Backbreaker Multiplayer Hands-on and Videos (IGN)

[JMD]

Quote: Originally Posted by capa

Alpha build or not, I doubt they are going to redo the player models which are hideous, or the run animations which are robotic. There may be tweaks to gameplay and small AI changes, but we are pretty much gonna get what we see now.

Please stop your speculating before you make yourself look more foolish then you already have. Those vids are not the final build, There will be changes made. Courtesy of Turflicker - Rob one of the guys working on the game has said:

Arrived back from San Francisco this lunchtime following a very interesting GDC. Just to give you a brief overview, we had two solid days of showing the game to press... some online, some print. You've seen some of the results of that already. What you didn't realize, and what we only really decided to do at the very last minute, was that we allowed sites to direct capture footage from the game. You may not appreciate what a big step that is for us. Believe me, it was a huge moment. The build that was being demonstrated was literally "yesterday's" build. We got it delivered to the San Fran studio on Tuesday and that was what we ran with. So all the footage you are seeing coming out of GDC is raw, untouched, not even remotely hand picked. It's also... and this is a big point... not finished! Following the preview tour of a few weeks back, when code was frozen so that a proper preview build could be delivered, the team started dropping all the new features into the game at a rapid rate. We wanted to return to the States with a build that showed all the very latest stuff... but we decided to live with the fact it wasn't tuned up and poished. What was important to us was to prove that we are still making changes. With the weeks of dev time left, that's when the polish will start to be applied. I am very proud of what the team have achieved in the last couple of weeks alone and even inthe time I've been away. I've heard great stuff. I've seen lots of praise of the footage and I've seen people picking holes in it. Both are fine! You are more than welcome to point out bugs and errors... in fact, that's helpful! However... at the back of your mind, just remember that this game aint over until the fat lady serving beer in the nosebleeds, sings. The thing I took away from the GDC demos? What I really enjoyed the most? The fact that every time I played a journalist at split-screen multiplayer (another world first showing for GDC!) it ended up a fast-paced, action packed slice of fun. We laughed A LOT! We jeered at interceptions and boy, there was some nice trash talking! Now I've met a couple of these journalists before, a couple of them never before... so for Backbreaker to bring everyone together like that, well that gives me confidence in the design decisions, the gameplay decisions and the sheer talent of the NM team. These next few weeks are going to be brilliant! Enjoy the footage, enjoy the previews. But I'm happy to say, you ain't seen nothing yet!

So everyone can just relax. If we are still seeing videos that look like this come May 15th, then you can start with your Sky is falling posts again.

[mvb34]

Quote: Originally Posted by JMD

Please stop your speculating before you make yourself look more foolish then you already have. Those vids are not the final build, There will be changes made. Courtesy of Turflicker - Rob one of the guys working on the game has said: Arrived back from San Francisco this lunchtime following a very interesting GDC. Just to give you a brief overview, we had two solid days of showing the game to press... some online, some print. You've seen some of the results of that already. What you didn't realize, and what we only really decided to do at the very last minute, was that we allowed sites to direct capture footage from the game. You may not appreciate what a big step that is for us. Believe me, it was a huge moment. The build that was being demonstrated was literally "yesterday's" build. We got it delivered to the San Fran studio on Tuesday and that was what we ran with. So all the footage you are seeing coming out of GDC is raw, untouched, not even remotely hand picked. It's also... and this is a big point... not finished! Following the preview tour of a few weeks back, when code was frozen so that a proper preview build could be delivered, the team started dropping all the new features into the game at a rapid rate. We wanted to return to the States with a build that showed all the very latest stuff... but we decided to live with the fact it wasn't tuned up and poished. What was important to us was to prove that we are still making changes. With the weeks of dev time left, that's when the polish will start to be applied. I am very proud of what the team have achieved in the last couple of weeks alone and even inthe time I've been away. I've heard great stuff. I've seen lots of praise of the footage and I've seen people picking holes in it. Both are fine! You are more than welcome to point out bugs and errors... in fact, that's helpful! However... at the back of your mind, just remember that this game aint over until the fat lady serving beer in the nosebleeds, sings. The thing I took away from the GDC demos? What I really enjoyed the most? The fact that every time I played a journalist at split-screen multiplayer (another world first showing for GDC!) it ended up a fast-paced, action packed slice of fun. We laughed A LOT! We jeered at interceptions and boy, there was some nice trash talking! Now I've met a couple of these journalists before, a couple of them never before... so for Backbreaker to bring everyone together like that, well that gives me confidence in the design decisions, the gameplay decisions and the sheer talent of the NM team. These next few weeks are going to be brilliant! Enjoy the footage, enjoy the previews. But I'm happy to say, you ain't seen nothing yet! So everyone can just relax. If we are still seeing videos that look like this come May 15th, then you can start with your Sky is falling posts again.

All spin control if you ask me...

[metallicatz]

This is very reminiscent of the Prizefighter release.

- Very limited info and actual gameplay footage released until the game was just a couple months out.
- Little real marketing.
- The message boards were abuzz with people proclaiming death to EA's boxing game before they saw a single frame of gameplay footage.
- Then the decision was made for a dev rep for the game to release a preview on IGN or Gamespot with footage of him playing the game. The game looked terrible from a gameplay standpoint.
- The official 2K message boards were then bombarded with both general disappointment and blind defense. Die hard EA haters blindly defended the game using the same excuses of "alpha builds" (even though the game was practically on the Launch Day doorstep) and accusations of IGN or Gamespot sabotaging the game because they were "paid off by EA".
- 2k did a very similar vien of damage control. They finally released a demo shortly before the release.....which confirmed what the vids had shown.
- Game was released and got poor review scores across the board from media sites as well as fan reviews.
- The dev studio was shut down shortly after.

The game looks like it'll be an interesting change of pace, and it looks about like I expected with the stiff animations, simplistic arcadish gameplay, and minimalist playbooks. I think some people managed to convince themselves that a game like this would be 100% free of canned animations as far as QB throwing animations and such. Simply not the case. I don't think the story will end nearly as badly as Prizefighter's story ended as far as studio closure or poor review scores....but it's simply another lesson that getting your hopes up and/or letting some grudge or bias against EA cloud your objectivity will likely let you down in the end. This game is schedule for a May 25th release....which means the final product needs to be submitted for production/packaging/distribution not long after the beginning of May. Not alot is going to realistically change in the month and a half. This is pretty close to what we're going to get. Nothing wrong with that, if you kept your expectations in check. I'll pick it up on May 25th.

[capa]

Quote: Originally Posted by JMD

Please stop your speculating before you make yourself look more foolish then you already have. Those vids are not the final build, There will be changes made. Courtesy of Turflicker - Rob one of the guys working on the game has said: Arrived back from San Francisco this lunchtime following a very interesting GDC. Just to give you a brief overview, we had two solid days of showing the game to press... some online, some print. You've seen some of the results of that already. What you didn't realize, and what we only really decided to do at the very last minute, was that we allowed sites to direct capture footage from the game. You may not appreciate what a big step that is for us. Believe me, it was a huge moment. The build that was being demonstrated was literally "yesterday's" build. We got it delivered to the San Fran studio on Tuesday and that was what we ran with. So all the footage you are seeing coming out of GDC is raw, untouched, not even remotely hand picked. It's also... and this is a big point... not finished! Following the preview tour of a few weeks back, when code was frozen so that a proper preview build could be delivered, the team started dropping all the new features into the game at a rapid rate. We wanted to return to the States with a build that showed all the very latest stuff... but we decided to live with the fact it wasn't tuned up and poished. What was important to us was to prove that we are still making changes. With the weeks of dev time left, that's when the polish will start to be applied. I am very proud of what the team have achieved in the last couple of weeks alone and even inthe time I've been away. I've heard great stuff. I've seen lots of praise of the footage and I've seen people picking holes in it. Both are fine! You are more than welcome to point out bugs and errors... in fact, that's helpful! However... at the back of your mind, just remember that this game aint over until the fat lady serving beer in the nosebleeds, sings. The thing I took away from the GDC demos? What I really enjoyed the most? The fact that every time I played a journalist at split-screen multiplayer (another world first showing for GDC!) it ended up a fast-paced, action packed slice of fun. We laughed A LOT! We jeered at interceptions and boy, there was some nice trash talking! Now I've met a couple of these journalists before, a couple of them never before... so for Backbreaker to bring everyone together like that, well that gives me confidence in the design decisions, the gameplay decisions and the sheer talent of the NM team. These next few weeks are going to be brilliant! Enjoy the footage, enjoy the previews. But I'm happy to say, you ain't seen nothing yet! So everyone can just relax. If we are still seeing videos that look like this come May 15th, then you can start with your Sky is falling posts again.

Oh...ok..yes sir. I will do that right now if you say so.

LOL...geez...lighten up for crying out loud. I love developers who have had 3 years to work on the product and then say all the ills will be fixed in a matter of the last few weeks. LOL. Incredible...as are the folks who are swallowing this as fast as it can be dished out.

Begging you to just let it be. I have a differnt opinion than you and until the game comes out, that's all anyone has...an opinion. So don't position anything as gospel no matter who it came from. All my posts are strictly IMO...and I sure hope yours are too.

C

[CreatineKasey]

Quote: Originally Posted by metallicatz

This is very reminiscent of the Prizefighter release. - Very limited info and actual gameplay footage released until the game was just a couple months out. - Little real marketing. - The message boards were abuzz with people proclaiming death to EA's boxing game before they saw a single frame of gameplay footage. - Then the decision was made for a dev rep for the game to release a preview on IGN or Gamespot with footage of him playing the game. The game looked terrible from a gameplay standpoint. - The official 2K message boards were then bombarded with both general disappointment and blind defense. Die hard EA haters blindly defended the game using the same excuses of "alpha builds" (even though the game was practically on the Launch Day doorstep) and accusations of IGN or Gamespot sabotaging the game because they were "paid off by EA". - 2k did a very similar vien of damage control. They finally released a demo shortly before the release.....which confirmed what the vids had shown. - Game was released and got poor review scores across the board from media sites as well as fan reviews. - The dev studio was shut down shortly after. The game looks like it'll be an interesting change of pace, and it looks about like I expected with the stiff animations, simplistic arcadish gameplay, and minimalist playbooks. I think some people managed to convince themselves that a game like this would be 100% free of canned animations as far as QB throwing animations and such. Simply not the case. I don't think the story will end nearly as badly as Prizefighter's story ended as far as studio closure or poor review scores....but it's simply another lesson that getting your hopes up and/or letting some grudge or bias against EA cloud your objectivity will likely let you down in the end. This game is schedule for a May 25th release....which means the final product needs to be submitted for production/packaging/distribution not long after the beginning of May. Not alot is going to realistically change in the month and a half. This is pretty close to what we're going to get. Nothing wrong with that, if you kept your expectations in check. I'll pick it up on May 25th.

Good post and good story. It seems to parallel this situation.

The lesson: don't let video game companies blur objectivity.

[p_rushing]

Quote: Originally Posted by eXperiment63

4th Down TD... 12 seconds in... You can see the option to select by formation.

thanks, some how I missed that

[LeonM]

This is from the associate producer of Backbreaker. He actually played the spilt screen mode with IGN's Nate Ahearn.

Quote:

What you didn't realize, and what we only really decided to do at the very last minute, was that we allowed sites to direct capture footage from the game. You may not appreciate what a big step that is for us. Believe me, it was a huge moment. The build that was being demonstrated was literally "yesterday's" build. We got it delivered to the San Fran studio on Tuesday and that was what we ran with. So all the footage you are seeing coming out of GDC is raw, untouched, not even remotely hand picked. It's also... and this is a big point... not finished!

[deebo2246]

Quote: Originally Posted by djordan

Posts like this crack me up..lol ..This and the "EA and IGN are sleeping together thats why they are bashing Backbreaker"..HAHHA

By no means am I taking up for the videos or if they may fall short. My whole post was an assumption about the messed up looking animations that were showed. I don't prefer one game over the other, but I prefer a developer who focuses on good gameplay. Each and every developer that does interviews or blogs after getting bashed on forums are there to save grace. I call a spade a spade and a dud a dud. If you read my blog or previous posts I am skeptical about both companies producing something revolutionary. What Backbreaker showed has promise, but the jury is still out.