Point Blank
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In yesterday's blog entry, I mentioned how sports game developers are opening up earlier than ever about the games they make. Count EA Canada's NBA Live team in on that action, as today on the Inside EA Sports blog, Live producer Marcus Stephenson wrote a small piece on the signature shot arcs that will be found in the upcoming NBA Live 10. Here's a snip:
Our goal this year is to have every single player in the NBA with their signature shot arc type. The best example I can give you is Kobe's low, flat shot arcs. With signature shot arcs, we believe that it'll show some real variety between different players and their jump shots.
Reading this, the thing that came to my mind was the subject of ball physics. I may be showing my ignorance here but, assuming signature shot arcs are animations tied to specific players, when do the "physics" of the basketball come into play in NBA Live (or any hoops game, for that matter)? Is it merely when the ball bounces off the glass, the rim, or gets loose on the floor or is it when a player is dribbling the ball? In other words, when is the basketball really considered "a ball" and when is it merely the tail end of an animation?
Couple the signature shot with the announcement of user-controlled bank shots (made by NBA Live designer Mike Wang over in the Operation Sports forum), and it seems like the first few trickles of NBA Live information are finally starting to seep out. And this before the 2008/2009 NBA playoffs even begin...
http://www.gamespot.com/sports/blog...d-shots-and-ball-physics.html?tag=blog;more;1
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