Lead Producer of NBA Live 10 Sean O'Brien Podcast

[huddy187]

http://beta.easports.com/media/play/fea ... EAN_061809

[ThaLiveKing]

Thanks, listening now!!

[Arcane]

I found it very informative. The feeling I get not just get from this podcast was a sense of they feel back on track to where they used to be but also on track to their goals for the game they set out it is feeling more achievable than in recent years. You can tell Sean feels relieved at the progress of this years game.

[ThaLiveKing]

Yeah For Sure. . .It's got me even more pumped, I pre-ordered the game off Ea's website today lol. I know this game will be great

[Andrew]

I'd encourage people to listen to the podcast themselves, but for those who don't want to/don't have time and to identify some of the key points so that we may talk about them, here's a summary:

- Reiterates the desire for NBA Live 10 to get back to where the series was in terms of quality and hence fan loyalty. Sean notes that this is his goal internally and externally, basically saying that it's not just his job but something he feels the fans should have because he too remembers the "good old days".

- The quote about "fixing the cracks in the foundation" was brought up. When asked to identify and talk about those "cracks", Sean immediately said "gameplay" and cited "controller throwing moments" where the game does something the user doesn't want it to do or doesn't do something the user wants to do causing great frustration with the game; reiterated that the goal is to look at the fundamentals, see what isn't working and fix it. Made specific mention of directional passing, rebounding, on-ball defense and how the game feels in transition (such as the ability to seperate from the pack with a quick player like Chris Paul).

- Talked about Synergy Sports and Dynamic DNA. Reiterated a desire for authenticity and individuality, with the experience varying player-to-player and team-to-team according to what we actually see in the NBA. Talks about how the relationship with Synergy Sports came about and how he saw it could apply to NBA Live. Feels that with the aforementioned cracks being fixed, Dynamic DNA will have a much bigger impact.

- Talks about the challenges of developing the physics of the game, especially in distinguishing between players of different sizes and levels of athleticism while making it look and feel authentic.

- Compares NBA Live 09 to NBA Live 10, feels a lot of progress has been made not only in presentation but also in gameplay.

- Talks about some of the members of the Dev Team and their various roles.

- Talks about the decision to select Dwight Howard as the cover player and how well it worked out with the Magic making the NBA Finals.

[J@3]

- Reiterates the desire for NBA Live 10 to get back to where the series was in terms of quality and hence fan loyalty

Does he specify a time where he thought the series was high quality? If it's anything outside of Live 98, Live 2000 or Live 2003ish he'd be way off base.

[Andrew]

That was around the time he was talking about, yeah. Moreso NBA Live 2000.

[ThaLiveKing]

LOL, NBA Live 2000 I loved that game, 2003 had to be one of the best Lives

[Andrew]

2003 didn't get it done for a sim geek like me. I remember having a blast with NBA Live 2004 though.

[ThaLiveKing]

03 was the game me and my brother had a lot of classic buzzer beater games lol!!! A lot of controller throwing moments lol. 2004 had that animation that took over the players If I remember correctly. I think that's when player control went lost

[Andrew]

The pro hop? Yeah, that was introduced in 2004 and was too strong but apart from that it was still a lot less arcade-ish than 2003. 2003 had its moments though, it just wasn't the game for me.

[ThaLiveKing]

LOL, I forgot about the pro hop. You could get out any double team with that, and the spin move!!!

[Andrew]

Fortunately they added the slider in 2005. I thought 2004-06 were solid games, I had a lot of fun with all of them but in terms of being the brand in basketball games, you do have to go back to NBA Live 2000 as the last time NBA Live was well received not only amongst diehard NBA Live fans but the wider audience as well.