EA Sports’ Brian Hayes: A Sherdog Q&A
The EA UFC franchise on Tuesday will release its second installment. After its first entry featured some impressive highs (graphics and striking) and a few lows (grappling and career mode), the team at Electronic Arts heard the criticism and sought to right its wrongs with EA UFC 2. With an improved graphics engine, a robust roster of fighters and the addition of The Ultimate Team mode through which players can create their own team and compete online, EA UFC 2 looks to improve upon the strides made by its predecessor.
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Sherdog.com: When Ronda Rousey was knocked out by Holly Holm, what were your immediate thoughts? (Note, this interview was conducted prior to UFC 196)
Hayes: My first thought was “Holy s---,” but we wouldn’t have announced her as the cover athlete before the fight if we were considering changing our decision after the result of the fight. Anything can happen, and that’s why they fight. There was no discussion internally about what we were going to do. We went from a time when a women’s division didn’t exist in the UFC, and three and a half years later, the biggest story was the results of a women’s fight. No disrespect to Holly, but the reason the story was that big was because of what Ronda Rousey had accomplished up to that point and giving women’s MMA exposure.
Sherdog.com: How many fighters are included in the
game?
Hayes: Between 250 and 256.
Sherdog.com: How much time went into creating each fighter and trying to individualize over 250 character models?
Hayes: We spent more time on the upper echelons of each division so that we could capture each of their styles, but, frankly, with 250 fighters in the game, there are some guys in the game that haven’t shown drastic individuality; but the character models are all different. That was a gargantuan task.
Sherdog.com: Did Sage Northcutt make the cut?
Hayes: No. He was standout late addition to the UFC roster, and right around that time, we were finishing up our model. But he’s not available at launch.
Sherdog.com: Does that mean he will be a part of fighter updates like the last iteration of the game?
Hayes: We certainly have the ability to do so, and as required by some weird regulation, the only thing I can say is if and when we have news to announce when it comes to additions to the in game roster, we will make it as soon as possible. We did a great job with that in UFC 1, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t do that for this game.
Sherdog.com: One of the fighters included in the game is Phil Brooks, aka “CM Punk,” who hasn’t even had a professional MMA fight. How do you figure out his rating?
Hayes: We’re just throwing darts in a dark room with him. He’s in the game and part of the roster so we needed to make him a functional character, but we also don’t know anything about his fighting ability. Indications right now are that he will likely not be the greatest UFC fighter of all-time, but people are going to want to play with him so we aren’t going to give him a zero rating. Ultimately, it is a video game and there is some fantasy involved in it, so we’re not going to make him complete garbage to appease hardcore MMA fans who objected to his signing in the first place.
Sherdog.com: There are reports that there are fighters who have said they aren’t happy with their fighter ratings. What do you say to them?
Hayes: It’s a video game; it’s not a perfect science. Sometimes, with the ratings, when guys differ by one point or so, that can be overcome by user skill in the game. We do send all the ratings to the UFC, and they will give us guidance in terms of who should be where. It’s not just from us. If anybody approaches me, I’ll tell them to talk to [UFC matchmakers] Joe Silva or Sean Shelby.
Sherdog.com: Heading into this iteration, what were the biggest challenges to overcome?
Hayes: The two biggest things was the depth of the game and then the whole way the grappling system works and how this game helps you get going on the ground. EA UFC 1 wasn’t the deepest in the world when it came to features, and the game itself was challenging and complicated to some people.
Sherdog.com: Striking has always been on point, but the grappling system has been a point of concern for any MMA game. What did you do to improve the experience?
Hayes: The grappling system in EA UFC 2 is called the “dynamic grappling system” because it is the first time two players can move independent of each other on the ground. Prior to this, it has been a turn-based ground mechanic where the first person to do something has determined the terms of engagement. The only thing the other guy can do is defend and then try something when it’s their turn. Now we have a really fluid two-player interaction on the ground. It’s a lot more responsive and it feels like fighting on the feet in the sense that you have more control. We also added a grapple assist HUD, so whether you’re a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu or somebody who has never been on the ground before, there’s something that tells you what that position is called and displaying what your success toward that goal is.
Sherdog.com: What are the biggest differences in the career mode?
Hayes: The biggest differences are that everything that happens from one fight to the next has been completely changed. It starts with having multiple opponents presented to you to choose from before a fight. The training and fighter progression system is also completely different. There are no longer fighter points that you can spend on whatever you want. Now, if you want to improve a specific attribute, you have to train in that particular discipline; but the intensity in which you train that attribute will affect your fighter’s progression but also comes with an increasing risk of injury that can affect your fighter’s ratings.
Sherdog.com: Does that mean you can go into a fight injured?
Hayes: Yes. There are two kinds of training injuries. One is natural wear and tear when you train too hard and an attribute can go down a point or two; and then there’s an injury that only affects your upcoming fight and can significantly impact a part of your game.
Sherdog.com: What else is there?
Hayes: There are elements called the “fight game moments” where anything can happen going into training camp that can affect your fighter. That could mean you’re going to miss a training session because something is wrong at your gym, or it could mean if you train a specific discipline, you’ll see better or worse progression depending on the circumstances. Your wrestling coach can come back from a seminar with a world-class freestyle wrestling champion so your wrestling will be better. Or your striking coach can have the flu, so training won’t pay off as much. There are lots of curveballs and decisions that have to be made in each camp.
Sherdog.com: Finally, can you give us some insight on The Ultimate Team Mode?
Hayes: The Ultimate Team Mode is somewhat unique. You can create a team of up to five fighters, and then with each of those fighters, you can fight online or against the CPU, who will use the avatars of other players who created their own team. You can earn coins for each fight that you can use to purchase fight packs to improve your moves and attributes. The really cool thing about the single player element is that when your team competes against other people on your behalf, they earn coins for you every day. You can go and check to see what your team has done each day and grab what they’ve earned.
