Operation Sports is proud to present our interview with Danny Isaac, Associate Producer of FIFA Soccer 2004.

Operation Sports: In addition to changing camera angles, will we have the ability to incrementally change the height and zoom of each camera? This feature was not in FIFA 2003, but was available in several FIFA versions before that.

Danny Isaac: We’ve spent time in every area of FIFA 2004 to make the user experience better, including camera control. Our current design is to allow the user to have zoom and height control of the cameras.

Operation Sports: When playing online, will each user be able to use his/her own independent camera angle?

Danny Isaac: Yes they will. As you would expect certain areas like half length and rules has to be the same but camera angles can be independent.

Operation Sports: Has the AI been drastically improved? In last years version you could run a striker between two defenders right through the middle towards the Keeper.

Danny Isaac: We’ve spent a significant amount of time working on positioning and defensive behaviors. The players work much more as a team and hence the defense will be much harder to break down.

Operation Sports: In FIFA 2003 trying to pass the ball to a teammate usually resulted in the other player dropping back in coverage, as if he couldn't decide whether to play offense or defense, has this been fixed?

Danny Isaac: Hmmm, not sure what you mean by this. As mentioned before our positioning behavior has advanced significantly in FIFA 2004. All the players react much more like their real life counterparts.

Operation Sports: What strides has FIFA made in order to make its career play addictive?

Danny Isaac: We thought it was important to keep the user engaged, not just during matches but between them. Of course the most important thing is the result of your next game, but to make certain that you win isn’t just about how well you play. There will be decisions that have to be made, your training schedule, picking your squad, dealing with injuries and transferring players which will either benefit or hinder you at match day.

Operation Sports: FIFA 2003 was a step in the right direction, but once again it suffered from goals being scored in almost the same way every time. Has FIFA 2004 tried to make a scoring system similar to the unpredictability of Winning Eleven 6?

Danny Isaac: We’ve improved the shooting model and physics model in FIFA 2004. There will be a lot more scrambles around the goal, lobs and 20 yard screamers! Of course we have again innovated the freekick and corner kick systems which will lead to more satisfying goals from these areas.

Operation Sports: Would you please explain more about the Career and Franchise modes?

Danny Isaac: Our career mode allows you to take control of any of the clubs in FIFA and guide them to success in league and cup competitions. The cool thing is you can jump around from club to club, country to country.

Operation Sports: What leagues will participate in FIFA 2004?

Danny Isaac: Due to adding the career mode this year we’ve concentrated on acquiring the licenses for the lower leagues of the main territories in Europe.

Operation Sports: What type of fouls are you going to be putting into the game this year? Will we be able to trip, or barge the players' and foul them? It gets very boring to simply foul by a slide tackle all the time and this means avoiding fouls throughout 5-10 matches is possible.

Danny Isaac: We’ve re-written the tackle and jostling systems for FIFA 2004, there will be additional fouls that are called beside those caused be sliding tackles.

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

Danny Isaac: It’s been a pleasure. Just like to add I hope you enjoy FIFA 2004 and I look forward to chatting with you again.

All the best,
Danny Isaac
Associate Producer, FIFA Soccer 2004