in the near future.
There are lots of ideas in the pipe-line for the next version of TiF which we canât really talk about yet; however, SCEE recently announced its partnership with Digimask which will utilise our Eye Toy technology to allow the user to get their face in the game. TiF will be using this technology so that the user can appear as a player in future versions of the game.
TVG: Can you go into a little detail pertaining to the deeper management options?
In last yearâs version of TiF, we introduced a transfer market to the season mode. This year weâve made a lot of enhancements and improvements to make it a more tense, tactical and realistic experience.
You now have the ability to set the transfer status of each player in your squad to available (youâre not encouraging bids, but you will listen to offers for a player), unavailable (you will not receive any bids for a player) or transfer listed (you are actively trying to sell the player). CPU teams will react accordingly to a playerâs transfer state, so if you put a player on the transfer list you can expect lots of bids, but not for as much money as you would normally expect.
There are also CPU bidding wars for players. This can work in your favour when the CPU teams are battling to get one of your stars or it can work against you when several clubs are making escalating offers for one of your transfer targets. These bidding wars add a real tension to the game as you have to decide whether to stick with your original bid, increase your bid and how much you should increase your bid by. The CPU teams are extremely competitive in the transfer market and you can find yourself out-bid at the last moment if you arenât equally competitive.
Another big improvement that weâve made is to the career cycle of players. Previously there was only one career path for a player â“ their stats would improve each year until they reached 27 / 28 years old. After that time most stats would start to decline until the player retired. In the latest version there are multiple career paths. So there are young players who look like they will be superstars, yet never reach their full potential. There will older players who look like theyâre on a downward slope who then have a final flourish before retiring. These are just two of many career cycles that the players can follow. This means that the user has to be more astute when weighing up transfer options.
TVG: This is Football 2004 includes a mammoth list of teams, players and leagues. What source do you use for this research and how important is it to get everything right?
To get the teams and player data we work with a company based in Scotland called Touch-Line who provide us with player and team statistics (to help us determine player and team ratings) and data (names, height, weight, etc.). They ensure that all of our transfer data is up to the minute, including any big signings made in the January transfer window.
TVG: The game offers the chance to see and execute some of the skills of very famous players, so with so many teams how do you assign skills to a team. I.E., if you select Real Madrid you have a collection of famous player and their signature move but pick a team like Southampton, will the user still have a list of features skills for the team - How is this assigned?
There is a variety of skill moves in the game ranging from silky smooth spin feints to mundane and clumsy shimmies. We assign these skills based on the individual playerâs ball control and dribbling ratings. In this way youâll see the difference between a top international and a poor lower league player.
TVG: This is Football 2004 offers improved passing and shooting systems. Please tell us more.
The freedom of the ground passing system was one of the strengths of TiF 2003 and this year weâve made marked improvements to the passing system and to the pass reception behaviour of the players. The passing system includes ground passes, aerial passes and throughballs. The ground passing system has a great deal of user control. Both FIFA and PES tend to doctor your passes such that they can ignore your controller directional input and auto-target your team mate. In TiF, we leave this skill completely in the userâs hands, such that the ball will go in the direction requested by the user. This means that our ground passing system rewards the userâs skill more than in FIFA and PES.
The aerial passing system has undergone a complete re-vamp such that we now use power bars to allow the user to play the ball exactly where they want.
The shooting system has also changed completely as a result of our new ball physics. We now use an angle bar which, along with the analogue control stick, allows you to place the ball where you want. This gives the user a great deal of control and the variety of goals that you can score is massive in comparison with previous versions of TiF.
All of these re-vamps reward the skill of the user much more than previous versions of TiF.
TVG: What new in game player skills are on offer and if you had to pick just one new addition or improvement what would that be?
There is a great variety of special skills, which players of different abilities can use. Skills such as shimmies, step overs and spin feints are available and there are variations of these dependent on the playerâs ability.
The new dribbling system is something that weâre really pleased with, particularly when you initially receive the ball whilst standing. You have the ability to drag the ball away from advancing defenders, turn and leave them for dead in one swift movement. The effect is like a matador turning away from an oncoming bull. That is the move in the game which gives people the biggest buzz when they get it right.
TVG: How would you classify This is Football in terms of genre? Do you see it as an arcade sim and do you feel this offers more than other similar games?
In our opinion, TiF is more of a simulation than an arcade experience.
TiF offers a more balanced experience than other football games. FIFA seems too shallow and automated with little to discover after a few plays, whilst PES is too far the other way with its steep and unforgiving learning curve. TiF is balanced to encourage the new player whilst also having depth to please the hardcore.
TVG: Thanks for you time. To end, sum up the This is Football experience in one sentence!
The This is Football experience is one that has been created by the fans for the fans.
