MVP’s Ben Brinkman steps up to the plate to talk about the 2005 edition of the EASports franchise

By Michael Lafferty

“The biggest challenge is and always will be nailing all the details fans of baseball have come to expect and deserve in a baseball videogame”

The umpire stands straight, eyes the pitcher’s mound, the waiting batter and the assembled fielders, then …

“Play ball!”

The Major League teams begin reporting to spring training within a couple of weeks, but it’s not too early to start getting excited about the pending cyber season. EASports is stepping up to the plate early with the release of MVP Baseball 2005, due to hit the GameCube, PlayStation2, PC and Xbox platforms at the start of March.

Ben Brinkman, associate producer for the title, spoke with GameZone.com about this pending edition in the storied franchise.

Question: The new version of this title boasts a create-a-ballpark feature. How in depth is this and will players create fun, fanciful, or serious parks, or all of the above? Will players be able to share these ballpark visions with others?

Ben: Create Ballpark allows users to create a realistic ballpark for their team in Owner Mode, though the park can be used in any game play mode. It works a lot like the upgrade system in Need for Speed Underground. You begin with a small stadium. As you earn money in Owner Mode you are able to purchase upgrades such as new concession stands, seats, a hi-tech "jumbotron" and much more. The goal is to build a park that attracts fans in large numbers game after game. The more people who come to your games, the more money they will spend meaning more money goes into your pocket. Unfortunately players will not be able to share their ballparks this year.

Q: Tell us a little bit about the batter set-up and moving around in the batter's box? Obviously, if facing a pitcher that is primarily a breaking-ball hurler, position in the batter's box can be the difference between hammering the ball, or missing badly as it falls off the table. But how does this also work when playing defense? Will a batter's position in the box configure into what pitches you are likely to throw?

Ben: The idea of moving in the batter's box is not new to baseball games but our version adds more gameplay than previous iterations. In MVP Baseball 2005, players can try to outguess the pitcher by waiting until the last moment to move in or away from the plate. Hence it becomes next to impossible for the defense or pitcher to counter this move by the batter. That said if the batter moves too early it becomes easy for either another user or the CPU to adjust where the pitch is going to take advantage of the batter's position. When the batter moves his hot/cold zones move with him so the risk/reward is that you get more plate coverage over one area, but lose coverage over another.

Q: While on the topic of batting, has anything been added to, or taken from, the batting approach to this game? Is the Hitter's Eye an acquired skill that you need to employ all the time, or once you master it, does it affect the AI and allow you some room for error?

Ben: The mechanics of hitting are similar to last year: hitting is one part timing and one part Left Analog Swing Control. For example, if the pitcher throws you a change up on the inside edge you'll have to time your swing later and aim the left stick in the direction of the pitch. The up and down angle of the ball can be modified by pressing up or down on the left stick. Keep in mind that certain pitches go up or down better than others, meaning if the pitcher is throwing you a splitter down in the zone, for example, and you try to hit it in the air you aren't going to have too much success because that sinker is traveling down and the physics of it tell you that's going to be tough to hit up. Now, it's not impossible to hit low pitches in the air or out of the park for that matter, just more difficult. We've also added drag bunts to MVP 2005, something that has been a glaring hole in previous versions of MVP.

With the Hitter's Eye we tried to reproduce the feeling of the batter picking up the spin of the ball right out of the pitcher's hand. The incoming pitch will briefly flash to a color corresponding to its pitch type to allow the user a chance to get better idea of what type of pitch is coming, not the exact pitch. For example a bright green ball means it's an off-speed pitch. This could be a circle change, palm ball or straight change. Read the Pitch allows new players to familiarize themselves with the timing of pitches while it affords skilled players the ability to determine the trajectory of pitches or more specifically where and how the pitch is going to break or move. It doesn't have any effect on the AI; it's merely a way to improve hitting. If you read the pitch you'll have better success at the plate.

Q: What prompted the inclusion of lead-off control? How intuitive is the AI in the single-player game when it comes to trying to pick off that leaning runner?

Ben: We included lead-off control to add another wrinkle to base running. Lead offs and pick offs have always been about a dice roll. We wanted to put control into the user's hands to determine whether or not his runner would be picked off based upon his own twitch skills using the right stick. Of course runners will get back only as fast at they physically can, so a slug will always take longer to get back to base than a speed guy. The AI has been improved this year as well so if the runner has a big lead the CPU pitcher will take notice and use either his "A" or "B" move to throw to the base.

Q: Tell us about the minor league system. Will gamers be able to create a player and then work through the minors, being called up by the front office, or is this more a management/development mode?

Ben: The minor leagues are available to be used in Exhibition Mode or Owner and Dynasty Modes as part of your overall organization. You handle your minor league players just like any real world GM or Owner would with regards to send downs, call ups and other transactions. In MVP Baseball 2005 we've added 30 Single-A teams to go with our pre-existing 30 Double-A and 30 Triple-A teams. We've also made the uniforms more authentic.  Additionally we've added 3 new stadiums. I love playing in these stadiums because their dimensions are a bit different than what is the norm in the MLB so it creates a bit of a different play experience.

Q: In the online multiplayer mode, is there a matchmaking system to allow players of like abilities the opportunity to compete? What kind of tourneys will be in place, and will there be leagues available?

Ben: You can send challenges to players with a similar ranking to yours. You can also check out the MVP 2005 leader boards to see how a particular player is doing in terms of strikeouts, home runs per game, etc, which can help you make your decision of whom to challenge.

We have both traditional tournaments and quick tournaments, which let you jump right into an online tourney. You can even use minor league teams in this, if you prefer.

No leagues this year, but we so offer something other EA SPORTS games don't: in unranked games, you can play with custom rosters. So, if you want to unlock Babe Ruth and your buddy wants to use Jackie Robinson, you can play them online. Or, if you want to see how Pedro would do pitching for the Cubs, you can save that roster and use it online as well.

Q: Baseball is such a tough game to actualize in a game simply because of the randomness of the game, and how different things can happen the moment the ball leaves the pitcher's hand (and even before, when the manager creates a lineup for the game). What did you find to be the biggest challenge when creating this version of the game?

Ben: The biggest challenge is and always will be nailing all the details fans of baseball have come to expect and deserve in a baseball videogame. This is more than having fancy cutscenes where players sign autographs and throw balls into the crowd. This is more about enhancing the gameplay experience and giving the user something tangible to take away from the game, not fluffy bells and whistles. There are so many different scenarios that can and will occur in a baseball game, and accounting for all of them is a tall order.

Q: Will there be downloadable roster updates available to players?

Ben: Yes. The first one will be ready for download for owners of the PS2, XBOX and PC versions of the game the day the MVP 2005 hits stores.

Q: Now the toughest questions of all ... who is your favorite team, and without showing bias, who will win the World Series in 2005 and why?

Ben: My favorite team is the A's, though I hardly recognize them any more!

I'm sure one of the teams who spend the most money will win the World Series. That said it'll come down to the team from Anaheim with the identity crisis, Boston or the Yankees.  If I had to pick one I would say Boston because they functioned as a team last year, not a bunch of high-priced parts. Though it's a new year...

My dark horse teams are the Padres and Marlins. The Marlins have a dominant staff and some pretty good bats. For the Padres, Khalil Greene is going to be a Hall of Fame shortstop, while Nevin, Klesko and Giles should be back on top of their games. On top of that they have a pretty good staff top to bottom with one of the best pitcher's in the game, Jake Peavy, leading it off.

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