Developer Interview

AND 1® Streetball is to basketball as an Indy car is to your family sedan … much sexier and one heck of a lot faster. That type of play is a natural fit for a video game, and Ubisoft (publisher) and BlackOps (developer) were quick to take advantage of it. We recently sat down with the AND 1 team for an interview.

Xbox.com: What prompted you to make a street ball game instead of a more traditional basketball game?

AND 1 Team: The goal of AND 1 from the start was to produce a true AND 1 experience that happens in real life. This means our game is a mix of traditional basketball with the "wow" factor of creative street ball.

Here comes a dunk.

Xbox.com: Are you guys into the street game yourselves?

AND 1 Team: Yes we are. We play every basketball video game out there and every other sport games out there, old and new. The development team even plays in a basketball league around the playgrounds in Santa Monica.

Xbox.com:The iBall controls sound pretty cool. What was the idea behind them and what makes them better than traditional controls?

AND 1 Team: AND 1 is about creativity and doing moves on the fly depending on the situation. Using both analog sticks allows for this level of control and creativity. The right analog stick signals a type of move to branch from—there are eight of them for level one. From that, each branch is modified up to eight different ways for level two, and from that you hold the turbo button for another eight ways for level three. The amount of control and moves the player has in his arsenal is unheard of in any street ball game to date.

You'd better jump if you hope to block that shot.

Xbox.com: There are different levels of moves in the game. What is the difference in levels? Is a level three move more difficult to execute than a level two?

AND 1 Team: The iBall moves have three levels of moves the player can choose from. Level one is the setup dribble; you use this to get into position on court. Level two are the showboat moves; these moves add respect points and make your opponent look stupid. Finally, there are the Level 3 moves, called "Ankle Breakers;" they are the finishing moves that put your defender on the ground, allowing you a clear shot or a drive to the basket. Each move is executed through a rhythm-based system; the higher the level the more difficult the rhythm, and the person who learns the system will have an advantage in playing the game.

Xbox.com: Streetball is obviously about more than straight up scoring. You have to put on a show. How does the video game model that?

AND 1 Team: In AND 1, the player is rewarded in two ways for putting on a show for the fans by doing a mind-boggling amount of iBall moves. The first way is allowing you to be on "Fire," giving you boosted attributes for a period of time and making it much easier to score. The second way is to let you pull off your created move. For the first time in basketball games you can make your own signature move. Not only is this personal but it modifies the score more than normal shots, if successful.

"We created a system that allows the
player to create their own move."

Xbox.com: What actual street ballers are depicted in the game? Did you bring any of them on as advisors or involve them in the making of the game?

AND 1 Team: We modeled the entire AND 1 team from the last tour and included many of the winners from each one of the city tour stops. We motion captured most of the players for all the basketball animations in the game. There are no fake moves here, all real.

Xbox.com: Creating moves is pretty nifty. How does that work?

AND 1 Team: We created a system that allows the player to create their own move using a unique move editor. We give the player four parts to create a signature move. Each part has many moves to choose from, allowing for some spectacular combinations.

Xbox.com: So there's actually a campaign or story mode in the game. Does this let your player progress in roleplaying game (RPG)-like fashion? How long is the campaign?

AND 1 Team: Our story mode has many RPG elements like upgrading attributes, clothing, and appearance, and growing a character. The story mode itself is a 14-city tour around 10 U.S. cities and four stops internationally.

Xbox.com: I like to play defense. Is it also an important part of the game?

AND 1Team: Absolutely. Our defense is also tuned for control. A defender has different blocks and steals to choose from to fight against the offense.

I'm gonna sit on this ball and rest a spell.

Xbox.com: What do you feel is the single biggest feature that differentiates this game from other basketball games on the market?

AND 1 Team: Create a move. Our game is the first basketball game to let you make your own on-court signature move. It is the feature that symbolizes our game of inventive, high-energy, creative, and fun basketball.

Jad Recklaw

• Discover more about the AND 1 tour.