Early Community Day for NBA Elite 11 at EA Canada - Sovartus's Blog

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Early Community Day for NBA Elite 11 at EA Canada Stuck

Posted on June 2, 2010 at 11:53 PM.

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It looks like things have changed at EA Canada. Many of the things we've gotten used to about the team in Canada has now changed completely. If you've been playing basketball games for any length of time you know that the time that EA lost its grip on the basketball community and market share was after NBA Live 2005. Personally, I believe that it was the best NBA Live in the series history. One of the good things that I discovered while I was visiting the crew at EA was that some of the guys from the 2005 team are back now and working on the new EA basketball game for 2011. That's a very refreshing thing to think about considering that NBA Live 2005 was such a good game. I can honestly say that this series is definitely headed back to those glory days. This isn't just to hype people up, I mean this is the real deal. While the build we were shown was far from complete, what I did get to see was fairly impressive from my point of view. It looks like the team is making serious strides this year to continue to close the gap between them and the competitor. I can't say that has happened completely however, I can say that the gap won't be as big as people think. I've been reading around the forum that there has been a lot of concern about the control scheme, and a lot of other changes that have been speculated about. After a good look at the game, my fears have definitely been put to rest. Obviously there are a lot of things that I can't talk about due to the nondisclosure agreement I signed however; I can tell you my perspectives and my opinions of the things that I was shown and told.

Vancouver was cold and wet when I first arrived on Sunday. After getting the run around from customs, I wasn't ready to do anything but go to my room, lie down, and take a nap. After recharging my batteries, I did my daily P90 X work out, and headed to the Kingston Grill for dinner with Yaw (the community guy for the NBA Elite 11) and the other five guys ( whose names I won't disclose to you to protect the innocent). I think one of the most important things established early was the fact that the team at EA was very serious about making a really good basketball this year. After making a solid basketball game last year in NBA Live 10, the team is not trying to take a step backwards. The questions were asked of us as figures in the community about what would make the new basketball installment for EA solid. Believe you me, the guys they brought up to Canada laid it all out on the table for them too. All of the things that drove you crazy in NBA Live 10 last year were talked about, as well as all of the things that we liked, or simply need to be improved upon. The difference in this feedback session was that these guys seemed to be hungry for the information, and it appeared that they were actually listening. I noticed that one guy had three pages of notes filled out top to bottom in his notebook on the third day of the visit. It kind of gave you a really interesting feeling when you saw that somebody was taking your thoughts and ideas seriously. The consensus among the group was "Hey, these guys must really be serious because they are actually listening to what we have to say!". Even though none of the producers were at our initial welcoming dinner, the conversation was very rich amongst the community members and Yaw. We talked about everything that has to do with basketball games from competitors, to past successful games, to what the EA team had to do to make this game worth playing.

Day two was your standard, meet and greet, in the morning where we were introduced to the producers of the game, shown the direction that the game is headed, and many of the changes that are being made this year. All of us were very impressed, yet still, there was that element of skepticism because it was like we had heard all this before. Personally, I just wanted to get my hands on the game so I could see if what they were saying was true. I must say, after our first initial hour and a half session with the controller in hand, I was very impressed with what I experienced. Throughout the little room filled with cubicles you could hear Oohs and ahh�s, and an occasional roar as everyone experience the game. The fact that it wasn't a complete build made a very big difference because we didn't get a full gist of what the game was going to be about game play wise. The small amount of exposure we got to the offense and defense of the game gave you a very clear indication that this thing is really headed in a very positive direction. All I can say is, what they are doing with basketball this year is something that has never been done in a basketball game to date. I think that the most incredible thing about the entire experience is that the producers were sitting side by side with us engaging in conversation about the things that we saw and the things that we didn't see. They asked us what we thought was missing, how things looked, felt, and also if they made sense in the realm of basketball. Sorry guys, until they lift the embargo for the information that we were exposed to can't really elaborate on what I saw or why I was impressed.

Another very important piece of the second day's activities was that we actually got an opportunity to see how developing a game year-to-year is done. This was an eye-opening experience for a lot of us and helped us understand why some things could be done and why others couldn't. It also changes your paradigm or perspective on a lot of comments that are made about the game and its development on the forums. It also helped us understand the decision making process when creating a game and deciding which features will be included. You must understand, this is the first time that a NBA development team at EA had community members visit this early in the development cycle. This is going to give them time to actually implement some of the things that we discussed during our gaming sessions. If any of you know me at all you would know I had a very strong focus on the defensive side of the ball, post play, and the functionality of online leagues. Remember, this was a no holds barred session for the hardcore simulation guys who play the game regularly to voice their opinion, and we all took advantage of that situation. There were many heated discussions filled with passion about particular aspects of the game of basketball. So to answer the question for many of you about the game being arcade or sim, the answer would be, �even more sim than last year�. Now having said that, there is a bad wrap that many of the developers get when it comes to their basketball knowledge. I'll just say that on day three we had a community versus the development team basketball game and these guys can actually play. One of the developers actually played basketball on the pro-level. We being the hard-core sim players that we are, the conversations about the game were very in depth, and at times, very technical. So from now on, it may be a good idea for you to respect that these guys do actually know what they�re talking about. This was when it got good though. As ideas were thrown around about particular aspects of the game, as I mentioned earlier, these guys were taking notes. Although some of the things we talked about may or may not make it into the game; they did understand the logic of why something might need to be in the game, and why some things are must haves. Let's face it if you work on something long enough you start to get tunnel vision, which can make you overlook certain things.

Day three started with the basketball game that I spoke of in the previous paragraph. It started out as the community guys against the developers and some of the other employees involved with the game. We took the first game, they took the second game, and they finished us off in the third. It didn't help any that in the middle of the first game that my calves started cramping and I was the tallest player on the team at 6' 5 ". After the third game, we switched teams, mixed everyone together, and just went at it. It was a really fun time and some guys that you wouldn't think could really play basketball, had decent games. After hitting the showers and doing lunch we had another nice session of playing around with the game. Many of the things we hadn't thought about trying in the first day we definitely gave a whirl this time. Again, the cool thing about these game sessions is the fact that when we busted out our notes about what we were experiencing, we had lengthy discussions with the developers about what we were seeing. We also talked a lot about the things that were missing and would like to see implemented. It doesn't just stop there though. We were also able to give input about how these things should be mapped out on the controls. All of the things that you guys have been posting and screaming for over the last few years on the forums, the developers now not only know about it but have ideas about how to implement them as well. Now naturally, there are going to be a lot of the things that we came up with that they simply aren't going to be able to do. There are also things that they simply don't have enough time to include in this development cycle. But if they get half of the things that we've mentioned mixed with all the things they have already done, I personally believe that this could be one of the best basketball experiences that has ever been available. Will it be better than 2K? Who knows? My guess would be, probably not overall. But, I�m not going to go there. Will it be a solid basketball title which holds its own? You better believe it! I think that's the biggest thing; how well people embrace change? If you're a person who doesn't like change you probably will never get an opportunity to experience the NBA Elite 11 for what it is truly worth. If you�re a person who can embrace change, you're in for a very pleasant surprise.
During our time at EA were also shown one of the other titles that will be released in the future. This was a really nice break from what we were doing up to that point and the guys seemed to really enjoy themselves. I�m sure when it is released; it will be a serious crowd favorite.

The only word that I can think of that describes what I have seen over the last three days is "revolutionary". What these guys are doing is going to change the way we play basketball videogames forever, if people can embrace the change. Well, my plane is about to land so look forward to seeing some more detailed comments about the game in a question and answering session as we are allowed to say more about the game. Please don't forget to drop a comment so others will get a chance to read this too.

Happy gaming!

Comments

# 16 Sovartus @ Jun 4

I wasn't exposed to that so I don't really know. I can find out though so give me some time.

# 17 Da_Czar @ Jun 4

Excellent write up Sov !!!! Thank you.

# 18 bigball12 @ Jun 4

#16, yes please do. And did subs come to the scorers table when you subbed them in? Last question, promise.

# 19 robinsnestkc @ Jun 4

Sovartus,
Did you all discuss the lack of signiture packages?
If you can answer that would be great.

# 20 Sovartus @ Jun 5

Thanks Czar. I don't think I can answer questions about presentation yet but I do know about that because it was a specific question we asked. We did ask about player specific packages. It is something they are aware of and they are doing something pretty neat in that area of the game.

# 21 SHAKYR @ Jun 6

I like and respect your write up because you're no fanboy.

* I hope those Fight Night Round 5 Devs wasn't sharing info with you guys....lol!

# 22 Sovartus @ Jun 7

You can trust that all of the things you have mentioned were discussed by the guys that visited. It wasn't a sugar coated affair by far. We really went after them and let 'em know the real business. the good thing about it is that they actually listened. Granted they can't do all the fixing in one year, they are definately on the right track. Give this new team some time and I'm sure they will make a very good basketball game. It's not fair to compare 2K with EA in basketball right now. 2K is way to far ahead in features and presentation to make an arguement. Elite's gameplay will be something else this year. I really believe that.

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