Taunt Your Opponent in the Game Where Attitude = Skill + Style: FIFA Street

by Louis Bedigian

 

“Beat moves are the key game feature and the depth of this system comes from learning the moves.”

 

 

NBA Street, you know it started the game

And turned around a genre that was starting to get lame

 

My girlfriend wants to chat but I don’t wanna call her

Now that I got Street, I wanna be a baller

 

NFL Street, it consumed my soul

Before I was empty, but now I am whole

 

Next up from EA is the Street version of FIFA

What the heck rhymes with that?  Final Fantasy’s Tifa? 

 

 

 

Later this month, EA will storm the market with the extreme sports game us Americans refer to as soccer: FIFA Street.  Known to the rest of the world as football, this hard-hitting sports game is going to break bones faster than you can break out a GameBreaker.

 

For the latest on what’s sure to be another BIG hit for EA, we turned to Designer Robert McCracken.

 

 

The players in both NBA Street and NFL Street have a cocky, I'm-better-than-you attitude.  Is this being carried over to FIFA Street?

 

Robert McCracken: The game carries a street attitude – but one that is characteristic of street football (soccer). Both NBA and NFL have a certain attitude and FIFA Street has gone for its own style.

 

The core of the game is the 1-on-1 encounters: attacker vs. defender. The attacker has an arsenal of beat moves at their disposal, and the defender has the ability to block these moves - if they’re quick enough.

 

We use the term "beat" to describe moves that take the ball past a defender with style. And beats come in quite a few flavors: through the opponent’s legs (as the Dutch street footballers would term it, the Panna), over their head, or around the side of them. Beats also take advantage of the environment: if I perform a beat close to a wall, the players uses a unique move that will bounce the ball off the wall to get around the defender – very cool. In total we have approximately 50 of these uber-cool moves for the player to torture and tournament their opponents with.

 

So these attacker vs. defender battles are the core of the FIFA Street experience. But it’s not enough to just beat an opponent, to rule you’ve got to humiliate them. And in our book Attitude = Skill + Style. We didn't include the ability to "taunt" your opponent for nothing.

 

Another thing the Street series is known for is its wide array of over-the-top moves, moves that few athletes (if any) could perform in the real world.  I assume FIFA Street will have its own array of fantasy moves?

 

Robert McCracken: Yes we have beat moves that most gamers won't have seen before, and all of these moves are firmly grounded in reality of street football. We had some of the best Dutch street footballers fly over to show us their moves. I can say that our jaws dropped when we saw them done in real life.

 

Those and more are in the game.

 

 

 

 

Can you tell us about those?

 

Robert McCracken: Moves range from the traditional step over and "roulette" to the spectacular "twister."

 

There's one move where the player touches the ball 5 times in 1.5 seconds before firing it off the wall.

 

I can guarantee that with these beat moves we’re breaking new ground in the football genre.

 

While there are some similarities, NBA Street and NFL Street have their own unique controls and gameplay mechanics that take time to master.  Is this true of FIFA Street as well?

 

Robert McCracken: Beat moves are the key game feature and the depth of this system comes from learning the moves, and just when to use them.

 

Beyond this, learning how to build a combo is a key to getting ahead. By stringing together different skills: air play, beat moves, taunts, etc., the user ups their combo multiplier. Boosting this multiplier not only increases the value of performing tricks it also increase the player’s chances of scoring.

 

And the consequence for all this gratuitous skill is the charging of the player’s Game Breaker meter. Once this meter is filled the player will be able to fire off a Game Breaker shot. I’ll not spoil this moment by going into detail, suffice to say you’ll enjoy it when you see it. J

 

Talk about the dynamic one-on-one encounters.

 

Robert McCracken: One player has an arsenal of beat moves. The defender can specifically play to keep himself from being nutmegged or beaten at the price of mobility. If the attacker gets too cute, there's no ref to stop you from plowing him into the concrete.

 

How do you perform the style moves?

 

Robert McCracken: As with NBA Street V3 we use (in the case of PS2) the right analog stick, or Trick Stick, to perform our beat moves. There’s one trick assigned to each of the eight primary directions, and the player can access a second layer of moves by holding the trick shift button. As covered previously, we offer a context based beat system, so if I’m near a wall I’ll get a different move to the one I’d get if I was mid pitch. Also I’ll get different moves if I’m standing still, versus running.

 

Are there any special, hard-hitting moves that enable you to steal the ball more easily?

 

Robert McCracken: Defensively the player has three ways to get the ball back: they can block a beat, they can tap the ball away from the opponent with a standing tackle, or they can go for gold and do a full body sliding tackle. The latter move is cool, if you time it right you can send your opponent flying, and gain the ball, but time it wrong and you end up taking yourself out of the play. 

 

 

 

Does FIFA Street have its own version of the GameBreaker?

 

Robert McCracken: A GameBreaker shot that can prove to be quite nasty if an unfortunate player gets in the way...

 

What kinds of environments will we be playing in?  How many will there be?

 

All our venues are based on real world locations where street football is played from South America to Europe and around the world. There will be ten in total that you unlock as you progress through the game.

 

You can look forward to meeting Ronaldinho in Rio, Rooney in London, or Henry in Marseille.

 

Which teams are going to be featured in FIFA Street?  Are there any fantasy teams?

 

Robert McCracken: The following sixteen international teams will be selectable: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nigeria, Portugal, South Korea, Spain, and the USA.

 

The player will be able to bring their Rule the Street team through to Game On and Friendly. Also the player will be able to create their own Star Team, this allows them to hand pick a team from the galaxy of talent on offer.

 

So the player will be able to see if his Rule the Street team is a match for England, or if their Star Team has the beating of the best teams in the world.

 

What does FIFA Street's list of play modes include?

 

Robert McCracken: We offer three play modes:

 

Game On – this allows players to get into the game with the minimum of fuss: pick your teams and you’re good to go.

 

Friendly – this allows players to define their game in more detail: select their teams, decide which players they want to play with, pick a location to play in, and ultimately decide how the want to play, via My Rules.

 

Rule the Street – this is the single player adventure. The player’s objective is to win all 10 Rule the Street tournaments, to do this they will need to boost the abilities of their created player, and at the same time assemble a squad of super star players. And fortunately we have the greatest players of this generation to choose from.

 

 

 

 

Any word on which songs are going to be included on the soundtrack?

 

Robert McCracken: The game will feature a global sound, going for Latin, UK Garage, Hip hop and more.

 

Dizzy Rascal - Stand Up Tall, and “A Busca Da Vida”  by Ramilson Maia are great examples of the diversity of music in the game.

 

Thank you for your time.