FIFA 14 - First Hands-on Experience

A new ‘step-based locomotion system’, along with a new shooting system that promises to evoke the same emotions as scoring a goal in real life, are two of the biggest changes that producers Sebastian Enrique and Kantcho Doskov have implemented to make FIFA 14 the best version yet of the hugely popular series.

When co-producer, Kantcho Doskov, sat down with Extratime.ie at EA’s London headquarters in May, he was excited about what he believes is the biggest development from FIFA 13- the ‘step-based locomotion system’.

In a non-video game producer’s world a ‘step-based locomotion system’ is basically a whole new way in which the players in FIFA 14 will move. Whereas in FIFA 13 players were a bit clunky in their movement and seemed to almost float above the ground when stopping to turn, the movement in FIFA 14 will seem a lot more fluid and crisper.

New animations have been added so that players now skid to a halt before turning, or burst into space with sharp acceleration when dribbling with the ball. Doskov believes that this is a huge step forward.

“The big thing [that has developed from FIFA 13] is the new locomotion system. We spent two years focussing on this and it’s not a trivial change, it’s a huge, huge change for the gameplay engine.”

Player movement is a huge part of any sports-based video game and FIFA is no different. It dictates how players dribble, how they tackle, how they track runs and how they position themselves, among many other things. Doskov felt a change was needed in how players moved, in order to add that fluidity to it.

“Everything hinges on how players move in the game, how they dribble, how they position themselves. Making a change like that effects everything else in the game and it’s something that we did consciously because we felt it needed to be improved.

“The initial locomotion system was based on can animations which looked good, but didn’t feel responsive. We then moved to the blended animation system which was responsive but, as you saw in FIFA 13, the guys just floating around, sliding, and there’s just something off about it. We felt that we could do better.”

Players now preserve momentum a lot better and plant their feet a lot more accurately. There is a greater sense of player weight when playing the game. It does take a bit of getting used to and can be a bit chaotic at times, with players running away from the ball mid-dribble, but these are just minor defects that will be fixed before the completed game is released.

FIFA has always been an exciting and fun game to play. There is the question of whether or not the producers’ continuing quest for more realistic gameplay will take away from this sense of fun but, for the moment, it has only added to it.

This is certainly the case with the new shooting system that has been introduced to the game. Known as ‘Pure Shot’, it brings real ball physics into the game in a way that’s never been seen before. Prepare to bamboozle goalkeepers with violently swerving and dipping shots and score Cristiano Ronaldo-esque free-kicks on a regular basis with this new system.

In past FIFA games it simply wasn’t possible to hit shots that dip just before the goalkeeper or swerve from one corner of the net into the other but, in FIFA 14, you can. Doskov explained that they wanted to make the build-up to, and the scoring of a goal, feel more rewarding.

“Our idea was to try and make that moment of working up to shooting the ball, and actually striking it, to feel as exhilarating and rewarding as it does in real life when you do score a great goal and you watch your team score a great goal.

“What we found in FIFA 13 was that there were times when you did score a great goal that the movement wasn’t quite right. The player was sliding into it or his legs were scissoring. The transition just didn’t feel good.

“For example, when you get rushed into a shot, there are new animations that we’ve added that make it feel more uncomfortable, off-balanced or rushed. It adds more variety to the types of goals you can score. I play a lot of online and I find that a lot of the goals scored are the same. The last thing we want to do is make FIFA repetitive.”

The much hated ‘sweaty goal’ (when a player who is through, one-on-one with the goalkeeper squares it to a team-mate to simply tap into an open goal) that features so often in FIFA 13 could become a thing of the past in FIFA 14 due to new improvements in how the AI (playing against the computer) defends, or so Doskov hopes.

“We’ve made a lot of improvements [to the AI]. We want to make sure that you can’t score those easy, sweaty goals like you could in FIFA 13. I don’t want to see anymore tap ins where the guy in the middle is open!”

Easier to execute skill moves (you don’t have to hold down on the left trigger anymore, you simply move the right analog stick) along with a whole new menu interface and career mode hub that incorporates a global scouting network, are just a few more of the changes that have been made to the game. With more changes set to be made before its September 27^th release date, FIFA 14 will be sure to exceed sales of FIFA 13 and keep gamers occupied for another year until the next game in the series is released.