TPWW Forums - View Single Post - The official Smackdown vs Raw 2008 thread

**Disturbed316** · 03-30-2007, 04:58 PM

IGN: Wait a second. What happens when you have a guy who is a mix of styles? You just mentioned the Undertaker, for example. He's a showman sure, but he's also a powerhouse and depending on his opponent, even busts out the MMA submission skills. What do you in those cases?

Ledesma: Don't worry. Each superstar has two fighting styles: a primary and a secondary. You can be a Dirty Showman, for example, or you can be a powerhouse brawler or a technical submission artist. You can combine any of the fighting styles and have all their abilities. The catch is that you'll only have the special move for your primary style, not the secondary.

We totally realized that not everyone fits into a single category. Ric Flair isn't just a submission artist; he's also a very dirty superstar. These combinations multiply what you can do.

IGN: On the subject of submissions, there's also a new submission system. Can you talk a little about that?

Ledesma: We're implementing a new "Struggle Submission System." Last year we wanted to give players improved controls with the analog sticks and this just the next step. We really want to get rid of the button mashing meters that we have because those are really dated. We're getting pretty tired of those, honestly. But now that we have our "Ultimate Control" theme going, we can apply that to submissions.

What's that mean for this year? It means that submissions are now controlled with the analog sticks. You can decide as an offensive player how much pressure you want to apply when you put an opponent in a hold. The more you push the stick in a particular direction, the more force you're putting behind that particular move.

Say, for example, that we have the Crippler Crossface applied to someone. As you add the pressure with the analog stick, you'll see your character pull back harder on the opponent in real time. That's an example of our new animation and how it applies to gameplay too. What's really great about it, though, is that you can also be defensive with this system and power out of a submission hold using the same analog mechanic. It makes the whole thing more of a cat and mouse game. We're trying to introduce a system where players always have control -- we don't want anyone sitting around waiting until their next opportunity. Adding a real strategy, a true "back and forth," is cool too.

IGN: Do the fighting styles alter how someone will escape a submission? Bobby Lashley powering out of a Masterlock is a whole lot different than Chavo.

Ledesma: There is some level of detail there, but it's not necessarily tied to your style but more your attributes. The submission artist and technician will have advantages in submission moves, of course, but how you escape will mostly be tied into your numbers.

IGN: Will these mechanics be universal across all platforms?

Ledesma: They will be. The only platform I'm going to exclude is the DS version. It's a completely different style of game but we're not disclosing much more than that. It will keep the same name and use the touch screen, but won't be "a traditional wrestling title." We'll reveal more about that in the future.

IGN: When you say it isn't traditional, you don't mean it's going to be like Crush Hour do you?

Ledesma: [laughs] No, it's definitely not like Crush Hour.

IGN: You've already talked about some major adjustments this year, have you made any improvements to the modes?

Ledesma:Yes! We've combined our General Manager Mode and Season Mode into what we're calling "WWE 24/7." The general theme is that you're living the life of a WWE superstar who wants to become a legend.

24/7 is different from past years in that, in previous years, your whole goal was to win a title at WrestleMania. This year we're talking a broader approach where you'll have to meet a long list of objectives to be considered a legend. If you start out with The Undertaker, maybe that question will take you six months; start out with a created wrestler and it may take you three years. Obviously, it depends on how successful you are and how well you play.

IGN: Is 24/7 keeping the same theme as past SmackDowns? Where you start off on Raw or SmackDown to begin with and work your way through those shows, or are you taking a Day of Reckoning approach and starting in OVW or something similar?

Ledesma:We're not going to talk much about it yet -- that's for later in the year. The only thing I can tell you is that you will start out on the SmackDown or Raw shows and become a superstar for those promotions. Of course, you can still switch shows like you could in previous years.

Oh, and there will be some specific created superstar paths, but again, we're not detailing how all that is going to work yet.

IGN: How important is online support this year?

Ledesma: It's very important. It's a must-have on next-generation platforms. We did some data-mining and found out that our online player community wasn't as big as we thought it was, so we're looking to grow that out with better features. How the match plays, its quality and framerate, the interface -- these are things we're definitely addressing.

As for what features we'll be incorporating this year, we can't say yet.

IGN: Can you talk about any differences between the versions? How will the PS3 and 360 editions differ from Wii, etc?

Ledesma: I can't speak about that stuff yet. We'll be revealing that in the future. Just remember what I said earlier, though -- that we're looking to play to the strengths of our platforms.

IGN: Midway is bringing out its TNA game at some point in the future. With that on the horizon, how has having your first real competition since Legends of Wrestling changes your philosophy when it comes to building your new game?

Ledesma: We welcome all competition in the genre, honestly. But as far as how it affects us, we're just trying to make the highest quality product that we can. Getting the true feeling of the WWE into SmackDown has always been our focus and that hasn't changed. It will be interesting to see what Midway does with TNA, though.

IGN: What sort of presentational improvements have you made?

Ledesma: One of our big additions this year is that ECW has a big presence. We're treating it as an equal brand with the SmackDown and Raw brands and having that in the game is the largest presentational improvement...

IGN: Then I have to ask: if ECW is equal to Raw and SmackDown, why isn't in the title?

Ledesma: [Laughs] Because SmackDown vs. Raw vs. ECW is kind of a long title. But seriously, it's a brand name that people recognize at this point and it's a household name.

IGN: Any parting words for the SmackDown fans who still have more than half a year to wait for SVR 2008?

Ledesma: Certainly. I want them to know that we're doing a lot of research this year to find out what the fans want. We're doing focus testing, dealing with research groups -- we're trying to get their opinions on what they think about our current feature sets and what they'd like to see. We're also doing the data-mining in titles we've already released so we can see what and how the fans are playing. We're taking all this info, putting it together with reviews and message board feedback, and we're trying to get it to become as close to what the fans want as possible.

03-30-2007, 04:58 PM	#2
Disturbed316 Posts: 22,695	IGN: Wait a second. What happens when you have a guy who is a mix of styles? You just mentioned the Undertaker, for example. He's a showman sure, but he's also a powerhouse and depending on his opponent, even busts out the MMA submission skills. What do you in those cases? Ledesma: Don't worry. Each superstar has two fighting styles: a primary and a secondary. You can be a Dirty Showman, for example, or you can be a powerhouse brawler or a technical submission artist. You can combine any of the fighting styles and have all their abilities. The catch is that you'll only have the special move for your primary style, not the secondary. We totally realized that not everyone fits into a single category. Ric Flair isn't just a submission artist; he's also a very dirty superstar. These combinations multiply what you can do. IGN: On the subject of submissions, there's also a new submission system. Can you talk a little about that? Ledesma: We're implementing a new "Struggle Submission System." Last year we wanted to give players improved controls with the analog sticks and this just the next step. We really want to get rid of the button mashing meters that we have because those are really dated. We're getting pretty tired of those, honestly. But now that we have our "Ultimate Control" theme going, we can apply that to submissions. What's that mean for this year? It means that submissions are now controlled with the analog sticks. You can decide as an offensive player how much pressure you want to apply when you put an opponent in a hold. The more you push the stick in a particular direction, the more force you're putting behind that particular move. Say, for example, that we have the Crippler Crossface applied to someone. As you add the pressure with the analog stick, you'll see your character pull back harder on the opponent in real time. That's an example of our new animation and how it applies to gameplay too. What's really great about it, though, is that you can also be defensive with this system and power out of a submission hold using the same analog mechanic. It makes the whole thing more of a cat and mouse game. We're trying to introduce a system where players always have control -- we don't want anyone sitting around waiting until their next opportunity. Adding a real strategy, a true "back and forth," is cool too. IGN: Do the fighting styles alter how someone will escape a submission? Bobby Lashley powering out of a Masterlock is a whole lot different than Chavo. Ledesma: There is some level of detail there, but it's not necessarily tied to your style but more your attributes. The submission artist and technician will have advantages in submission moves, of course, but how you escape will mostly be tied into your numbers. IGN: Will these mechanics be universal across all platforms? Ledesma: They will be. The only platform I'm going to exclude is the DS version. It's a completely different style of game but we're not disclosing much more than that. It will keep the same name and use the touch screen, but won't be "a traditional wrestling title." We'll reveal more about that in the future. IGN: When you say it isn't traditional, you don't mean it's going to be like Crush Hour do you? Ledesma: [laughs] No, it's definitely not like Crush Hour. IGN: You've already talked about some major adjustments this year, have you made any improvements to the modes? Ledesma:Yes! We've combined our General Manager Mode and Season Mode into what we're calling "WWE 24/7." The general theme is that you're living the life of a WWE superstar who wants to become a legend. 24/7 is different from past years in that, in previous years, your whole goal was to win a title at WrestleMania. This year we're talking a broader approach where you'll have to meet a long list of objectives to be considered a legend. If you start out with The Undertaker, maybe that question will take you six months; start out with a created wrestler and it may take you three years. Obviously, it depends on how successful you are and how well you play. IGN: Is 24/7 keeping the same theme as past SmackDowns? Where you start off on Raw or SmackDown to begin with and work your way through those shows, or are you taking a Day of Reckoning approach and starting in OVW or something similar? Ledesma:We're not going to talk much about it yet -- that's for later in the year. The only thing I can tell you is that you will start out on the SmackDown or Raw shows and become a superstar for those promotions. Of course, you can still switch shows like you could in previous years. Oh, and there will be some specific created superstar paths, but again, we're not detailing how all that is going to work yet. IGN: How important is online support this year? Ledesma: It's very important. It's a must-have on next-generation platforms. We did some data-mining and found out that our online player community wasn't as big as we thought it was, so we're looking to grow that out with better features. How the match plays, its quality and framerate, the interface -- these are things we're definitely addressing. As for what features we'll be incorporating this year, we can't say yet. IGN: Can you talk about any differences between the versions? How will the PS3 and 360 editions differ from Wii, etc? Ledesma: I can't speak about that stuff yet. We'll be revealing that in the future. Just remember what I said earlier, though -- that we're looking to play to the strengths of our platforms. IGN: Midway is bringing out its TNA game at some point in the future. With that on the horizon, how has having your first real competition since Legends of Wrestling changes your philosophy when it comes to building your new game? Ledesma: We welcome all competition in the genre, honestly. But as far as how it affects us, we're just trying to make the highest quality product that we can. Getting the true feeling of the WWE into SmackDown has always been our focus and that hasn't changed. It will be interesting to see what Midway does with TNA, though. IGN: What sort of presentational improvements have you made? Ledesma: One of our big additions this year is that ECW has a big presence. We're treating it as an equal brand with the SmackDown and Raw brands and having that in the game is the largest presentational improvement... IGN: Then I have to ask: if ECW is equal to Raw and SmackDown, why isn't in the title? Ledesma: [Laughs] Because SmackDown vs. Raw vs. ECW is kind of a long title. But seriously, it's a brand name that people recognize at this point and it's a household name. IGN: Any parting words for the SmackDown fans who still have more than half a year to wait for SVR 2008? Ledesma: Certainly. I want them to know that we're doing a lot of research this year to find out what the fans want. We're doing focus testing, dealing with research groups -- we're trying to get their opinions on what they think about our current feature sets and what they'd like to see. We're also doing the data-mining in titles we've already released so we can see what and how the fans are playing. We're taking all this info, putting it together with reviews and message board feedback, and we're trying to get it to become as close to what the fans want as possible.