EA Sports NHL 11 Community Day

Hey everyone!

Day 1 of the Community Event is complete and I have now actually played an alpha build of NHL 11.

I can't say much without breaking NDA agreements, but I want to convey to everyone that all these guys who work on the game are huge hockey fans. They really care about this game. I didnt realize how much the devs cared about the game until we had some meetings and I got a chance to interact with the guys who make the game. They really impressed me with how much they wanted to hear from both casual and hardcore fans alike. The NHL series has really been a hit the past few years, and EA really wants to make sure they keep up the growth.

Ultimately, I want to mention a few points. First, the devs really listen to the community. They check the gaming websites and forums, and they often read feedback and forum posts themselves. They put a lot of time and effort into this series, and enjoy reading peoples reactions to the game. While the various gaming forums tend to be way too negative, the devs read a lot of the threads and posts to find ways to improve the game. They themselves are huge hockey fans, and they want to make the most authentic game they can.

Now that I have gotten that out of the way, I want to say that I personally enjoyed hearing about where the devs wanted to take the NHL series in the future. We were told how each game in the NHL series is really a 2-3 year development plan. Some of the features that the community wants are things the devs know about, but they dont have the time or resources to get it into the game. They want to relay to you that they really do try and read the reactions to the game, and try to improve it as much as possible within their own deadlines and limited resources. Certain features obviously take priority in the development cycle, so every years game has it's own feature set and focuses.

All in all, I think most fans will really enjoy NHL 11. It has an impressive feature set, and focuses on being more realistic then previous generations. While the build I got to test was not perfect (numerous bugs that will be fixed before the game ships), I got the jist of what the team is looking to accomplish this year, and I tried to be as helpful as possible.

I came here with a large list of things HF members wanted to see, and can honestly say that EA covered a lot of them. I think the Community Members really did raise some really good points in the testing, and that hopefully we managed to help the developers make a better game. After all, in many ways, that is the point of the Community Event in the first place.

I will post again tomorrow after the second day of the event, but I will not be able to discuss new features until they are announced. So please, check back here for new information as I am allowed to discuss it and feel free post your comments and complaints here. Thanks!

NHL 11 Community Day Recap

Hey guys. I could probably write something akin to a lengthy term paper recounting all that I did and saw during my brief visit to EA Canada in Vancouver this past week, but I’m going to try and keep things short for all our sakes. As you guys should know by now, at this point, there’s very little I or the other CD invitees can actually talk about regarding NHL 11 itself. Features, fixes, additions, removals, overhauls, etc… can’t answer or discuss any of that, so please, don’t even ask. As different embargos are lifted over the summer, rest assured that I and the rest of the representatives will get our thoughts and impressions up (perhaps with a few exclusive screens now and then) as soon as we are able. So let me get into it here...

5/19: Travel Day + Meet & Greet
I left Philadelphia on Wednesday, May 18. Flew up to Toronto (hour flight), then 5 hours over to Vancouver. Once there, I met up with Ed from HFBoards.com, and Jake, Community Manager of Xbox Canada. We took the newly constructed Sky Train from the airport, and got to our hotel (The Sutton Place) around 5:00 PT.

After arriving, we checked in, and then met the rest of the invitees and Alain (sk88z) in the lobby. We took a few cabs over to Kingston’s Bar and Grille, and enjoyed dinner, TV, and drinks for the remainder of the evening while we all got to know one another. It was a great start to what would be a memorable few days.

5/20: CD Day 1 - Intro to NHL 11 & First Hands On
The next morning was the first official day of the Community Event. We were all up early (7 AM or so), and met up in the lobby around 8. We enjoyed breakfeast at Bellagio’s Café, and following our meal, hopped aboard a shuttle for what was my first trip to EA Canada.

I know most of you have seen pictures, and I had as well heading in, but I really have to say – it’s a pretty impressive complex. The interior is stylish and expanisve, there’s a soccer pitch, basketball court, cafeteria, street hockey court, elevators, media rooms, tons of playtesting labs, offices, winding staircases, and on and on. It was quite an experience just walking around the place, and we hadn’t even seen the game yet.

Around 10:15, we met David Littman and Andy Agostini, along with a few of the other developers for our first look at NHL 11. A PowerPoint followed by a brief game demo introduced us to the features and new aspects of the game, and boy, were there some good ones. A lot of what we saw was very impressive, and we learned a bit about how decisions regarding the game are made, and also that the developers DO READ THE FORUMS. A LOT. I really can't emphasize this enough. I talked with at least 5 guys on the team at length this weekend, and all of them mentioned that they routinely read our forums and others, even if they don't post. I really just want to say that a positive and constructive attitude is necessary from all of us in order to continue to encourage this type of interaction, and well, I hope to see more of it this summer.

But I digress. Getting back to the presentation, I took a ton of notes which I look forward to sharing with you all, but I can’t say anything just yet. There was also one big surprise that turned out to be really awesome, but again, you guys will have to wait and see!

After the presentation, we had a quick lunch, then got our hands on the game for the first time. I had myself a packet from the forums (gameplay must fixes, non-gameplay must fixes, etc), and I started heading through the game and checking off items on my list at a very satisfying rate. I really got the impression, from meeting the developers and my own experience with NHL 11, that the team really listened to our feedback this year and worked hard to deliver as much as possible with this year's iteration. Following our time with the game, we had a few feedback sessions/discussions, broke for dinner, played the game some more, and finally left EA Canada around 8 PM.

That night, we went out for some light food and more beverages. Not going into any specifics, it was an awesome second night with some hilarious moments, including an exploding beer glass that left poor Ed from HF in need of a change of pants. It was a great end to a great first day.

5/21: Day 2 - On the Ice w/ Jim Playfair & More Hands on w/ NHL 11
The second day began like the first. Up early, headed as a group to Bellagio’s for breakfast, except this time, instead of heading to EA, we went to 8 Rinks, a huge skating complex just about 10 minutes from the studio. Once there, we were treated to a huge amount of swag courtesy of EA and Bauer, namely Vapor X:60 gloves, and a Vapor X:40 stick. Huge thanks to Bauer for this awesome gear. We also got our hands on some EA SPORTS NHL 11 jerseys, and from that point, we hit the ice with current Abbotsford Heat head coach Jim Playfair. He took us through some basic drills, cross-overs, 2 on 0s, cycling down low, etc, then we broke for a scrimmage. I’m not a huge fan of player skates, but I made due out there amongst the developers, guests, and other community day invitees as we played for about half an hour or so. Highlights include sk88z’s controversial re-direct goal (off my sweet assist), Steve's (better known as QB from Operation Sports) snipe from the lower circle to end the game, and Jason Rupert’s (Redshirt’s) breakaway goal which involved him successfully knocking down a pass at center ice, skating in, and roofing a shot over the outstretched leg of goalkeeper and fellow developer, Gern. Even though the rent-a-skates I was using gave me serious blisters on the back of my calves, I had a great time, and I know everyone else did too. Look for a video soon, featuring quite a memorable closing act by Playfair!

After our on ice adventure, we headed back to EA, hit the showers, and sat down for a Q&A Session with Playfair and Rammer, who arrived from an event in LA just in time for our second day. We got some questions answered about what it’s like to be a coach in the NHL, and also heard some cool stories about some NHL players as well. It was a solid session that lasted just short of an hour, and then finally, we got our hands on the game once again.

Because the event was two days this year as opposed to one, what actually happened was the developers took our feedback from Day 1, and adjusted and released a new build for us all to play on Day 2. This was pretty huge because we got to see how our feedback was implemented, and see what areas of the game still needed work. Obviously, we’re plenty far from release and a ton of refinements and changes still need to be made, but what we played on the second day really wasn’t all that bad for a game with 4 months still left to go. I know I personally went through the remainder of my lists, while once again exploring some of the new features. We eventually broke for a feedback discussion led by Rupert and Rammer, which I think we all agreed went very well. Having shared our thoughts, we ate dinner, got a quick tour of the rest of the studio, then got our last time in with the game.

Right around then, Jason took myself, Nick (Shake and Baco), Steve (QB), and Ayaz (epik) up to his office where we got to see the game running in pretty much its rawest form. As mentioned in a video blog last year, he and other developers are able to record plays in the same ways we can do Created Plays at home, except when done at EA Canada in May, if the play ends up working out, the AI will then run these plays against you or me when we get our final copies of the game in September. We were actually able to record some cool new shootout moves and save them to the game, so if Mike Richards comes down on you guys during a shootout later this year and does something crazy for a sweet goal, feel free to blame me!

At that point, our time at EA and in Vancouver was coming to an end. We headed back to the main playtest area, enjoyed the game for another half an hour or so, then packed up and returned to our hotel. Some of the invitees were headed out again, but I was pretty tired at that point, and decided to just chill and take it easy, especially since my flight back to Toronto left at 8 AM Saturday morning.

5/22: Travel Day
Not much to report here other than my flights home and the writing of this recap. Definitely been a fun, tiring few days, and while I loved Vancouver, it's good to get home.

Closing Thoughts
So to sum up, I basically have nothing but good things to say about this year's Community Event. I met a great bunch of people, had a great time playing the game and just hanging out, got a lot of questions answered, learned a lot about how the game works and about the team behind it, and overall - just truly enjoyed myself. I want to sincerely think Alain and the rest of the team for hosting and allowing me to come up and try out the game with them; it was definitely a pleasure. I can't wait to get my hands on the final version of NHL 11 come September, and as more and more info comes out in the next few months, I think you guys will feel the same way.

Thanks for reading everyone. Feel free to follow me on Twitter @LuGer33 for more info and impressions as the summer progresses. Also be on the lookout for two new exclusive CHL screenshots tomorrow afternoon. Each CD invitee received two images to share with their communities, so Shake & Baco and myself will be posting them as soon as we are able. Also, please follow the Twitters and read the recaps of some of the other Community Day invitees, links to which can all be found here. Photos and videos from the event are forthcoming as well.

Cheers, folks, and allow me to be one of the first to tell you that NHL 11 is going to be freaking awesome!

Luger did a great job and was very prepared. He had pages of notes and lists of equipment to check for... mind-boggling. I had to ask Alain for a notepad when I got there...