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

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RaychelSnr's Blog

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

# 61 thecommish76 @ Jul 17

Terrific read and it pinpoints a lot of what everyone is thinking about NCAA Football. Football is made for TV entertainment. The NFL is best seen with ten different screens on a Sunday. College football is a little different because being at the game is a little more meaningful. People wait all year and sleep outside to be at a big game.

The massive crowds and the atmosphere is why it is much harder to win on the road in college football than it is in the NFL. EA has failed to give someone like me from the Northeast, the true feeling of what 100,000 fans feel like at stadiums I'll probably never see. Maybe on the next-gen console we may see that more, but I highly doubt things will change for NCAA 14 on the 360 or the PS3.

# 62 rudyjuly2 @ Jul 17

Excellent article! EA so needs to improve NCAA presentation.

# 63 kunner @ Jul 17

The overall atmosphere needs to be redone. I remember the game in 2010 when Ohio State went into Madison as the #1. Pregame, one of the panoramic camera shots was so shaky, you could barely see, that was just from the crowd noise. Watch youtube highlights of David Gilreath taking the opening kick back for a TD, and listen to that crowd. Those are the types of things this game is missing.