Balls.ie spoke to FIFA 14 producer Kantcho Doskov about the new game, how it has improved from FIFA 13, problems with tattoos and Gareth Bale's complaints about him not being quick enough in the game.
Kantcho is not just a producer, he has also done some motion capture for the game because of his freestyle skills which made him a finalist in the 2008 Canadian Freestyle Football Championships.
What are the main differences between previous versions of FIFA and FIFA 14?
There's more precision movement in the new game, more solid movement. We've tuned the locomotion system so there's no sliding and every animation is now unique. We listen to feedback from the fans and try to take on board what they've said and improve to game every year.
Is there any secret to being good at the new game?
You need to buildup play through midfield, it feels more like modern football in that it's less about speed and wing play. You can't just hold down the sprint button anymore.
What one feature would you look to improve in the future?
Definitely the goalkeeper. There's room for improvement there, he's solid now but how he responds to stuff like knuckle shots could be better.
How to you decide how players are rated?
We've got 3,000 people worldwide collecting data on players. All information goes to a database collection team who make sure that it's all balanced and even so one player is not massively better in one aspect than others. There are now 17,000 players rated in the new game.
Tim Cahill sent EA Sports a video complaining about his tattoos. Have you heard from any other players with complaints about their appearance or ratings?
He did contact us. There are problems with image licensing rights for tattoos in that we need permission from the tattoo artist. I was speaking to a colleague who was doing motion capture with Gareth Bale, he said that he [Gareth] wanted to be faster and better with his left foot in the game.
How intense do games get between staff in the EA Sports office?
Very intense. I recently lost three games in a row to a colleague who's a former professional footballer that played with Wrexham. Bayern Munich are a very popular team in the office at the moment because they're European Champions but Real Madrid are also popular since they've signed Gareth Bale. And of course Barcelona, Chelsea, Man Utd, Liverpool are also used a lot.
There was a glitch in FIFA 12 where Andy Carroll kissed Lukasz Fabianski. What’s the funniest glitch that you’ve seen on FIFA?
That is probably the funniest one I've seen. It's the beauty of the impact engine, there's an infinite number of outcomes so you see something different everytime. We've been tuning the impact engine though so you should see less of those type of glitches.
What's your favourite vintage version of FIFA?
Obviously I've been a fan of FIFA for a long time but FIFA '98, the World Cup edition is probably my favourite. I loved that the players were in 3D. It's nothing compared to what we've got not but at the time it was great. The new edition really is the pinnacle of what we've been working towards.
