We are proud to present our interview with ESPN NBA Basketball Project Manager, Derrick Aynaga.

STRATEGY/GAMEPLAY/FRANCHISE
Operation Sports: Will there be team-specific offenses? The "triangle" in LA, Dallas' fast-break or Boston's 3-point offense?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes we’ve made every effort to ensure teams play as they do in real life.

Operation Sports: How has the AI been improved, specifically?

Derrick Aynaga: There are many things we’ve done this year to improve the AI. One of my favorite improvements is how we handle court spacing. Lots of games out there have problems with the offense bunching up and hindering what the user is trying to do. We now have an AI that respects the fact that users sometimes want to do things differently, and reacts accordingly by resetting the player spacing right before things get too bunched up. The end result is an offense that’s easier to take advantage of and one that is smarter and more in tune with the play style of the user. Another area that has been greatly improved is the defense. Things you’ll notice right away is smarter movement both on ball and off. AI defenders now back pedal when they are supposed to and always respect where the ball is no matter where they are standing. It really makes for quicker defensive reaction since player facing is now based on where the action is. There are many more improvements but these are 2 prominent ones off the top of my head.

Operation Sports: Please describe the new free throw system.

Derrick Aynaga: The new free throw system incorporates a short and long element to shooting while retaining the same overall feel players have grown accustomed to. A brand new meter will pop up when a free throw starts. The meter has a left and right arm, each linked to the left and right analog stick (for PS2) or the left and right triggers (for Xbox). You’ll also see a ball moving rapidly up and down the meter. The trick is push the analog stick inward till they cradle the ball, then press shoot when the ball is centered. This means timing and a steady hand are both crucial to making free throws. Terrible free throw shooters are more sensitive in terms of control so they feel jittery when at the line. The ball also moves much faster for these guys making even tougher to hit. Lastly all of this gets even more difficult as you start upping the difficulty so guys like Shaq will finally feel like Shaq when shooting from the line.

Operation Sports: Do players move more intelligently without the ball?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes, much of our time was dedicated to this very issue. We did lots of work to our play system which I’ve addressed in a previous question, but other work in this area include more successful pick and rolls, tighter AI logic on the fast break, and guys spotting up for open jumpers. There are certainly more areas that we’ve worked on but these are some of the most obvious and noticeable ones.

Operation Sports: Have fouls been increased?

Derrick Aynaga: Fouls have been increased particularly for the higher difficulty levels. You really have to pick your spots now when going for the steal and going for the aggressive shot block as poor timing and position will result in more fouls called.

Operation Sports: Has blocking been toned down?

Derrick Aynaga: I wouldn’t say it has been toned down but rather re-balanced. For novice users we really wanted a system that yielded more success. But as you crank up the difficulty, success will drop and successful blocks become much more of a function of timing, position, and who you are block with. I’ve yet to get a block that felt cheap particularly in the higher levels so I’m confident we have this aspect of the game nailed.

Operation Sports: When is the roster cut-off date?

Derrick Aynaga: Our roster cut off date was September 9th. We’ll also be doing a roster update to coincide with the release of the game to catch any recent movement.

Operation Sports: How "deep" is the Franchise mode?

Derrick Aynaga: Franchise mode is extremely deep this year. The goal was to create a global economy that included more factors than the normal coach and player contracts that most games limit themselves to. This year we’ve added assistant coaches, team trainers, and even team scouts to the mix. Each job affects the team in different ways so it becomes a huge budget balancing act where the user must balance how much to spend on player contracts vs. team personnel vs. scouting in order really make a team successful for the long term.

Operation Sports: In Franchise mode, are coaches' contracts handled separately? Can you hire a new coach?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes you can hire a new coach as well as an assistant coach.

Operation Sports: Will the salary system involve dollars or points?

Derrick Aynaga: This question comes up all the time. Although we would like to use dollars, licensing agreements prevent us from doing so. Other leagues are different so it really doesn’t apply when folks say “well all football games use dollars so why can’t we?” It’s a totally different situation.

ISOMOTION
Operation Sports: How many dribble moves can be performed?

Derrick Aynaga: The philosophy behind IsoMotion doesn’t lie with the individual move so it’s hard to say. That being said we did includes several different dribble moves, each having a specific purpose. The real game occurs when you string moves together based on what the defense gives you as opposed to blindly performing moves and getting to the basket as other games often do. For example, say you go for a crossover and your defender hops in front, the right move in this case is to do a step back. From here you can shoot or if your defender is very aggressive, you can wait for him to come into you then spin off him to get by. This is just one of many possible scenarios with the system which is why IsoMotion so great. Often times it feels like a cat and mouse game where you are trying to intentionally make the defender react in a certain way just so you can take advantage of him. Very early on in development we charted out all of the different interactions possible and it turned out to be more than we expected. So in this respect there are literally hundreds of different possibilities and outcomes given the way IsoMotion works.

Operation Sports: Will the “Isomotion” moves be position-specific (different for centers than point guards)?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes there will be a noticeable difference between say Centers and Guards. The animations will be different and the speeds will be drastically different. Not to say that you can’t use a bigger guy to perform IsoMotion moves, just know that it will be more difficult to be successful.

Operation Sports: Does "Isomotion" work with defense, too?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes, IsoMotion is an all-inclusive system that encompasses both offense and defense. On D you’ll be able to use IsoMotion defense to step in front of ball handlers as they make their moves. Great timing will result in either a stop or a charge. On the other hand, late timing will result in the defense getting burned or a blocking call if you collide with the ball handler.

EXTRAS
Operation Sports: Are there custom soundtracks for the Xbox?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes, you can rip your own CD tracks to the Xbox and setup custom play lists. This list can be used for either for street games, menus, or both.

Operation Sports: Are there throwback jerseys available for each team? How many?

Derrick Aynaga: We do have throwbacks. Some teams have more than others simply due to them being in the league longer.

Operation Sports: How much control does the user have when editing an existing player? Can you edit positions? Jersey numbers?

Derrick Aynaga: You can still modify player attributes like last year but now you can also change accessories from arm bands to leg accessories, to sock type (high / low). We felt this was very important as players sometimes tend to alter their accessory routines during the year and we wanted to make sure users had the ability to account for these changes.

Operation Sports: Can you add NBA "Legends" to your teams?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes. You are free to trade players from legend teams with any other team in the league.

Operation Sports: Are there any "Classic" teams available?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes we have some classic teams available as unlockables as you progress through the game.

Operation Sports: Can we import draft classes from NCAA College Hoops?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes this feature is available.

Operation Sports: How have player models and animations been improved?

Derrick Aynaga: The player models were created from scratch this year. The focus was on creating a model with a much more NBA look. What this meant for us is slimmer and more athletic bodies (with the exception being big guys like Shaq of course). Last year’s player was much more like a “regular person” whereas NBA guys are generally longer and leaner. We wanted this year’s model to account for this fact. Player heads and faces have also been totally redone. All of last year’s heads and faces were thrown out and redone to ensure we are as up to date and accurate as possible. We’ve even added more tattoos based on the increased amount of reference we’ve received. Animations have undergone a complete overhaul. Things you’ll notice right away is how smooth our gravity looks when you shoot and dunk. Previous year’s games would hitch and look unnatural, whereas this year’s model looks silky smooth. You’ll also notice how much more natural our guys look when the move in the open floor. We’ve really gone the extra mile to eliminate things like player jitter and artifacts to ensure we have the most realistic looking and playing basketball sim on the market.

Operation Sports: How has the commentary been improved?

Derrick Aynaga: Commentary has been updated with ESPN talent with both Tom Tolbert taking over color commentary duties and Kevin Frazier taking over the in-studio commentator spot. These guys were great to work with. And being that the NBA is on ESPN this year, we automatically have the most authentic commentary team with this duo.

Operation Sports: Are there "highlights" in the ESPN nightly wrap-up?

Derrick Aynaga: Unfortunately we were not able to include this feature for ESPN NBA Basketball. It is something we are looking at for next year’s game though.

ONLINE
Operation Sports: Are there different modes available online?

Derrick Aynaga: Aside from street court and exhibition play, users can also take their 24/7 online with all of their accessories on. The team thinks this is huge as playing 24/7 offline allows you to grow and customize items for your character, but 24/7 online allows you to show him off and compete against the rest of the country. It also provides a platform for newer players to see the different types of items that are out there.

Operation Sports: Will there be online leagues?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes. Our league structure is similar to ESPN NFL Football’s. And like NFL we are still planning on rolling out more cool league features. Make sure to keep an eye out for these near-future expansions.

Operation Sports: Will there be updated rosters available - and can they be used in online games?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes we will have regular roster updates and as a matter of fact we will have an updated roster available at launch. But unfortunately updated rosters cannot be used online.

24/7
Operation Sports: Will you be able to use the 24/7 "unlockables" in other parts of the game?

Derrick Aynaga: Yes you can load up your 24/7 character for 1 on 1 street matches, pitting them against NBA players or even other 24/7 characters. This is really cool as it allows 2 friends to create and grow their characters independently then bring them together on the same machine for a 1 on 1 battle. This same functionality extends to online play as well.

THANKS
Operation Sports: We would like to thank you for your time with this interview, is there anything else you would like to add?

Derrick Aynaga: Just like to thank the folks at Operation Sports. The site and community are a great resource for the teams here at Visual Concepts and the feedback we get really helps us make a better game. I’d also like to extend thanks to everyone on the ESPN NBA Basketball team who worked tirelessly throughout the year to deliver one hell of a basketball experience.