THQ is shipping UFC 2009 Undisputed to retail stores today for the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 and while you wait for our review, we bring you another interview. Following yesterday’s interview with designer Omar Kendall , our second interview features Undisputed producer Neven Dravinski . Enjoy!
UFC 2009 Undisputed Producer Neven Dravinski
How much work went into the game considering there is so much depth in MMA? We set out to make the best representation of the UFC and the best representation of Mixed Martial Arts. To that end, we had a very systematic approach on how to capture the nuances of MMA. Everybody knows that making an MMA game is difficult because there are so many aspects and because there are so many different things that could happen to you at any given time. We approached it from that sport sort of style where you have these classifications that each person falls into; sometimes you have to make a hard choice like this guy is maybe jiu-jitsu or wrestling. To that end, we watched a lot of footage and every single fight. We get fights on DVD from the UFC, we’re watching them the next week, tuning all the guys, working with the animators and the programmers to get the collision system working the zero clipping that you’re seeing. It involved a lot of late night video conferences. A lot of long calls and trips out to Japan. A lot of work with people all around the globe. It was quite an effort but I think it was well worth it when we see the results that we got in the final product. Do you think this game will really grab the attention of the hardcore MMA fan? I hope so. I think to some extent we’ve already achieved that when we read the response to the demo. I’ve been doing all the press events so for me it’s easy to see the reaction. However, that’s a very singular and compact taste of a reaction. You can see some of the feedback but [we’re] seeing public feedback from consumers, [with] the demo. People are hungry for an MMA game and a game that represents the UFC where they can play these characters. I think with the MMA enthusiast, we set out to make the best MMA to date and I think we’ve been able to do that. The feedback we got from the UFC, the UFC trainers, [and] fighters themselves, -- we really managed to capture that. Now it’s about educating people that maybe aren’t familiar with the UFC and not familiar with MMA and getting them into the game because the same things you do to be successful in the game, people in the Octagon have to do to be successful. Playing the game will actually give you greater appreciation of watching a UFC fight on TV. How accessible is the game? Will it appeal to both the novice and hardcore fan of both MMA and video games? We definitely set out to make this game very easy to pick up and everyone will kind of gravitate towards the stand up game initially but it still has a lot of depth that makes it difficult to master. Our designers, they have been hardcore fighting game enthusiasts for years. You will see a ton of depth and a lot of attention to the actual fighting engine. We have guys who have worked on the Mortal Kombat series, [and] written Street Fighter strategy guides. There is a lot of attention to detail and hardcore fighting techniques that are going into the system. At the same time, you can get in, bang with your friends, knock ‘em out. But if you want to win and win consistently, you’re going to have to learn all of the aspects of the game. Why was it important to have a career mode in the game? We wanted to keep the game action focused but also give you a semblance of what it is like to prepare for a fight. It’s about managing your stamina and the calendar system. We wanted to break it up and you still have to think – it’s about creating that carrot and incentive to increase your fighter’s skills. When it all comes down to it, this is the ultimate form of competition. Am I better than you? Is my guy gonna take you out all the time? In each division, you can have your super submission guy, your super stand-up guy, your all around guy. You have so many different ways to replay the game, replay the career mode and maximize these guys – make them better than the roster guys. How about online play? How will you deal with lag? That was a big issue for us. With a game running at 60 frames per second and so much of the game being dictated by the Havok Collision System with zero penetration, we really wanted to make sure the gameplay feels fluid , that you’re getting that zero latency. Online will be one on one exhibition and you’ll be able to get ranked. There will be weekly rankings and level up based on your performance. It will give people the opportunity to find people and take out their aggression. A lot of people are creating their own leagues and I’m sure you’ll see people going on and recreating upcoming fight cards. Will there be an online championship belt? There will be things like weekly rewards for leveling up and leveling down depending on your abilities. Essentially, we wanted to keep it very straight forward – get on there and fight your buddies. That gives us the ability to expand for the generation of the game in terms of functionality and league play. The Classic Fight feature is very cool. Was that done as a nod to the hardcore fan who already knows the history of the UFC or for the benefit of newcomers? It gives you a sense of the history of the fighters. We had to really think: what was a classic fight when you look at the history of the UFC? It will give people who maybe aren’t big fans of the UFC an insight into these guys – here they were at their prime or a dramatic situation that launched this guy. It was a cool way to use footage and get Rachelle [Leah] (UFC host) out there while still wrapping it around the core gameplay. You now have a fight with a mission and you have to get the expected result. How hard was it to capture the essence of ground fighting? Each match has this inherent tension to it. When you watch two really skilled jiu-jitsu fighters go at it, you can always see that attempt to gain position. One of my favorite quotes from (UFC Announcer) Joe Rogan from [the] GSP vs Penn II fight was, “how much has this sport changed, the crowd just cheered that he got back to guard.” That’s probably the most telling quote I have ever heard. When you see two people playing who really know the game, it’s scary how much like a real fight it looks like. There’s a really cool cat and mouse game going on that is really indicative of the tension and strategy in a real fight. Does the game keep the inherent unpredictable nature of a real fight with flash knockouts? Certainly. We don’t have these rigid rules. They physics and the soft rules and situational advantages/disadvantages are dictating the percentages of when someone is susceptible to a knockout or a submission. That adds to the accessibility [of] it and more realistic. If you don’t keep your hands up, you could get caught much like a real UFC fight. You may be way better but the guy just might catch you. It makes you think about how you’re fighting in a new way.