Cyanide’s Joe Ryan scrums up a tour of Pro Rugby Manager 2
By Michael Lafferty

“It's like watching Sky Sports, except that you're in control of the players.”

Ruck, scrum, maul – do you know what those three terms have in common? No, they are not referring to a hack-and-slash RPG. If you do know to what they refer, you are likely a fan or have knowledge of the international sport of rugby.

Pro Rugby Manager was the opportunity for gamers to immerse themselves into the hard-hitting world of this sport, and now Digital Jesters and Cyanide are back for the next round in Pro Rugby Manager 2.

Featuring more than 100 clubs, national teams with 30 authentic stadiums and photo-realistic players, this title promises to allow players to explore the facets of the game from the front office to the sidelines and onto the field itself. But what exactly is new about the upcoming (late February release date) title?

Joe Ryan, External Relations Manager of Cyanide, the development company of the title, took some time to talk with GameZone.com about Pro Rugby Manager 2.

Question: What new features have been added to make Pro Rugby Manager 2 a more robust experience than its predecessor ?

Joe: We've made good use of the year since the release of the first version. Pro Rugby Manager was well received and we got some useful feedback from players. Some of the development routes were obvious and we'd already pencilled them in (such as improving 3D tactical controls) but others were less obvious to us. We had a strong demand from the UK for a 2D-match interface and this was strongly supported by our rugby consultant, François Duboisset (Heineken Cup winner with Brive in 97). So we've got a 2D match mode and it's poetry in motion. We've also significantly beefed up the 3D mode. The main improvement is to render all the Zurich Premiership grounds. It's like watching Sky Sports, except that you're in control of the players.

In both 2D and 3D modes, we've integrated over 20 moves from set pieces. They are not all available at once. It all depends on the options a player chooses. That should be of interest to many, especially those who play 2nd row and who rarely get involved in that sort of thing on the pitch. This has obviously required an upgrade in the game's AI. The opposition will put players under far more pressure, but your players will be able to return the compliment !

To add a fun element, we've developed a player editor. There are about 50 controls that make it easy to modify the image associated with a player. Everything can be changed from hair style to bandages on fingers.

On the management side of things we've simplified training and added a few nuances to player contract negotiations and injuries. We've also reworked the game interface from top to bottom. It's most noticeable on the management pages. Not only is it better looking, it's also easier to navigate between sections.

Last, but not least, we've vastly improved the game's commentaries. Not only is the voice more dynamic, but we've also introduced variables such as team and player names. It makes for more interesting listening !

Q: While a great deal of the world may be familiar with the nuances of the sport, there are probably a lot of people who know little, and couldn't tell the difference between a scrum and a lineout. How does this game cater to the rugby neophyte and educate him or her in the game?

Joe: Pro Rugby Manager is not "Rugby for Idiots" ! Rugby is a very technical sport. The IRB rule book has over 20 chapters and it's not something that can be picked up by playing a computer game. I'd say that there are many rugby players today who do not have a full grasp of the ins and outs of the laws.

We don't try to overload the neophyte with set-upon-set of rules. The game can be played without knowing why a team kicks for touch after being awarded a penalty or why a scrum has been awarded when the ball fails to go the 10 meters at kick-off. Our hope would be that someone who knows nothing about rugby and who plays Pro Rugby Manager will be curious enough to wander round to their local club. Once they've seen a few games close up, they can download the rules from the IRB website or buy Derek Robinson's excellent book "A player's guide to the laws". I learnt a lot from both and I played rugby at school, at college and at minor club level.

I should mention, however, that we have introduced some set pieces that are playable from certain phases of the game (line-outs and scrums). These are supported by diagrams, so it's fairly easy to understand what is supposed to happen. We've also colour-coded positions, so that someone who doesn't know a prop from a centre can have some idea of whom to place where.

There is also a friendly match-playing mode that enables a player to take on who he/she likes without any consequences on an eventual career. A player can thereby build up experience on the various tactics before taking over a team.

Q: Will game players be able to manage all aspects of a franchise? How much control will the gameplayer have over the action on the field? Will players be able to customize the experience to have little to do with actual matches, or does the game require hands-on in virtually ever aspect of the game?

Joe: The player manages club finances, player contracts, training programmes, hiring and firing of staff, player injuries as well as club facilities. That should provide for a few headaches! Depending on how much energy the player has after that, a match can be played in 2D or 3D mode. Both modes require player intervention on line-outs, scrums and penalties (tactical choices) but the 2D mode is less overwhelming as there is no individual player control. Tactics can only be applied collectively in defence or attack. In 3D mode, there are also tactical choices in attack or defence that apply to an individual player. However, the game's AI will make its own decisions (except on line outs, scrums and penalties) if the game player does nothing. If that's asking too much, it's always possible to click on the simulate button and the game is over in 2 seconds.

Q: Graphically, does this game use the same engine as the original title, or have the graphics been upgraded?

Joe: The engine has been upgraded. For instance, players are displayed with about 40% more polygons, allowing us to display much smaller details. We've also significantly improved the 3D match experience. There are floodlit night games, with corresponding player shadows. It's pretty realistic so we might advise players to wear anti-dazzle sunglasses for night games! We've worked on weather-related graphics so UK players can feel at home with cloud and rain. The pitch will muddy up and so will the jerseys. It could be fun for Pro Rugby Manager players in the south of France or in Australia, who would only have heard about such conditions, but never experienced it for themselves! We've also been able to liven up the spectators. They have more varied animations and some of them even wave huge flags.

Q: Does this game support online play ?

Joe: There is a multiplayer mode allowing for one-on-one matches across a LAN or Internet. A couple of months after Pro Rugby Manager 2 is released we'll provide an update for online tournaments via our GameCenter.

Q: What aspects of the sport do you think make for a compelling videogame experience?

Joe: First of all we should underline the fact that there are two sides to Pro Rugby Manager: the office and the pitch. It's not really possible to enjoy the game if both facets are not played to the full.

From the actual point of view of the sport, the beauty of rugby is that it's a game of concentration and dispersion whose aim is to create space. For instance, at a scrum 60% of the players are concentrated in a couple of square meters. That leaves a lot of room. So it is a very tactical game.

That's what makes our introduction of attacking gambits (with supporting diagrams) so much fun. A player can use overlaps, missed and looped passes to create space out wide, or he can try and wrong-foot the opposition by a switched pass or change of direction. Of course, the opposition doesn't sit back in admiration to be overrun by some spectacular move. They'll ready themselves to pressure the attackers with the intention of getting them to play faster than they planned and thereby provoke handling errors, for example. However, by committing themselves in this way, the opposition may go offside or they may open up gaps in their own defence. All to be exploited by the attacking side. And, of course, when attack turns to defence, the tables are turned.

Rugby is also about a physical challenge. Wave after wave of attack against a desperate defence takes its toll on both sides. Players get tired and injuries happen. Just as with any action game, a close eye will have to be kept on the fitness bar of each player.

Q: This game is currently listed as a PC title. Will there be a chance that it may be ported to other console platforms?

Joe: The console market cannot be ignored and it is something we are looking into. Some of our team have PS2 and N64 experience, so it's not something that's totally foreign to us. Watch this space!

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