I would like to see them start by mapping a pitch to be the EXACT dimensions the majority of real pitches are, I know some are smaller than others - go with the bigger option then if this is the case, or have 2 templates even - Anfield versus Camp nou so to speak.
Then I want them to have the players in the correct scale height and width wise - lay them end to end pixel to pixel if need be to get them sorted and in 1:1 scale with the pitch and world around them - same thing for the Goal height and widths and centre circle and other markings.
Then I want them to work out how long it takes the fastest player (Theo Walcott for example) to run the pitch in real life or similar distance with and without the ball then do the same for the slowest player (Mertesacker as a quick example - I'm sure there is someone slower in World Football) and then adjust everybody else within this kind of template of paramaters so we have a relative top end and a bottom end and many variations inbetween given the stats values.
Next do the same with ball physics working out how hard and fast the ball should be travelling, trajectories and hardest shot possible speed.
How high should it be bouncing in relation to the players and their heights, how long does it take a ball to slow to a stop when the grass is dry with top spin or back spin (increase for wet games) The ball takes forever to stop rolling in FIFA for example.
Basically I could go on all day that is just the tip of the iceberg, they need to go back to using their eyes and brains and using what they are telling them and perhaps visiting some training grounds and collecting data and using it wisely and transferring it into things we see and 'feel' inside the game.
If I was a games designer this is the direction I would be taking Next Gen Football games - They genre has stagnated for too long both FIFA and PES are guilty.
The tech, developer talent and volume, even the finance EA have and they still cannot implement the human body to move at a realistic pace and with gravity, inertia, footplanting and weight doing what they should be - is shocking really.
Lastly (before I go on for another however many lines) for basic presentation to be this bad in 2 Football games in the year 2012 is the most shameful thing of all, especially when it comes to celebrations, walking out the the tunne, shots of the fans, walking off at half time, close ups of the game winning player with steady cam at the end of the match ala Sky Sports.
How hard is it to sit down and record Live Football from the EPL, La Liga, Serie A and International football for starters and just study it and then get the Art team to 'Pause it' every now and again and STORYBOARD it exactly as it is broadcast !?!? it's not difficult, no licenses or money needed . . . use the same level of height their camera uses, the same amount of zoom on a close up, the same wide shots of fans after a goal.
It just beggars belief to me personally that things are like this still in 2012 - some of these Game designers and Art teams are stealing a living in this industry.
I don't play the NBA 2k games personally but it looks like someone on that development team has worked out how to storyboard and copy a live broadcast of a sport and it's essence.
Anyway I will shut up now as this has turned into a rant.
Thanks for reading.
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