Operation Sports is proud to present our interview with NHL Hockey 2004 Assistant Producers, Dean Richards and David Littman.

Dean/David: The cool thing about NHL 2004’s Dynasty Mode is the fact that you have to help improve your team’s attributes. As the team GM, when you build new facilities or hire more staff, your player’s attributes will improve. For example if you upgrade your team gym, your player’s strength and endurance attributes will go up. You can also make created players, edit them however you like, and pick them up in free agency. But, the better you make a player, the more money he will want when you sign him.

Operation Sports : Will players be smarter around the blue line? Will we see players at the point carrying the puck over the line)?

Dean/David: We understand that players continually went off-side last year so we re-worked all our Offensive strategies especially through the neutral zone to improve this. Now you will see players break hard through the neutral zone and turn at the blue line to avoid going off-side. Offensively players carrying the puck in the offensive zone will respect the blue line and will try to avoid bringing the puck over the blue line for an offside.

Operation Sports: Will goalies show more skill in handling the puck?

Dean/David: Goalies have been improved from last year and one key area focused on was the goalie leaving the net to acquire and handle the puck. They will make smart decisions when to leave the net and when the puck is shot down the ice they will put up their hands to indicate an icing call.

Operation Sports: Will there be contracts with money or points?

Dean/David: NHL 2004 will use real player salaries. Players will start out with various years left on their contracts and it is up to each GM to decide if they should re-sign them. If a player improves during his current contract, he will probably want a lot more for his next one. GMs can also hire lawyers to help sign players for less money. The key to being a top GM in the game is to keep profit margins high, so signing a lot of high priced players might hurt you over the course of a few seasons.

Operation Sports: Will there be safety nets?

Dean/David: We are using the new invisible safety nets, they provide the same level of protection to the gameplayer, without the visible obstruction.

Operation Sports: Will the draft in franchise mode be expanded to the full 9 rounds?

Dean/David: The NHL Entry draft will be 5 rounds. A cool thing about the draft is that GMs need scouts to help them make their decisions. If a GM does not have a lot of scouts working for him, he will have to make some uninformed decisions, since he won’t get to see the attributes of some rookies.

Operation Sports: Will draft picks be tradable?

Dean/David: Yes, draft picks will be tradable. The logic includes where the pick is in each round. So, a last place team’s 1st round pick is more valuable than a better team’s 1st round pick. Hiring more scouts will also help with trading.

Operation Sports: Will there be some kind of option to send and recall players from the minor leagues?

Dean/David: Yes, GMs can send players to the minor leagues. Young players will improve more on the farm than if they sat the bench on the big club. Also, the more coaches that you have, the faster those players will improve.

Operation Sports: Will there be an owner's mode?

Dean/David: While the Dynasty Mode™ focuses on the GM, there are many owner elements included. The GM is in charge of all of the team finances, including ticket prices, team salary, and even the hiring of lawyers and a marketing team. Also, you can replace an existing NHL team with a created team. This team can include existing NHL players, free agents, Elite league players, and created players. There is also the option for a fantasy draft. With these options you can move a team to a new city or bring in an expansion team. You even get to build a new arena that includes options for board ads, goal horn, seat colors, red line pattern and scoreboard. You can also choose a new logo and nickname for your team.

Operation Sports: How realistic do you see your game stacking up to the competition?

Dean/David: We have made great strides towards making this year’s hockey title a complete authentic hockey game. One of the biggest changes this year we made to make it more authentic is in the controls. It offers Beginners a fun pick up and play experience and enough advanced controls to satisfy the experienced gamers. The game will be easy to play but hard to master. Some of the new controls are the touch sensitive passing system that allows you to pass anywhere and control the strength of the pass. This new two button system (Flat pass and Saucer or Flip pass) allows you to control and do things like pass off the boards, dump it into the corner, perform drop passes or place it to an area for your teammate to skate on to it. The options are limitless; if you can think it, you can do it. Also new to NHL 2004 is a new momentum skating engine which allows for a realistic skating experience during tight turns, on hard stops or cruising up the ice. Our new ‘Quick Play’ strategies allow Users to adjust strategies for the Offensive and Defensive zones during Gameplay. With one press on the D-pad your strategies can make your Offense go on an ‘All Out Attack’ driving to the net hard and sending in 3 fore-checkers or you can make your Defense hang back and ‘Protect the Lead’. Lastly, we have the Right Analog stick, which has a new and improved deking system and our new ‘Bruise Control™’ checking system which gives the gamer the ability to choose the direction and power of their hit. This version of the EA SPORTS NHL series is different than any previous EA SPORTS NHL series that will offer gamers a fun, brand new experience and I am really looking forward to seeing the response gamers have about our game.

Operation Sports: Will the commentary be serious or strive to be comedic?

Dean/David: To keep in the line with the authentic hockey experience we’re striving for in NHL 2004, the commentary this year is true to the sport. We’ve brought in Craig Simpson, 2 time Stanley Cup winner and former teammate of Lemieux and Gretzky, to be our colour commentator.

He’s worked in the broadcast booth for Fox Sports in the past, and now is on Sportsnet. He and Jim Hughson, our play by play commentator, have worked together in the past – so they have a great synergy between them.

Operation Sports: Will the online mode feature voice communication?

Dean/David: Gamers will be able to chat, play single match play, join tournaments and belong to leaderboards in NHL 2004. They will be able to talk to other users while playing a game using EA SPORTS Talk on the PS2. They can also keep their rosters up-to-date with roster downloads, and keep track of their buddies online with EA messenger.

Operation Sports: Can International teams be used online?

Dean/David: Yes, International, Elite leagues, and NHL teams can all be used online.

Operation Sports: Are you going to implement a new franchise mode, if so, could you give some details?

Dean/David: The 2004 Dynasty Mode will take Franchise modes to the next level. The user becomes the GM of an NHL franchise for 20 years. The GM gets to choose how he wants to look and even gets to upgrade his office. GMs earn experience points based on how well they are doing. High profit margins, high attendance, Stanley Cups, winning percentage, and trading all earn experience points for the GM. When a GM gets enough experience points, the team owners give the GM upgrades. These upgrades include new facilities and more money to hire new staff. All of these upgrades affect players and teams in different ways. For example, hiring more trainers and doctors will help players come back from injuries faster. Buying a new plane will raise player attributes for road games. The goal of the game is to earn the highest GM score and make it to the GM Hall Of Fame. One thing we wanted to make sure of is that all of the moves a GM can make will show up in game as well. So, if you raise ticket prices to high, you will play your home games in front of a half empty building. If you upgrade your equipment room, you will feel your players skate and shoot better. On top of all that GMs will need to keep an eye on player ice time and player morale as well as set up the team practice schedule. For beginner players, many of these options can be handled by the CPU, but to make it to the Hall Of Fame, a hands-on approach will work much better.

Operation Sports: Any player specific animations or celebrations?

Dean/David: Our animations are based on the Calibre of player and not individuals. The best players will have their advantages.

Operation Sports: Are you using any new camera angles to make the game more like a TV broadcast?

Dean/David: We have improved our camera and replay system this year to give the User a more authentic hockey experience. There are 5 different cameras to choose from and they start from close to the ice all the way up high to an overhead view, or use the TV style broadcast view, giving Users enough options to suit their style of play.

Operation Sports: Could you tell us about the sliders in the game?

Dean/David: Users have the option to change things like the Game Speed, Hitting Power, Puck Friction, Fatigue effect and Fatigue recovery to how they want to play the game. There are over 30 Gameplay Sliders in our game to give Users this ability.

Operation Sports: Are teams going to play like their real life NHL counterparts?

Dean/David: Every team has their own style of play in our game this year. You will see teams like the Minnesota Wild sit back and trap you through the neutral zone and clog up the front of their net where teams like Vancouver will forecheck you hard trying to cause turnovers in the offensive zone. Strategies will also change during a game depending on the score and time of the game. If a team is down by a goal late in the game they will change their style of play to be more aggressive on their forecheck and defensive zone coverage to try and get a late goal where if they are up by a goal they will sit back and try to defend the lead.

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

Dean/David: A combination of fan feedback, a new development team, and a renewed focus on creating an authentic hockey experience that is easy to play, and hard to master, we have made a lot of changes and improvements in NHL 2004, and we look forward to seeing what the gamers think.