RaychelSnr's Blog
With so many details, are sports games fit for one year cycles in the future? 
Posted on February 22, 2013 at 12:25 PM.
Consider the following screenshot of the upcoming PS4 game Killzone: Shadow Fall. Consider the fact that this is a launch title on a console, the first generation of software. Consider how no first generation software title on a new console looks nearly as good as it's peers later in the cycle. Just imagine all of that as you look at the following high-res screenshot:
Click for full res-screenshot with all the details.
As I sat and watched the PlayStation 4 reveal on Wednesday evening, all I could think about was that gaming systems were now capable of really getting into the soul of their characters on screen, in a way that they have never been able to before. With the additional details, you could more realistically show off faces and real emotion, not unlike CGI movies today.
While watching the Killzone: Shadow Fall trailer, I saw a lot to be familiar with in games. The walking was sometimes awkward compared to real life, there were still 'gamey' aspects to the whole experience. But what got me most about the trailer were the details. Fine details. Big details. Small details.
So many details. So much detail.
My mind then asked another highly pertinent question -- can sports game developers deliver that much detail in a twelve month development cycle on the next generation of consoles? Can they deliver more than that as the console matures and games look even better?
Over time, the answer is probably yes as development systems and such get better with handling so much power. For the first year or two of sports games on the new console? That answer has to be a resounding no.
Over the life cycle of a console generation, it is to be expected to see games grow and get better. Developers will get more adept at developing with so much detail, they'll have better software to help make their experience of developing so much detail, they'll learn how to maximize the amount of detail on screen. But in the short term, everything will certainly be tougher, and getting as much detail as possible out of a system will not be easy.
You can actually see how this played out in the current generation of consoles. Compare these two screenshots of NCAA Football:
NCAA Football 08
NCAA Football 13
As I sat and watched the PlayStation 4 reveal on Wednesday evening, all I could think about was that gaming systems were now capable of really getting into the soul of their characters on screen, in a way that they have never been able to before. With the additional details, you could more realistically show off faces and real emotion, not unlike CGI movies today.
While watching the Killzone: Shadow Fall trailer, I saw a lot to be familiar with in games. The walking was sometimes awkward compared to real life, there were still 'gamey' aspects to the whole experience. But what got me most about the trailer were the details. Fine details. Big details. Small details.
So many details. So much detail.
My mind then asked another highly pertinent question -- can sports game developers deliver that much detail in a twelve month development cycle on the next generation of consoles? Can they deliver more than that as the console matures and games look even better?
Over time, the answer is probably yes as development systems and such get better with handling so much power. For the first year or two of sports games on the new console? That answer has to be a resounding no.
Over the life cycle of a console generation, it is to be expected to see games grow and get better. Developers will get more adept at developing with so much detail, they'll have better software to help make their experience of developing so much detail, they'll learn how to maximize the amount of detail on screen. But in the short term, everything will certainly be tougher, and getting as much detail as possible out of a system will not be easy.
You can actually see how this played out in the current generation of consoles. Compare these two screenshots of NCAA Football:
NCAA Football 08
NCAA Football 13
Over time, we saw a pretty large increase in detail this generation, even on a title down the ladder of a publisher's priority list like NCAA Football. However, what kind of detail are developers going to be charged with in the next generation of consoles? Can they possible keep up with the demand of detail hungry customers?
Sports are about emotion. As a film guy, you are taught that a film is not made in the edits or the soundtrack, but the emotions you get across on the faces of your talent on screen. In a lot of ways, sports gaming has always been devoid of that and has had to try to get by with all of the other stuff first, but the next generation is going to bring with it a charge to deliver that emotion as well.
Over and over, we have heard reasoning for missing features being handed over to hardware -- now with this generation we are going to find that those excuses are going to be left out of the window. A lot of the window dressing, like more realistic crowds, realistic sidelines, etc. are going to be expected.
Realistic player faces? You betcha. Whereas people argue about variety of equipment and faces available in their games -- they'll soon be arguing about the lace detail on Nike vs. Adidas, the stitching on jerseys, and the face detail of Reggie Williams, who is a bench player for the Charlotte Bobcats.
And then there is going to be that guy who complains because Tim Lincecum's eyes are just a shade too green.
Details. So many details.
We haven't even gotten into the charge of next-gen sports gaming with details on the field. The angle of Kapernick's release, the stroke of Kevin Durant's shot, the swing of a Ryan Braun. The spin of Verlander's curve ball vs. Adam Wainwright's curve.
Seriously, you know you'll be that guy.
Then there are the other details. How a running back reacts to a linebacker wrapping him up around the left ankle vs. right ankle. How Adrian Peterson breaks through that tackle vs. a Michael Turner. How about how Josh Hamilton's swing impacts a baseball vs. how Adrian Gonzalez's swing does. How about how rebounding positioning is important, and how some are great at it and some aren't?
These are all details that have to be possible now with better hardware, and they are all details that sports game developers have to now consider including. They are all the details that we will eventually demand, because they're going to be seen as the details we should be getting.
But can you fit all of that detail in a yearly cycle? Is that even possible?
The nature of the sports gaming market says it will have to be. While that will likely mean we aren't going to see huge leaps right out of the gate in the next-generation, it will also mean we will ever so slowly and surely get games which will capture our imaginations as sports fans like never before.
What do you all think? Will sports games be able to thrive with a yearly release schedule in the next generation?
Sports are about emotion. As a film guy, you are taught that a film is not made in the edits or the soundtrack, but the emotions you get across on the faces of your talent on screen. In a lot of ways, sports gaming has always been devoid of that and has had to try to get by with all of the other stuff first, but the next generation is going to bring with it a charge to deliver that emotion as well.
Over and over, we have heard reasoning for missing features being handed over to hardware -- now with this generation we are going to find that those excuses are going to be left out of the window. A lot of the window dressing, like more realistic crowds, realistic sidelines, etc. are going to be expected.
Realistic player faces? You betcha. Whereas people argue about variety of equipment and faces available in their games -- they'll soon be arguing about the lace detail on Nike vs. Adidas, the stitching on jerseys, and the face detail of Reggie Williams, who is a bench player for the Charlotte Bobcats.
And then there is going to be that guy who complains because Tim Lincecum's eyes are just a shade too green.
Details. So many details.
We haven't even gotten into the charge of next-gen sports gaming with details on the field. The angle of Kapernick's release, the stroke of Kevin Durant's shot, the swing of a Ryan Braun. The spin of Verlander's curve ball vs. Adam Wainwright's curve.
Seriously, you know you'll be that guy.
Then there are the other details. How a running back reacts to a linebacker wrapping him up around the left ankle vs. right ankle. How Adrian Peterson breaks through that tackle vs. a Michael Turner. How about how Josh Hamilton's swing impacts a baseball vs. how Adrian Gonzalez's swing does. How about how rebounding positioning is important, and how some are great at it and some aren't?
These are all details that have to be possible now with better hardware, and they are all details that sports game developers have to now consider including. They are all the details that we will eventually demand, because they're going to be seen as the details we should be getting.
But can you fit all of that detail in a yearly cycle? Is that even possible?
The nature of the sports gaming market says it will have to be. While that will likely mean we aren't going to see huge leaps right out of the gate in the next-generation, it will also mean we will ever so slowly and surely get games which will capture our imaginations as sports fans like never before.
What do you all think? Will sports games be able to thrive with a yearly release schedule in the next generation?
# 17
dwidep @ Feb 26
A couple of other people have touched on it, but the biggest reason that there was a huge difference in early vs later games on the current gen's consoles was the learning curve on the dev kit hardware. The PS4 and Xbox whatever are supposedly going to be utilizing PC format dev kits that are already known and used to the major game manufacturers. Gamespot actually has a really good article about why people shouldn't expect huge jumps in graphics on the new platforms, but should expect gains in the outlying areas of development. There will be awesome new advances in things such as physics, but the new platforms should be able to take advantage of systems that are already being used for high end PC games (i.e. unreal engines). I think people like the idea of a 2 year dev cycle in sports games because they think the games would be better. While I agree with them to some extent, no developer is going to want to pass up on the opportunity to cash in on a brand new game every year. I just wish that EA could make a football game that was half as lifelike as the show is to baseball. Then I would buy it every year no question as would everyone else, rendering and end to this discussion
# 18
pjburrage @ Feb 26
People have mentioned FPS such as Call of Duty having a yearly release schedule, however they usually have two developers working on a game in a two year cycle, so one developer will release the game in 2010 while the other developer releases the game in 2011, then the first developer releases their next version in 2012. Now if EA were to have two developing houses working on games such as Madden in parallel. So for example, get another developer to start work on Madden 2015 now, then once Madden 25 is out of it's release cycle, Tiburon can start work on Madden 2016. Now the cost to EA may well be not efficient at this stage, but it could become so a few years down the line.
# 19
ggsimmonds @ Feb 26
Good point pjburrage. I forgot about the way development teams were set up for COD. But still, it is not like developers need to create original artwork for sport games.
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In regards to our demands, I really don't care too much about the finer details but would rather see the important details, like footplanting, improved Physics, create-a-player, etc, etc be implemented or improved.