It was a perfect launch window. But Rugby 24 not available. The video game initially scheduled for September 7 has been postponed until next year. A decision that has the direct consequence of the title missing the rugby event of the year.
Although postponements are often frowned upon, they actually allow a studio to finish a title calmly. This gives developers more time to avoid messing up the final phases of the design. Above all, they avoid entering a period of intensive work (the “crunch”), which is increasingly criticized in the industry.
Contact, at the center of the game
But for Rugby 24, the four additional months of work highlight above all the complexity that surrounds the production of a video game dedicated to the discipline. The previous installments, frankly, were not triumphs, due to the lack of satisfying gameplay.
If collisions between players can be treated marginally in certain sports simulations, rugby requires special care. “Here it is at the center of the game,” says the product director. Therefore, it is necessary to faithfully represent all the actors, more numerous than in other places.
In rugby there are 30 players on the field. “Rugby is played 15 against 15, but the player only controls one player at a time,” emphasizes Clément Nicolin. Therefore, this element requires special work around the game’s artificial intelligence: although this technology allows controlling the opposing team, it is also used to manage the movements of teammates.
Should a winger go deeper? Should an opponent anticipate a kicking game? Developers must find the right balance so that the simulation is consistent with the sport, but also satisfying with the controller in hand.
This inevitably involves reproducing stopped phases of the game: scrums, throw-ins, rucks or even, to some extent, mauls. Crucial elements of rugby that are especially complex to transcribe into a video game. They also asked for “a lot of research in terms of ‘game design’ (game design, editor’s note),” admits the director of Nacon.
130 nations, 15 championships
But what also caused difficulties for the teams was the scale of the desired content. Inside Rugby 24, players will be able to choose from 130 nations and play in 15 different championships. A choice that involves an important photogrammetry step. This technique consists of reproducing the body and face of a player from a set of photographs taken in a type of cage, where numerous cameras are placed.
Development difficulties also have an impact on the financial level. The market for rugby games remains weak. Although the sport is gradually developing in the United States, its popularity is still too localized (Europe, Oceania, South Africa) to aim to convert many players globally.
Thus, the big names in sports simulation, Electronic Arts (publisher of FIFA games, renamed EA Sports FC) or 2K Games (publisher of NBA 2K games), are abandoning rugby. “It is an economic reality,” says Clément Nicolin. “The market is not big enough for publishers of this size to be profitable.”
Above all, Rugby 24 It is an opportunity for Nacon to make a technical and management change. It is no longer the Parisian studio Eko Software, which is already working on Rugby 18, twenty AND 22 – who designs the game. The development, which uses a new game engine, was entrusted to another team of the publisher: the Australians from Big Ant Studios.
“When we talk about sport, we talk about passion. Therefore, a game must be made by fans for fans,” says Clément Nicolin. “This is also what allows us to maintain authenticity in the game.”
Source: BFM TV
