How did you pick the new locations to create in FIFA Street 2?
We considered a number of different factors but in the end I felt we needed to choose locations that felt relevant to the culture of street football, and wherever possible these places had to be authentic. Over the past two years we have learned a lot about where the real street soccer hotspots are in the world and where the most competitive tournaments are played. Some places build a reputation for being the place to see the best players in the world and where the most talented players are performing the coolest new tricks. So our philosophy was to go for places that are real, authentic where possible, and true to the culture of street soccer. That's what we really wanted to deliver on this year.
Of the 10 new locations to play which ones are authentic?
In FIFA Street 2 there are five authentic locations and the others we have taken some creative license with or are inspired. The five authentic locations that are near true-to-life are Westway Sports Centre in London, Barra Beach in Brazil, Marseille in France, Amsterdam and New York. In our New York location, for example, we basically constructed a venue that is about 70 percent real. We took some creative license with some of the surrounding buildings for legal reasons but certainly everyone who has played there and seen the game has said I know where that area is. A few places were inspired or combined into one. Our location in Mexico, for example, was based on a lot of reference photographs but we took some creative license to make it an environment that was a bit more fun to play in. One of our secret locations in Berlin is actually an abandoned warehouse that is an art gallery during the day and a street football hotbed at night. We enhanced it a little to make it feel more gladiatorial for our Rule the Street mode.
Tell us about the Westway Leisure Center in London?
The Westway Sports Centre in London is actually underneath the A-20 overpass. You would probably never find it unless you new it was there or had heard about it in street soccer circles. Players in Europe recognize this as one of the real credible places to play street football in the world. I heard about it so I actually went there to see it for myself. When I visited there were tons of kids playing and you could see this was a place where street soccer was really alive. It was pretty cool. Everyone I talked to that day had heard of FIFA Street, had played it and was looking forward to FIFA Street 2. So this was one place that was credible, it was real and it was occupied by people really into the sport and the game. We new it had to be in the game.
Talk a little about Barra Beach?
Brazil has a huge reputation for street soccer because it really is the birthplace of some of the world's most talented players and there are a lot of locations that we could choose from. We heard about Barra Beach and it turned out to be a place where a lot of big name players go to play when they are just chilling out. There are always games being played on the sand. So we investigated it, found it was really authentic and a compelling place to play so we decided to make it one of our featured locations.
What makes New York a compelling place to play?
We looked at a few places in New York and Los Angeles where tournaments are held and we talked to a number of street players in the U.S. What we heard was the game is thriving in New York on the Lower East side. So we scouted it out. We flew out to look at it and found that people really do play street soccer there so we decided to replicate it in our game. It is really one of the up-and-coming places to play street soccer in the U.S. Our environment lead spent a couple of days looking at the location, taking photographs, talking to people, watching kids play and when he came back we got together in the war room and decided to make the location a hybrid of a couple of places really close together. It is about 70 percent real. We also added in a lot of detail from the area. We made sure we got the cars, lighting and all of the details so it felt like New York in the evening with the sun setting and the buildings casting shadows on the players.
What other places stand out to you?
Marseille in France is similar to Westway. It's where the (French legend Zinedane) Zidane use to play so we had to get it into the game. In Amsterdam there is an arena outside of the Iax Stadium that is basically a concrete pitch. It is used for different kinds of sports but it is a real place and it is neat because you can see the stadium in the background. It almost looks like it is a place we made up but it is real and tournaments are played there.
What goes into replicating venues in the game?
Using Westway as an example, I went there and took over 300 photos of the pitch and environments. I was really interested in capturing the details in the area. You probably wouldn't notice all of the details because they are subtle but for someone who plays there and plays our game, I wanted them to think, "Wow, those guys at EA really know where I play." We replicated the environment right down to the lighting and the geometry of the overpass. But the coolest thing is that we also captured that audio experience as well. When you are playing there you can hear the cars driving along the overpass above the playing area so we captured that in-game. If you choose to play in South America you hear a Latina DJ and a Portuguese PA announcer in the background. You are going to hear the sounds authentic to each locale and this helps makes you feel like you are actually there.
Visually at Westway, there are marks on the overpass where the ball has hit it at a high velocity and we added these imprints as well. The venues are rich with details that really bring the places alive. We wanted to create the feelings that this was a real living place where people play the game. If I look at FIFA Street 1 I think we did a good job of replicating locations but they felt almost like Hollywood sets and you couldn't really interact with them. With FIFA Street 2 I really wanted to create environments that felt like you were playing in them and felt authentic.
With each venue we did a lot of audio recordings, took photographs, and referenced topography maps to make sure we were accurately depicting the locations. We do make some changes to make the locations more visually appealing. Two things we added at Westway were some graffiti, with permission of the Sports Centre of course, and we aged the playing surface a little just to make it more interesting. It is a painstaking process that takes several people three or four months to complete one venue.
One of the interesting things about the venues is that there is no standard size -- they come in all different sizes. How does this add to gameplay?
When you play in a really tight environment, like a back alley that is very narrow, it changes the whole game. A narrow playing area forces you to use your Trick-Stick skills to get by your opponents one after the other. The game becomes all about skills. In a place like New York that has a much larger playing area the game is more strategic. To be successful in a place like New York you'll need to be able to make longer passes and move the ball around to your teammates. So different locations add a lot of variety to gameplay and make the game more interesting to play.
One of the complaints in last year's game was the ball didn't interact well with the environment. Has this changed?
In FIFA Street 1 it didn't really feel like you were in the environment. What I wanted in FIFA Steet 2 was full interaction with the walls and fences. One thing you'll notice this year is that if you kick the ball hard enough at the fences you'll see them move or shake. This is a real subtle thing that adds to the sense of realism and the sense of exaggerated force that your eye will pick up. It is one of those things in combination with a lot of other details gives you a much more believable experience. To me the whole package of having the right venue built the right way, properly lit, having players move in and out of the shadows and dropping in the whole audio experience creates compelling and authentic places to play.