June 13, 2008

Another Swing at Smash Court Tennis 3; GameZone Interviews Rio Nakata on the New Xbox 360 Edition
By Louis Bedigian

“With Smash Court Tennis 3, our goal was to make the best non-fiction sports game possible, to give the feeling of a real tennis match to the players.”

Last year, Smash Court Tennis 3 was released for just one platform: PlayStation Portable. Its exclusive run ends this summer when the game finally leaps to Xbox 360, with new content and gameplay built specifically for Microsoft’s console from the ground up.

“We focused on the single-player mode for which the core of the gameplay is basically the same in both versions,” said Rio Nakata, Product Producer at Namco Bandai’s Japan offices. “However, for this new version we created more content, we improved the character model, used some new motion data. We also used new materials for the CG. All of this had to be created from scratch.”

The first version of Smash Court Tennis 3 arrived last year and appeared to be a PSP exclusive. Now it's coming to Xbox 360. Typically we see games do the opposite – first a console edition, then one for a handheld. Tell us about the challenges of developing a game this way.

Rio Nakata: This Xbox 360 version isn't a simple adaptation of the game. For this project, we had a few difficult issues while developing the game. Because of this, a lot of the game content had to be developed and programmed again from the very beginning.

On PSP, mini-games were one of the best features. Which of those, if any, will the 360 version have, and will it include any new mini-games?

RN: For this version, there are no new mini-games. However, we added new modes such as the Online Battle Mode and some downloadable features such as the footwear. Furthermore, the Original Player Edit Mode gives the player a lot more possibilities in editing his character. The Online Battle Pro Tour mode is also something that, I think, gamers will like.

Moving beyond the previous version, let's talk specifically about the game on Xbox 360. Doubles matches are being added to Xbox Live, and we'd like to know how that'll work. Can my teammate be local, online, or both?

RN: In Online Double Battle Mode, players can play up to two players with one Xbox 360. This means that with two Xbox 360s, four players can play in an online match at the same time.

How are the swing mechanics being designed?

RN: With Smash Court Tennis 3, our goal was to make the best non-fiction sports game possible, to give the feeling of a real tennis match to the players. This is the reason why we implemented a power entry system. This also allows beginners to play with the Top Pro Super Play and enjoy it.

Smash Court Tennis is less of an arcade game than some of the other tennis games out there. But Smash Court Tennis 3 promises that players of all skill levels will benefit quickly from the "powerful shots and finely honed skills of the star players," as noted in the game's announcement. Does this mean that Smash Court Tennis 3 will be more of an arcade game?

RN: As Smash Court Tennis 3 is a "non-fiction sports game," it is basically designed to be a real simulator. However, through its gameplay and interface, this is still a game that gives the "fun feeling" that players expect from a video game.

Practically, the improvement of the new shot system, the original player edit mode, and the pro tour allow the game to [go] beyond the frame of a normal simulation game and has a lot of fun to offer.

If it's not more of an arcade game (and will stick to its realistic roots), explain how the game is being balanced so that fans and newcomers alike will be satisfied.

RN: This is actually why we have completely changed the shot system. Up to now, it took a little time for the players to actually have fun with the game. With the new power entry system, beginner players can play the Super Play Mode and still have fun. At the same time we obtained a more realistic game by improving the physics related to the ball, the tennis players animation and the camera angles. Even though we have changed the power system, players will find the gameplay familiar and will find the feeling of the previous Smash Court Tennis releases still intact.

What will the shot aiming system be like? Are shots angled with the left analog stick, as usual?

RN: As it has always been, players aim by using the left stick. The power and the accuracy of the shots depend of the timing on which you press and release the buttons. I think the variety of the shots available is one of the strengths of "Smash Court Tennis 3."

Thanks to its variety of shots and modulation such as the rising shot and the way the game system is designed, Smash Court Tennis 3 allows a lot of different tactics, and is close to what real tennis is. It also provides shot techniques and animations that look natural.

Smash Court Tennis 3 is set to include 16 different players. As far as the mechanics/gameplay is concerned, will there be any noticeable differences between them?

RN: Even though the controls are the same for all the tennis players, the new shot system allows us to display the style of each of the tennis players included in the game in a very precise way. Furthermore, with all the Top Pro parameters, all the style related specifics and details can be displayed.

"High Dynamic Range" is being hyped as one of the game's graphical features, allowing for superior realism. In more specific terms, how will this and other visual extras make the game more realistic (and hopefully more immersive)?

RN: For example, when looking at a bright spot, the screen becomes darker, when looking at a dark spot, the screen becomes brighter.

In other words, it's like a simulation of the way human pupils function. At the same time, we applied an effect which produces a bloom when an object is shining a lot. Thanks to this we have been able to reproduce the light and darkness on screen in a realistic way. Even though the light source in tennis generates shadows in real time, we avoided making shadows too dark or the reflections from the sun too bright.

Having unique court designs isn't as important to a tennis game as, say, track design is to a racing game. Having said that, the Pac-Man and other game-inspired courses on PSP were very cool. Will anything like that appear on Xbox 360?

RN: As you say, it's definitely different for racing games, as in tennis games the court is fixed.

Furthermore, the real-time light system was not included in the PSP version, and the Xbox 360 offers a variety of courts that were not available in the PSP version. In order to stick to the environment of a real tennis match, Smash Court Tennis 3 offers a lot of different types of courts: clay, grass, artificial, and mixed.

Finally, once the Xbox 360 version is released, do you think other consoles or handhelds will be in Smash Court Tennis' future?

RN: Nothing is decided on this at the moment.

Thank you for your time.

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