A Letter To EA on how to (Finally) Fix NCAA's Presentation Problem... - RaychelSnr's Blog

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A Letter To EA on how to (Finally) Fix NCAA's Presentation Problem... Stuck

Posted on July 11, 2012 at 11:23 AM.

(75)

I'm a broadcast guy. A film guy. A creative pro. Nothing gets past me when it comes to camera angles, bad audio mixing, and mistimed lines.

So imagine my horror when I play NCAA Football 13.

The presentation isn't bad. It's solid, or maybe merely ok for a game. But solid presentation in video game sports means it's actually quite terrible in comparison to broadcast TV. Several games in our genre do a pretty good job of mimicking broadcast style presentations -- I'm looking at you The Show, NBA 2K and even Madden.

But for some reason, across the hall from Madden's excellent presentational approach is the NCAA team and what is quickly becoming the worst presentation in major sports titles. In fact, it probably is.

Can you think of a game that's worse?

I think we can establish there is clearly a problem here. So what's the solution? I've got a simple list of goals for EA's crew down in Orlando to follow when assembling this year's game:

Define what your are presenting. This one should be easy. You are either presenting a game as from in the stadium or on TV. Every other game in our genre has chosen the broadcast route because most people see sports from that vantage point so it enhances realism -- regardless of what the gameplay does. So NCAA team: freaking decide you are actually mimicking a TV broadcast. Nail that down. Internalize it. Honestly go to the Himalayas like Bruce Wayne did before becoming Batman and find yourself. Then come back ready to rock and roll.
Study college football broadcasts. Get in the film room and don't watch football. Watch the camera angles. Watch the score tickers, stat boxes, the commentary team. Watch how college football is presented on a Saturday. NCAA Football does not do this experience justice. It just doesn't.
Implement real camera angles. Now that you have studied broadcasts, you no doubt have realized that your game does not use actual camera angles. College Football broadcasts don't have dynamic swooping cinematic crane shots in between plays. They show shots of players, coaches, fans. It's all emotion. It's all passion. It's not a Steven Spielberg film. If you are confused, go ask your Madden brothers, they'll help you get started down the right path.
Make commentary flow. The commentary in NCAA Football has a serious problem. *wait 10 seconds before reading on* There are serious breaks between lines of commentary. *wait 5 seconds before reading on* And we all know conversations flow with massive breaks in between people talking right? *wait 10 seconds before reading on* So maybe this should be a point to fix next year eh?
Mix the audio properly. The first thing I notice about NCAA is how messed up the audio levels are when I'm in a game. The bands overpower the crowd, the crowd chants sound like 500 people are chanting them with the band overpowering everyone. The crowd noise period sounds like a studio crowd -- despite all claims to the contrary. Simply put, bring in any actual broadcast audio guy and have him work on the game -- because whoever is doing it now overall just doesn't get how to mix audio. I do it as part of my living, and I could spend three hours and have the audio mixed at more acceptable levels.
Stadium crowds are more dynamic than that. Remember those college football broadcasts? Remember how the fans were loud on defense? Remember how the fans would roar to their feet when a deep ball was thrown and they'd either erupt or a big sigh would be let out depending on what happened down field? Now ask yourself: Do the crowds in the game even remotely begin to convey this type of passion?
Make the week a storyline, not a bunch of random cut scenes. I want to give the NCAA team plenty of credit for a good start. Seriously. The studio updates and score ticker were great beginnings. But a college football week is more than that. There are storylines, other games affect your game. Commentators should make note of that -- they should be able to adequately describe the implications of what exactly is at stake. Let's use our imaginations and ask ourselves if an exchange like this would be amazing in NCAA (yes it's simplified and cheesy but just go with it)...and ask yourself if it's technically feasible. *spoiler* It is.

Reece: Well guys it looks like a major upset is in store here with this one. The #1 team in the Nation is going down tonight.
Brad: Thanks for the update Reece. Boy Kirk, I don't know about you but that makes this game a whole lot more important.
Kirk: It sure does, that means the winner of this game is now definitely going to be playing for the National Championship.

I mean...this isn't rocket science. It's time to go beyond novelty and add some real depth to the presentation.
Players aren't zombies. When a play is blown dead, players shouldn't randomly and aimlessly begin walking in every direction, bumping into each other or walking through each other. Is it that hard to give players a post-play script to move back to a huddle or to hurry it up back onto the line?
Hire someone to insert the actual records from each school and the NCAA into the game. I swear if I break an NCAA all-time receiving record for a game with 200 yards again, I'm going to cry into a pillow for the audacity of it all.
Finally, those stat banners and overlays? Starting lineups? Yeah, there should be more of them and more relevant items popping up. Ever notice how broadcasts will artificially insert storylines into games? For instance, show a stat box with QB #12's all time stats compared to the top record holders at Oklahoma for passing? Or in another instance a stat box or overlay with an old storyline from an old rivalry game. I know for a lot of big games the broadcasts will hearken back to the old games and show a picture or some video with a story of that game. Because College Football isn't just about the now, it's about the then. And Broadcast pros get that, people experienced the then and they see how it makes the now bigger.

What if you saw these types of overlays and knew you were closing in on, say, the actual NCAA record for all-time passing yards set by Timmy Chang? Would knowing you are 430 yards away not add some intrigue to a game? Would seeing an old rivalry result from the 80s not add context to the rivalry game you are playing? There's just so much unexplored territory here.

What would you all change about the presentation in NCAA Football for the 14 edition of the game?

Comments

# 16 Von Jenkins @ Jul 11

This was an excellent article and EA should really take a look and read for themselves.

# 17 woodjer @ Jul 11

Right on the money Chris, especially with your argument about presentation making gameplay feel better. As an example, I suck at NBA 2k11 and The Show but I still play them often because I feel like I'm actually in the middle of it somehow.

# 18 sparkdawg777 @ Jul 11

Yeh Chris you are right about the faster tempo for the band because Clemson does that as well and I have the fast Tiger Rag on custom sounds for TDs. Another thing, I'm not sure how other schools do it but Clemson plays the fight song through the PAT, but they soften very quietly as they are lined up and do not start playing loud again until he makes it. Not sure if other schools do the same thing.

# 19 woodjer @ Jul 11

Sorry, that comment about presentation helping gameplay feel better was you, sparkdawg. Still completely agree with Chris' article though.

And you know that you all did Reece, Brad, and Kirk's voices as you read those lines too.

# 20 bigsmallwood @ Jul 11

Great points all around! The problem EA doesn't have anybody to push them...so they have allowed an entire next-gen to be mediocre in the presentation department. The lack of excitement in the commentary, the replays are awful, and the zombie players are just a sample of what EA has done over 8+years.

Why even have the studio updates if half of the things going on don't make sense? Reece sounds horrendous! His musings don't even match the game he is discussing...it then doesn't flow back into Kirk and company. AND why haven't they had specific banter about the game and it's effects on the season? NBA 2K does a superb job with the commentary! Why can't Kirk and Brad discuss how USC's QB has been struggling the entire game and in the midst of their talk, he throws a bomb for a TD, they break away and get excited! I mean we have games from 2004 that captured this....its not rocket science.

But great write up!

# 21 DJ @ Jul 11

Great article. I've been banging this drum for years and sadly, very little has changed.

# 22 bryqan @ Jul 11

I think with #10 there's more of a legal problem since they can get away with using current players by number but not former players. Hence why in Heisman mode they had to make deals with each player

# 23 kishtripar @ Jul 11

BSchwartz07 @ Jul 11 (2 Hours Ago) "I like it, but let me add to your list....
11. Each game is different! When Ohio State smashes Akron my QB should not be jumping into the arms of his teammates like they just won a national title. Where is the excitement of a possible upset, or the drama of a high profile game? To have this you kind of need the low intensity of an early season snoozfes"
I couldnt agree more. I always start a dynasty as a 1 star and when I beat another lowly team or if I beat a top 10 team on the road, it reacts the exact same way! My player should be going crazy and the announcers should be shocked. No concept from EA on the different atmospheres of each individual game. Just sad

# 24 Dynastium @ Jul 11

Why is Brad Nessler still there?

# 25 gdav125 @ Jul 11

Great read. Glad to see someone gets it. Too many people don't see the value in real presentation and settle for this garbage in this game. On the subject of changing the camera angles, too many people are scared their one single gameplay angle will be changed. Here's an idea. How about adding more playable camera angles to the game! Innovative, right? No. This is only been available for all sports games since 1995. This deveopment team is trash. Total amount saved since I stopped buying NCAA FB: $180 (3yrs). Anyone courageous enough to join me?

# 26 Tdgsport27 @ Jul 11

"Dynastium @ Jul 11 (1 Hour Ago) Why is Brad Nessler still there?"

Because Brent Musburger would just say "Honey Badger" 20 times a quarter.
And great article btw, I think sometimes people make things harder than they actually are I think the presentation problem is a perfect example of that.

# 27 fsufan4423 @ Jul 11

Didn't some guys from OS get hired at EA? Being here for years and knowing exactly what the community would like to see in these games makes me wonder where EA actually stands on these issues. How members on here can come together and year after year present great ideals and yet the developers continue to ignore them is confusing.

Great read

# 28 Retropyro @ Jul 11

I'm guessing this year is just a right off. Basically tweak some of the problems from 12 that they can and get ready to overhaul the game like Madden next year.
I'm ok with that. I'm not ok with paying full price for it however. They should have put the game out at $29.99. If they had done that, I would not complain about a single thing in the game.

# 29 statum71 @ Jul 11

I think they were attempting to improve presentation last year by adding the specific intros.....which is cool.

BUT......that's not presentation, that's atmosphere.

# 30 kingsofthevalley @ Jul 11

I've been saying the same exact thing for YEARS man. Great article. I posted in another thread that you have to have a very powerful imagination to enjoy EAs version of college football because its just NOT there for you to actually see in game.

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