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World Tour Golf Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
13/02/2006
TVG chats to the team behind the "Pro Evolution" of golf games and discovers some of what Gusto have in store...
Oxygen INTERACTIVE has hardly sparked onto the gaming scene with a string of poorly received titles such as Pilot Down: Behind Enemy Lines and Conspiracy: Weapons of Mass Destruction. However the UK publisher is beginning to show some signs of a resurgence as it readies a number of sports titles including Winter Sports and World Championship Poker 2. Arguably the biggest title comes from Gusto Games in the shape of World Tour Golf, a simulation that promises to put the depth and realism back onto the green.
TVG had an opportunity recently to catch up with Struan Robertson, Associate Producer on the title, who revealed exactly why World Tour Golf can meet the challenge of Tiger Woods.
Many people say that with Tiger Woods and Links before it golf games have come as far as they can. How would you counter this comment and what does World Tour Golf do to separate itself from the crowd?
I'd say that patently isn't true. I love both games but they focus on an arcade approach to golf, we're going for something closer to a simulation. Golf is a varied sport, it's enjoyed by a wide variety of people and each golfer will approach the same shot in a different way - something we've tried to capture with our control mechanism. We want people to be able to play each situation the way they want to play it, not just picking shot types from a menu. We're also doing things that have never been done in console golf games, but the time's not right to announce those yet!
"We're also doing things that have never been done in console golf games..."
"We've made the analogue swing even more analogue."
Perhaps you could explain some of the fresh innovations and new ideas you feel are on offer and how these lead to a true simulation?
As I said, the other games on the market have decided to go with a more "arcadey" approach to golf games. Don't get me wrong, I think this works well for them - but we wanted to provide as much of a simulation of the golf swing as we could without making the game as tough as the real sport. Professional golfers have a huge variety of shots available to them and not just shots they choose from a menu before they play them. It's not like they just decide to hit the same chip shot from within 3 feet of the green every time: each shot has subtle differences in terms of the swing plane, the launch angle, the spin on the ball, the clubface angle and the power of the swing and that's something we've tried to capture. We've made the analogue swing even more analogue. That'll make more sense when you get your hands on it, trust me.
Perfection pertaining to the physics of the ball along with the creation of the courses is top of the list in any golf game. Firstly have you written your own physics engine and how have you gone about creating the courses on offer.
Yes we've written our own physics engine. It was extremely important for us to have total control over the way the ball is moved and the only way we were going to do that was to learn all about it and write it ourselves. The attention to detail goes way beyond the ball flight too. How much geek talk can your brain handle? Well, greens have accurate Stimpmeter measurements, clubs have accurate Coefficient of Restitution (COR) measurements, the dimple pattern on a ball makes a difference, wind affects the spin as well as the flight of the ball - it's all in there.
The courses have come about in a really organic way which I like. We've made our own tool for making the courses which allows us to prototype ideas really quickly and just whack them in game and see if they work. A golf course needs to do two things in my opinion: it needs to make you use your golfing skills and it needs to look good doing it. Golf isn't about just whacking one shot after the other without thinking; you should have to plan your way around the course, limiting the damage where the course doesn't suit your style and maximising your scoring when it does. Many of us on the team play golf so we've already got a good idea of how courses should look and play but we've also been using information like scoring books, course guides and the like as well as visiting local courses for ideas.
What courses and locations are on offer and can players expect licensed pros to choose from and to compete against?
The ink is still drying on some of the contracts so I won't say too much about them at the moment but the courses will be a mixture of licensed courses and our own creations and the players too will be made up of a combination of licensed and Gusto-created characters.
The swing technique has slowly evolved throughout videogames, from the triple-click system pioneered by Links to the analogue technique favoured by Tiger Woods; what does World Tour Golf offer that sets it out as the next evolution?
I can't go into any more detail about our control method because it's CLASSIFIED INFORMATION. You'll learn more about that in due course, but I've already talked about how we feel that shots should be played in a more analogue way than just picking a shot from a menu. I guess people are going to have to speculate on what I mean by that for a while.
What game modes will be on offer and will there also be online play?
The game's going to feature the usual array of single and multi-player game modes as well as a nice career mode where you take a golfer from rookie obscurity to king of the golfing world. At the moment, we've got PC network play and PSP Wi-Fi link up going on but, implementing online play has to take a back seat at the moment as we've got other aspects to get right first. I'm a big fan of Xbox Live, however, so I hope we can find the time to implement that too.
"Someone coined the phrase that World Tour Golf is like the Pro Evolution Soccer of golf games."
The game is being developed on PC, PS2, XBOX and PSP. How do you ensure all formats are shown to the best effect and not a generic form?
We've got our own cross-platform engine at Gusto which allows us to develop most code for use on all machines. On top of that, each platform has its own specific programming lead working on optimising the code and graphics so the game doesn't come out looking generic. Each platform has its advantages and disadvantages from a development point of view and it's important that we're aware of these and that we make use of each machine as best we can.
Have you brought in any outside expertise and what are your general thoughts about other golfing titles?
We've motion captured a local pro and read a hell of a lot of golf magazines and literature to make sure we're not making any blunders. The great thing about golf is that it's so popular and as such, it tends to get written about a lot which has given us a wealth of information to use to make this game stand out as something different. I think in a way, that this has made the golf game market a pretty healthy place; there are a bunch of widely different titles, ranging from cutesy, almost puzzle like games with a three-click system, to games that use complex peripherals to replicate the golf swing but I believe there's room for one more. Someone coined the phrase that World Tour Golf is like the Pro Evolution Soccer of golf games and whilst that's a bold statement to make, I think there's something to it. Before Pro Evo's realism gave the football game market a kick in the bum, you would have thought there wasn't room for anyone to take on the big boys but look at it now. People like both arcadey sports games and simulations and I think people will take to what we're achieving with World Tour Golf and enjoy it.
What level of presentation are you aiming for in terms of camera angles and the overall style?
We're aiming for something a little more TV-like with the cameras. So rather than having the camera follow the ball a few inches behind it in flight or go all bullet time around the golfer, we're having them track it from various points around the course as you would see on the BBC. We'll have replays and the like in the game - anything we think will help with getting the pace of golf presentation right.
Motion Capture has become a standard technique within sports titles. What are your thoughts on its use and do you feel this offers increased levels of realism and smoother gameplay?
The golf swing is an enormously difficult thing to animate by hand so we've used motion capture as a basis for all of our swings. I'm not sure it offers smoother gameplay but I do think it helps with immersing the gamer in the round if it doesn't look like they're playing as a stuttering beginner.
"It's good to be doing something different within the golf genre."
What kind of customising can be done by the player/s?
Customisation is something that is central to our golf game. There will be a separate announcement about that soon, because, again, we're doing things there that haven't been done in console golf previously.
What one feature do you feel gamers will be most impressed with and exemplifies what World Tour Gold has to offer?
I'm particularly fond of some of the graphical touches and the way you get to shape your shots. We're still balancing the system but when you play a really sweet approach and have the ball spin towards a protected pin position the feeling you get is great.
Any final thoughts you'd like to offer?
I'm just really excited about where the game is at the moment. We've got some great unique features and they're working together nicely. It's good to be doing something different within the golf genre.
TVG would like to thank Struan Robertson for providing this insight into what's shaping up to be an intriguing prospect for golf fans. World Tour Golf is scheduled for a UK release in Q2 2006; TVG will have further information on the title soon...
