Austin GDC: Interview with Football Superstars Creative Director Steve Marshall

Kumar, back from Austin GDC and still working on writing down his impressions and encounters, met with Creative Director Steve Marshall of Football Superstars and CyberSports. The company is developing the football MMOG together with Monumental Games, the studio we visited earlier this year.

I actually met Steve Marshall from UK developer Cybersports on the first day of the conference, but he had a very busy schedule and I didn’t manage to actually interview him until the very last day of GDC. Still, the wait was worth it. Note that the use of the word ‘Football’ in the interview refers to the British usage of the word, which in the US is known as ‘Soccer’.

The MMO Gamer: Tell us about yourself, and what it is you do for Football Superstars.

Steve Marshall: My name is Steve Marshall, I’m the creative director for Cybersports and Football Superstars. I’m responsible for the original concept and the head of design for the football game.

The MMO Gamer: Your game appears to be a definite break away from the fantasy RPG model that we’re familiar with. What is the premise of your game?

Steve Marshall: Yes, absolutely, we’ve seen many many RPGs and fantasy games in the genre. Our game is an opportunity for football players and people who enjoy team sports in general to be able to play competitively online as individuals, which is the key difference between Football Superstars and other games that are already out or in the works for this genre.

We give players the chance to live out their dreams, and enjoy a life similar to their greatest sports heroes.

The game is based on you as an individual starting from grassroots football, playing kickabouts in the park with shirts as goal posts, and escalating to the top end, international matches, maybe even playing for your favourite teams, arguably on an international level. On top of that we have the whole ‘Lifestyle’ side of the game, in which you get to enjoy the trappings of celebrity status you earn from playing high level football.

The MMO Gamer: It definitely seems like a match made in heaven, online play combined with the global popularity of football, considered by some the King of Sports.

Steve Marshall: Indeed. There’s massive opportunity for many online games outside of the RPG genre, and I believe this will be hopefully the first of many games sports that Cybersports work on. We had to start with the biggest - soccer, football, wherever you come from - and we’re really looking forward to getting the game out for people to play.

The MMO Gamer: Yes, it’s definitely very fitting that as a Brittish studio you are the ones bringing football to the online arena.

Steve Marshall: We’re also very keen to call it ‘Football Superstars’ and not - not necessarily bow down - to the pressure of the international crowd who refer to it as soccer. It’s football to us. [grin] So yes, ‘Football Superstars’ it is.

The MMO Gamer: But aren’t you worried that your international playerbase who do refer to it as soccer might be misled about what sport you are referring to?

Steve Marshall: Well, for the US market, I fully understand and respect that for Americans, American Football is a lot more popular than ’soccer’, but as a title we’re not trying to force the American population to change their ways, at all, but at it’s heart, soccer is football to us. I believe that the battle between the American and British people as to which game is football is a very friendly one. I don’t think anyone will be misled. We aren’t doing it with that intention, and we certainly aren’t trying to say who’s naming convention is right… well, maybe we are [grin]. If and when it releases in the US, it will possibly remain ‘Football Superstars’ but that’s for the marketers to decide.

The MMO Gamer: So, you’ve mentioned the Lifestyle element of the game. Can you tell us a bit more about that?

Steve Marshall: Sure. The idea is that the world is a Utopian football-based world. As you walk around the various towns and cities in the game, mingling with other players, there will be pitches where you can just go and have a kickabout on playing casually with strangers or organizing friendly matches with friends, there will be grand stadiums that will be just amazing to look at and see, and generally speaking the areas within the towns will be pleasant places to be in.

There’s a number of different key mechanics, like the sponsor system, where you’ll be able to actually go to a private area where you can mingle with like-minded individuals. The ability to start your own football club and invite people to join your team and compete competitively with others. We have cafes, bars, and nightclubs, some of which you’ll be able to get into from the beginning, while others you’ll have to increase your celebrity status before they’ll let you through the door. There will be Gyms and Sports centres to train your athletic ability and we’ll also have a massive array of customisation choices. We’re actually talking to several very interesting international organisations that may add some value to those options.

The idea is to put yourself out in the lifestyle world the way you’d like to portray yourself… or not, as the case may be. We have several thousand different clothing items alone at launch and will continue to build on the variety of clothing and other customization items available.

We also have the opportunity to bring media such as yourself into the game. I mean it’s such a big part of football… soccer… media representatives, TV interviews, radio and newspaper interviews which will have a positive impact upon your status in the game.

The MMO Gamer: You talk about all these customisation options like buying pieces of clothing and the like, but do you intend to have female avatars in the game as well?

Steve Marshall: Absolutely.

The MMO Gamer: Gender equality is always a good thing.

Steve Marshall: It’s the first chance to create a level playing field, and regardless of which direction any of the design decisions go with regards to female players participating competitively with the male players - to me it’s irrelevant, male or female, the characters play with the same ability, there are some values to be considered - bear in mind, what would a lifestyle environment be like if there was only men in it…?

The MMO Gamer: Indeed. The inclusion of female characters would be very empowering not only to introduce women who enjoy football into online gaming, but the other way around too.

Steve Marshall: Undoubtedly. There’s several other areas, but we’re hoping to attract serious and casual, male and female players. The game will be fundamentally free to play, fully voice enabled - voice communication will be on by default during matches - but we’re hoping to be able to build a real community feel to it as well: Its not just about hardcore football fans, you’ll be able to log on and play for five minutes or just have a casual chat with your friends. It’s a whole world we’re hoping to bring to the table. Expanding on the lifestyle elements over time.

The MMO Gamer: You’ve also talked about sponsors and lifestyle. What possibilities does this create for you for in-game advertising, which is also an ingrained part of the football culture?

Steve Marshall: It’s actually one of our core revenue areas, in order to make it free to play - since money doesn’t grow on trees, unfortunately. But what we actually have the luxury of having is an environment where advertising enhances the game, rather than detract from it. You don’t go to a stadium and not see advertising, it’s there, and we intend to honor the normal, accepted mediums for advertising. We do have a full lifestyle world, so we do have streets, and street corners, and billboards, but the production quality is very high to ensure they won’t feel out of place and won’t be intrusive. So it’s something we are embracing.

The MMO Gamer: And with sponsors, are you in talks with any of the major sports gear brands so that players can deck their characters in all the latest brand gear?

Steve Marshall: Potentially, but I couldn’t possibly comment on who’s on the table at the moment until the deals are signed.

The MMO Gamer: How is character progression handled? Are there stats that you build up as you play matches or train, or is it based solely on the number of games you play and/or win?

Steve Marshall: There are a number of ways you advance your character, from physical ability and base football talent, to learning a large array of skills. Players will also be able to increase their celebrity status unlocking increased options in the lifestyle world. You can increase all of these by playing competitive football, but by just playing casual games your football ability will increase. Fame can be augmented with interviews with the media and key stats can be improved with Gym visits or by spend time with coaches.

The MMO Gamer: Do different characters progress differently? In the real world, strikers tend to get the most glory/attention, but all players play an important part in the team. Do you have to choose what position you want to play, or are all characters interchangeable in any position?

Steve Marshall: We don’t force players to pick a role within any team. We do however capture a huge number of statistics on each player throughout their career, we portray this in an easy to identify manner that will quickly allow you to see where you perform best of the pitch. Over time this system will allow you as an individual to make a clear choice as to where you perform best on the field and become an asset to any team. We also reward players for their individual performance, arguably a defender that blocks 6 shots on goal is more valuable in that game than a striker that has one shot and scores, as without the skill of the defender the strikers goal would be worthless in a 6-1 loss. We consider all the key actions of the game when evaluating any players results and pay.

The MMO Gamer: What kind of gameplay modes will there be in the football part of the game?

Steve Marshall: There are 3 core football mechanics I have touched on previously, Casual or friendly games can be played on our kickabout pitches found throughout the towns, these are non competitive pitches where players can show off their skills, learn how to play with new team mates or just have fun matches with friends. We have the sponsor system that facilitates automated competitive matches 24 hours a day, divisional climb and caters for the main areas of character progression and then the most exciting area for me is the Player Managed Club, where individuals can register their own teams, recruit player using the scout system and organize their own leagues and tournaments. Games options will open up to players as they progress through the game, to begin with you will only be able to play 3 and 5 aside games for limited time periods, as you progress full squad 11 aside matches will become available when you have learnt the fundamentals of team play. Outside of the football we have the lifestyle world where players can enjoy a number of social activities, augment their character with different training options and enjoy replays of their favorite matches or just enjoy watching the matches of others.

The MMO Gamer: What kind of plans do you have to create and grow a thriving comunity around the game?

Steve Marshall: The game will be supported by a full web 2.0 portal site that we hope will capture the community when they are unable to play directly, with league status, goal of the week, player of the week competitions being run. You will also be able to get access to replays, view player stats and much more. We will be looking at a large number of ways of engaging people both in and out of the game that may have been considered individually in other games and bringing the best of all of them into Football Superstars in one form or another. The beta starts soon so I would encourage anyone that loves team sports in general to register on our site. I look forward to seeing everyone in game soon !

The MMO Gamer: Will characters earn money or some other form of currency with which to buy clothes in the lifestyle portion of the game? If so, have you decided on what they currency is going to be called?

Steve Marshall: We have two currencies, Football Superstars Dollars, and Football Superstars Bonds, Dollars are our virtual currency, earned by playing competitive games, Bonds will be purchasable with real money and will allow players to buy additional customization options amongst other things.

The MMO Gamer: Is there anything else you would like to tell us about Football Superstars?

Steve Marshall: Loads! Come and see the site at http://www.footballsuperstars.com and register. We are running lots of interesting competitions. One of my favourites is the motion capture competition. And yeah, would love to hear peoples opinions ideas and thoughts so come participate on our forums!