Speaking during an E3 demo of EA Sports’ NHL 10, producer David Littman told us of the one thing sports games were lacking the most -- emotion.
"Hockey is one of the sports that has the most emotion," he said.
He points to emotional staples of hockey events, like screaming fans banging glass or the player-on-player fights that often break out on the ice. The game will feature both. But to that last point, NHL 10 will feature fighting for the first time in years, with an interesting twist -- it’s entirely in first-person.
More after the jump.
In the demo we saw, Littman used both analog sticks to throw punches, and to tug and yank on another player’s jersey. According to the
NHL 10 producer, fighting is an integral part of the sport, allowing players to let off steam, to pump up the teams involved, and to act as a bit of palate cleanser for the fans. Given that, the fighting mechanic will award the winner’s team with a buff that can re-energize the team, making it more than merely gratuitous violence for violence’s sake.
Advances in the game’s A.I., and the new precision passing -- which lets players use the left analog stick to have more control of the speed and direction of the puck -- should have fans of last year’s game psyched for
NHL 10’s release later this year. After all, it was one of the most critically acclaimed sports games of 2008, and Littman is looking to put the franchise in the same league as yearly must-haves like
Madden NFL.
"We’re looking to create a dynasty," he says.
Contest:
9:00 AM on 06.08.2009
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At least in video games the Sharks don't always suck starting in April.
Read "The Code". It will let you in on the finer points of fighting in hockey. I am a huge hockey fan, and fighting definitely has its place in the sport. It's not like there is a fight every single game. People tend to blow the whole fighting in hockey way out of proportion. I dunno about this first-person fighting thing though. we will see.
Don't knock hockey. It's my favorite sport by a mile.
"Describing nothing but the fights in the press release is such an American summary of hockey."
I resent that. I am American and while I do enjoy a good fight now and then, it's not the reason I love the sport.
In any case, I used to avoid fights in NHL games because I thought they were pointless, but it looks like they might actually serve a purpose in '10. Emotion really is a big part of hockey and I'm curious to see what they can do with it. Though it could definitely do without the first person view. That just says "gimmick" all over it.
Actually I'd say it's pretty common to see a coach send out his bruiser when his team is being dominated, hoping a little fight will wake his guys up. Doesn't work often, though.
Although I think I read elsewhere that the emotion thing won't just be about fights. Emotion will also be affected by how often your team is hitting/being hit, skirmishes after the whistle, etc.
I totally agree with you about the balance thing, though. They could easily mess it up and ruin the whole thing.