With the help of our readers and SCEA, we had an opportunity to interview the Senior Producer of NBA 08, Erich Waas.

Operation Sports:  What were the things that you felt you needed to improve on, compared to last year's title?

Erich Waas:  Anytime you have to plan around a one-year schedule, there’s always a balancing act of new features and improvements to the previous year’s game.  We were able to do quite a bit in the last year.  The core gameplay and AI got a lot of attention in NBA 08.  We implemented nearly 4 times the number of AI situations and responses from what existed in NBA 07.  We also deepened our game with the addition of our Upside Progression System.  This system integrates everything you do in NBA 08 and allows you to apply your accomplishments towards improving your created character as well as unlocking content such as new cinematic game intros, new courts, retro courts and jerseys as well as upcoming shoe offerings from Nike, Adidas and Reebok.  We improved our animation variety and NBA 08 boasts 2,000 unique animations.  A number of our fans wanted us to bring in-game commentary back so we teamed up Mark Jackson and the voice of the Sonics, Kevin Calabro.  We also wanted to develop SIXAXIS functionality at a much deeper level, which we have done with our Free6 control.

Operation Sports:  How well does the Free6 work? Can you give us some gameplay examples?

Erich Waas:  We spent time implementing Free6 functionality to improve both the offense and defensive gameplay.  The best example of Free 6 control that I can think of involves the ball handler in the triple threat position and the defensive player guarding the ball handler.  The offensive player can move the ball around and keep it away from the defender who may be trying to swipe at the ball.  Based on what the defender does, through Free6 the ball handler can choose to execute a bounce pass, lob pass or chest pass to a teammate or if the defender is playing aggressively, juke to get around the defender.  Conversely on defense, the player can tilt the SIXAXIS controller forwards or back to either get wide or put arms up.  If the defender wants to guard against a bounce pass or juke, they should get down into a wide stance.  The defender can also put his hands up to guard against a lob pass as well as lower the shooting percentage of the ball handler/shooter. 

Operation Sports:  What are the different modes within this game?

Erich Waas:  The most unique mode is our NBA Replay / Games of the Week mode.  The first part of this mode, NBA Replay is what the gamer gets on the BluRay disc.  We data mined the entire 2006-2007 NBA season for spectacular stretches of a game that took place each wee of the season.  Not only can the gamer try to match or better the actual NBA player’s performance but the gamer will need to make certain critical shots from the actual spots on the court.  Games of the Week has this same play mechanic but we create the scenarios as the 2007-2008 NBA season is takes place.  So every Friday from November 2007 to June of 2008, gamers will be able to download 5 scenarios that just took place in the NBA.  In addition to this mode, we also have some of the traditional modes you’d expect from a sports title such as season, online and exhibition modes.

Operation Sports:  How would you describe the atmosphere in the game? Will there be dynamic crowds, will they animate and react more realistically, according to what occurs on the court?

Erich Waas:  NBA 08 has a great variety of crowd models and animations.  We spent time hooking-up our crowd reactions and in-game commentary to events that take place in the game.  If the home team shoots a 3-pointer, you’ll see crowd members getting off of their chairs in anticipation.  If the road team is shooting a free throw, out come the thunder sticks. 

Operation Sports:  Can you give us some details about the progression system?

Erich Waas:  The Upside Progression System integrates all of the modes within NBA 08 and gives reward for everything you do.  It starts by allowing the gamer to create a character and place them on the roster of their favorite team.  By accomplishing in-game goals as well as milestones, points are awarded to the gamer.  These points can be used to improve created character attributes as well as unlock new items such as shoes, tattoos, apparel, fantasy courts, retro floors and jerseys as well as new pre-game cinematics.

Operation Sports:  How many animations have been added this year? What did you focus on the most?

Erich Waas:  It’s hard to say exactly how many animations we added this year but it was quite a few.  We now have over 2,000 unique animations in the game as was mentioned earlier.  There was a lot of focus on variety as well as what we call “urgency.”  What I mean by urgency is the speed and motion in which a player moves from point A to point B.  This may be a sprint if a ball handler is driving to the basket but if a player is away from the ball or not vital to an offensive play, the motion will be slower and more casual.  These off-ball, ambient types of animations really add a lot to the realism of our game. 

Operation Sports:  How do players react off the ball? Is there a lot of standing around or will we see more movement?

Erich Waas:  There’s more movement this year but we also added a feature this year called Key Control that puts more offensive control in the gamer’s hands.  The gamer can now select a “go to” guy and control them at a higher level as well as the ball handler.  You can select this “go to” guy to be the one you have cut to the basket, work with your ball handler on a pick-and-roll, or send them up to receive an alley-oop pass.

Operation Sports:  Can you talk to us about the commentary?

Erich Waas:  The core audience gave us a lot of requests for us to include commentary so we spent a lot of time implementing this in NBA 08.  I’ve been a long time Sonics fan and I always enjoyed the colorful way that Kevin Calabro calls games.  Even if the Sonics were getting blown out by 25 points, Kevin Calabro made the game entertaining to watch.  (Although as a fan I was still frustrated by the loss.)  Mark Jackson is one of the best color commentators around so we definitely wanted him to team up with Kevin.  Mark Jackson has done color commentary in our NBA PSP game for a few years now so we knew Mark and he’s great to work with.  We developed a script that is going to take a few years to fully implement.  We focused this year on not filling every single second of play time but rather commenting on relevant game events while making it entertaining and not so straight-laced as commentary can sometimes be.

Operation Sports:  When we hop online this year, what are our available options? Any chance leagues were implemented?

Erich Waas:  You’ll get the best online in-game experience playing NBA 08.  The frame rate is fast and the game rarely experiences latency.  This is always impacted by individual gamers’ internet speed but we’ve even played games with people in Japan and Europe with little lag.  As for features, we’ve included some new features such as player pages that help you scout play tendencies of online opponents and have made it much easier to find similarly skilled players to challenge.  Unfortunately, online leagues were not something we implemented this year.

Operation Sports:  How has the post game been improved upon?

Erich Waas:  Free6 functionality and the right analog stick can both be used to post-up down low and either push into your defender, try to hook around them or push off for a shot.  On defense, the gamer can try to lock-up a low post player by using the Free6 control to “get low” and the L1 shoulder button can be used to try and lock down the low post player.  Player attributes as with any player versus player dynamic play a factor so the offensive and defensive ratings of the players involved play a factor on the success.

Operation Sports:  What gameplay and A.I. changes have been implemented this year to improve the game?

Erich Waas:  Free6 and Key Control have been added to place more gameplay options in the hands of gamers.  We’ve also spent a lot of time implementing new AI routines to make all facets of the game more intelligent.  As I mentioned earlier, we have nearly 4 times the number of AI routines in NBA 08 compared to last year’s game.  This was made possible through a tool we created to put more power in the hand of game designers who intimately know the game of basketball.

Operation Sports:  The MLB series is known for its realism of the sport, how does NBA ’08 compare?

Erich Waas:  The MLB series is phenomenal.  Our NBA team is doing everything possible to match the success of that franchise.  NBA 08 is a realistic game but we’ve found that preferences vary based on whether or not the gamer is looking for a faster moving game or more of a half court offensive game.  NBA 08 is a little faster paced than other NBA games that are out there.  While we want the game to look as realistic as it possibly can, we also want gameplay to be a fun experience and sometimes the rules of reality need to bend a little to accommodate this goal.

Operation Sports:  Will we see a franchise mode this year?

Erich Waas:  For NBA 08, the team spent a great deal of time thinking of gameplay elements that would be exciting and fresh to b-ball fans.  As a result, we created our Upside Progression System where users can create their own custom player and earn credits from gameplay to build up attributes, get an assortment of accessories, and gain access to a huge amount of unlockable content.  We also have the only game that provides a true glimpse of NBA content by offering our NBA Replay mode.  In this mode, players will face a number of highlight scenario challenges from real NBA games from the past season as well as upcoming season.  Players will have the opportunity to execute skills with a wide variety of NBA players, and can even put their final tallies online to see how they stack up with other NBA 08 b-ballers.  We did not incorporate a traditional franchise mode this year, but it is something we will explore in the future.

Operation Sports:  Any significant changes to the “Games of the Week” feature?

Erich Waas:  We’ve made two big changes to the “Games of the Week” feature.  The first is the addition of shot location goals.  Not only do we date mine player performances for gamers to try and match or best, but we’ve also added the realism of the actual shot locations on the floor for gamers to shoot from.  In NBA 07, we weren’t able to include the playoffs last year due to some server limitations I won’t go into.  We’ve solved these issues this year so we won’t just offer scenarios each Friday through the roughly 25 weeks of the regular season but also include the entire playoff stretch which means roughly 33 weeks of scenarios this year.

Operation Sports:  What will be the changes on the PS2 version?

Erich Waas:  The biggest change on NBA 08 on the PS2 is The Life vol. 3.  We made the story line and goals in volume 3 all about team play.  There is close to an hour of story cinematics and many hours of gameplay in this mode alone.  We’ve also taken a lot of the AI improvements we made to the PS3 version of NBA 08 and included them in NBA 08 PS2 as well.

Operation Sports:  Will this game support Home? (Video clips, trophies etc.)

Erich Waas:  With the delay of Home to the spring of 2008, we don’t support Home at this time as Home technology needs to be finalized first.  It’s possible we could offer a patch for NBA 08 once Home goes online but it’s also possible that we’ll choose to focus all of our Home integration on NBA 09.  It’s hard to say which way we’ll go at this time.

Operation Sports:  Will the PSEye be used in this game in anyway? I.e. create a player?

Erich Waas:  We're not using the PSEye this year however in our create a player section you will find a robust customization process that will give the Tiger Woods game a run for its money.  Not only are you creating a specific position player along with body type and size, but you will have access to over 40 areas of customization just to create the player's head and face.  With a bit of artistic talent and time, you can make the player look like just about anyone...even yourself.

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

Erich Waas:  I really appreciate the opportunity to talk about NBA 08.