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Legends Of Wrestling Feature
Stephen Leyton
00/12/0000
This is the first-ever PlayStation 2 wrestling game to combine all of the greatest superstars FROM all over the world in one place.
Wrestling games on the console are hot news to any gaming fan. If you add some of the biggest stars from the US wrestling scene then you are on to a sure-fire winner - well, so Acclaim hope!
Legends of Wrestling is the first-ever wrestling game to combine all of the greatest superstars from all over the world in one place, and the action takes place both in the ring and in the crowd. The game's features are impressive with over 30 of the best wrestlers of all time, including Bret 'The Hitman' Hart, Jerry 'The King' Lawler, Jake 'The Snake' Roberts, Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka and George 'The Animal' Steele. There are also more than 12 bone-breaking match types, for example: Ladder, Scaffold, Barbed Wire, Three and Four-Way Dances, Six and Eight-Man Elimination Bouts, plus special guest referees. The riveting game ideas are pretty lengthy and to give us all the perfect insight into the game we spoke to its U.S. Lead Designer, Scott Shicoff.
This is the first project for this team as a group. Several team members have worked on past wrestling game (like Attitude or Warzone), but many of the team has never made a wrestling game. The team has a lot of industry experience and they are all excited to be working on this title.
There was tons of preliminary design and evaluation work before any coding started. Once all competitive products had been evaluated, various members of the team get together in an attempt to agree on priorities. Scot: "There's a lot that goes into making any game and you need to decide what to focus on. This doesn't mean anything is ignored per se, it just means that certain areas will require more work or will provide more âbang for the buckâ, so they get more attention. Once everyone knows the overall goals of the game, the designers set to work putting together a design document that will guide the team through the development process. This is a living document so it grows and changes as the project grows and changes."
See and believe
It appears that the hardest part of making a wrestling game (as opposed to other sports game) is coming up with a way for the users to play what they're used to seeing on TV. During a football game, all the players line up and then run their plays. During a pro wrestling match, the wrestlers work together to accomplish various moves and various situations throughout the match. In a video game, you have two players with their own goals (usually not working together at all) trying to accomplish wildly different things at various times. So the trick is to help them get in the situations they need to be in without taking control away.
Fame at last
Meeting some of the worldâs leading wrestlers must be cool but the team also collect resource material from videos, books, and the Internet, as well as getting various materials and information from the wrestlers themselves. What you might ask has been the reactions and input by wrestlers? Scott, "They're all excited to be a part of this game. They enjoy providing input and since some of these wrestlers have never formally been in a game, they're looking forward to seeing the finished product."
Wrestler have got some of the most expressive faces - well if you are in a neck hold and being hit left, right and centre, you are not going to look too happy. The real problem is - have you seen a wrestling game that looks really convincing? - A point I put to Scott. "We have developed a method that allows for recognisable faces that have actual expressions. So when a wrestler struggles to lift someone or gets hurt, you'll see it in his face."
The power and the glory
With the power of the PS2 the teamsâ job in creating one of the first PS2 wrestling titles, maybe even a flagship game must be slightly easier than its lesser PlayStation relation. "The frame rate of the PS2 is healthy and one of the first moves we put together was the big splash off the top for Superfly Jimmy Snuka. He makes his famous hand gestures then takes to the air. We are not so limited with memory restraints and so we can try to recapture the real essence of wrestling. As for the frame rate, we're shooting for 60 FPS, which is fast!" With the machine offering a way to present good lighting and textures we are at present working hard to get the lighting to compliment the wrestlers. Since this isn't a shooter, there won't be guns firing and such, but we're looking to take advantage of particle effects in various arena elements. We're also looking at using a similar system for blood and sweat. Most special effects beyond that will be used in entrances (corridors) and arenas.
In total control
Controlling these muscle bound brutes could not be easier as the team has the controls from previous games in an attempt to make them easier (and more rewarding) to just pick up and play. In this game, you'll be able to pull off moves with simple button presses rather than having to punch in complicated codes. You will also be able to link moves together for lethal combinations like never before with the press of a single button. They have also added functionality, where if you time your button presses correctly while pulling off a move, you can follow through into another move or even a pinning combination!
We have yet to see a wrestling game where the wrestler responds to the crowd baiting and although this will not happening in this offer - the wrestlers won't physically respond to the crowd, but their stats can be affected by the crowd's excitement. So get the crowd hot and you'll be rocking and rolling!
Another minus point is the fact that wrestlers do not get injured (that may come in the next game) but the artificial intelligence (AI) running the game is smart. The AI looks at the wrestler it's controlling (normally the opponent) and figures out what it's good at. It will then attempt to play on its strengths as well as your weaknesses. This will offer a real and true challenge to the gaming fan.
How am I doing?
To keep you informed of your progress, during a match, you'll see the wrestler's health and momentum. When the momentum is maxed out, the wrestler can perform a finishing move. During the career mode, you'll also see match excitement. This is important because you can move ahead in the career without winning every single match. Unless the title is on the line, it's almost more important to have a great match than to be victorious every single time.
Perhaps the one most important feature of a game, is the camera views - which are fixed camera views. There's a main camera view during general game play, but the camera will change during certain moves so as to give them the bone crunching look that they deserve.
Looking good but getting better!
All told, Legends looks fine, although graphically at present it needs improving, which IS being done. Running slightly later than expected, it means that Acclaim want to get this perfect! Although it offers the standardised presentation options like -Create-A-Wrestler and Create-A-Stable and TV broadcast presentation with all-new camera angles and cut scenes there will be a few surprises in store!
Summing up their creation was left to Scott. "Finally people will be able to play as their favourite wrestling heroes in a fun arcade style wrestling game.â
