Program Manager and Designer Interview

It takes a strong man to squeeze Shaquille O’Neal into an Xbox, but luckily the NBA Inside Drive 2004 team had several strong men on hand. Two of them—Program Manager Erich Waas and Designer Marc Boyer—stopped by to chat with us about NBA Inside Drive, Shaq, and the will to power in the low post.

Xbox.com: When you sat down to update NBA Inside Drive 2003, what were your objectives? What are some of the changes gamers can expect in NBA Inside Drive 2004?

Waas: Our focus was on online competition and the on-court experience. A lot of time was spent on providing a great Xbox Live experience and integrating XSNsports.com for leagues and tournaments. NBA Inside Drive now offers competition whenever you want it. Just sign on to XboxLive and compete against players of the same skill level or against the highest ranked players. We also focused on enhancing the gameplay that NBA Inside Drive is known for and did a complete facelift to the graphics. The courts, player models, faces, crowds, lighting, and animation were all improved.

Boyer: The main objective was to bring our very well-received gameplay online. It was a big task because we wanted the same experience online and offline; it required a lot of coding, testing, and tuning. Graphically, the game improved a lot. Just look at our player faces, and you’ll see that this game is really pushing the Xbox. And for everyone who was anxious to see what we were going to do to improve the gameplay, we introduced touch-sensitive passes and steals along with one-touch passes that are useful to create fast moves (just to name a few of the upgrades).

Xbox.com: What sports games have you had the most fun with in the past? Are there any games that inspired you when you were working on NBA Inside Drive?

Waas: The first sports games that really hooked me were Baseball Stars and Tecmo Bowl on the NES. Both games were great examples of the fact that gameplay and intuitive controls are fundamental to any game, regardless of genre. I’ve played a lot of sports games from just about every publisher since. For the past year, I’ve been playing a lot of games from the XSN Sports line. I get to work in an office where I can play the latest versions of NFL Fever, NHL™ Rivals,Links®, Top Spin™, and Amped 2 whenever I have time. I’m really excited about the future of online play for sports games, the development of XSNsports.com, and the sports community that is evolving from this line-up.

Boyer: From the past, the game I enjoyed the most was Kick Off 2 on the Amiga. Video games have totally changed since then (the beginning of the nineties), but the one thing I took from Kick Off was the fun. I want games to be fun, not frustrating, and for me, that comes through the gameplay. Nowadays, I’m playing Winning Eleven, which is also a fantastic example of how important gameplay is.

Xbox.com: Describe the involvement of Shaquille O’Neal in this game and his influence on the game design.

Waas: Growing up as a Blazers and Sonics fan, it was hard to be a fan of any Laker in the beginning. I was really impressed by Shaq’s enthusiasm and interest in helping make NBA Inside Drive the premiere video basketball game. I’m a huge Shaq fan now. The motion capture session was a lot of fun, and Shaq provided us with more great moves than we had planned on capturing.

Boyer: Shaquille was very helpful and fun to work with during the motion capture. We stuck ping pong balls on his body and asked him to play a real game. He responded exactly how we wanted by performing the huge dunks and moves he is famous for.

Xbox.com: Shaq is one of the most powerful players the NBA has ever seen. What techniques and gameplay elements did you use to bring his low-post game to the Xbox?

Boyer: Having him in the game forced us to rethink our low-post gameplay, an area somewhat left behind in previous games. We included key low-post elements: fighting for position, backing down, and explosives dunks. Now it really pays to work in a low-post position, and with the rumbling on the pad, you really have the impression of fighting.

Waas: The first thing Shaq wanted to know about after we teamed up was what our plans were for the post game in NBA Inside Drive 2004. We improved upon the jostling for position in the low-post and the dunks, runners, and hook shots that can be executed from the low-post position.

Xbox.com: NBA Inside Drive 2004 is among the first crop of games to embrace the XSN Sports network. What do you hope and expect to see of NBA Inside Drive on XSN Sports? Will you be online playing the game?

Waas: I was really excited about the ability to have the same trash talkers that are in my fantasy basketball league sign-up for an XSN Sports league together. Instead of hoping Shaq scores 25 points and grabs 15 boards a night, I can control him myself. What has been great, though, is the online community of NBA Inside Drive fans. It’s been a lot of fun competing against players from all across the country. It’s definitely giving me ideas for NBA Inside Drive 2005!

Boyer: From now on, if you want to play with all your buddies and have a Web site that compiles scores and standings, you can do it on XSN Sports. Of course I will play online. I’m a huge gamer and a big sports game fan, so XSN Sports is definitely for me. If you see someone collecting triple doubles with Tony Parker, there’s a good chance that it’s me.

Xbox.com: Who’s the best Inside Driveplayer on the design team? Is he a gracious winner?

Boyer: That’s definitely me. Am I a gracious winner? Well, what would a sports game be without trash talk? I’m sure everyone on the team knows enough French to argue with a Parisian cab driver now.

Waas: Marc only thinks he’s the best because he has delusions of French grandeur. Of the designers, the best player is Mike who works at HVS, the developer for NBA Inside Drive 2004. He’s a great guy and a very gracious winner, so I don’t mind losing to him—most of the time. The best player I’ve seen, though, is a guy on our test team named Isaac. I’ve seen what he can do to some of the best Inside Drive players. I’ll play just about anyone, but I’m holding out on playing Isaac just so I can torment him with my trash talk.

Xbox.com: What new features would you like to see in future versions of Inside Drive?

Waas: The Pick-Up mode that NHL Rivals had this year is high on our list for Inside Drive 2005. We’re also working on gameplay features that will make this mode much more compelling for basketball players. Of course, there are other features that the team is implementing right now, but you’ll have to wait until E3 for more details.

Xbox.com: Anything else you’d like to add?

Waas: I look forward to playing more Xbox Live games of NBA Inside Drive with players everywhere and talking with them about the game. I’d also like to say that I’ve schooled Marc the last three times we played, so I’m looking for some new competition online.

Boyer: Keep playing online. I’m looking through the standings, and we might contact the best gamers to play some furious and stressful championship games.