EA Sports UFC 3 Interview: Get Ready For The Fight

EA Sports UFC 3 is the latest installment in the popular fighting game series. One of the biggest draws of this game are the unique and distinctive range of fighters available and how each of their styles are also captured accurately. EA Sports UFC 3 is also easily accessible to newcomers while being quite difficult to master. There are a lot of different combos and moves to learn from a diverse range of fighting styles.

To learn more about the game and its development, Gamingbolt spoke to Creative Director Brian Hayes who answered the following questions.

" Frostbite is a great engine and we’re always looking at that technology, but we feel like with UFC 3 we were able to portray class-leading fighter likenesses and deliver entirely new striking mechanics with the engine we already had in place."

EA Sports UFC releases in two year intervals as opposed to FIFA or Madden which release yearly. How does this release schedule benefit development?

Even though we’re not an annual game, we still strive to get a lot of work done in a fairly short window of time. For instance, our complete overhaul of striking and implementation of RPM Tech was an ambitious project, and quality would have likely suffered if we had to complete that in seven or eight months. There’s always more we want to do and we always wish we had more time, but the team did a lot of top-quality work and we’re proud of the finished product.

Conor McGregor was the cover fighter for EA Sports UFC 2. What prompted utilizing him again for EA Sports UFC 3? 

Conor is most instantly recognizable face in MMA right now, and everyone has an opinion on him whether you love him or hate him. He also embodies what we are doing in the new GOAT Career mode, as not only is he one of the absolute best inside the Octagon, he knows how to hype up a fight and get fans excited outside of the Octagon too.

While other EA Sports titles are running on Frostbite, EA Sports UFC 3 is one of the few to remain on Ignite. What benefits do you believe this offers in comparison? Have there been plans to shift to Frostbite at any point?

Frostbite is a great engine and we’re always looking at that technology, but we feel like with UFC 3 we were able to portray class-leading fighter likenesses and deliver entirely new striking mechanics with the engine we already had in place. We weighed our options when we started development and are very happy with the choices we made.

"When we introduced RPM Tech, that allowed us to do a lot to replicate the various fighter styles and techniques around the UFC. We worked with the motion capture team to make sure we captured as many possible variation of movement, strikes, takedowns, transitions and more so the game would look and feel like the real thing."

What steps have you taken to accurately capture and portray each fighter? 

When we introduced RPM Tech, that allowed us to do a lot to replicate the various fighter styles and techniques around the UFC. We worked with the motion capture team to make sure we captured as many possible variation of movement, strikes, takedowns, transitions and more so the game would look and feel like the real thing. Our animators also did a great job putting everything together, so fights look real and moves are pulled off in the correct way. We’re always trying to improve, however I’m really happy with what we brought to the table in UFC 3.

Concerning the matchmaking in Ultimate Team mode, how effective is the game at taking various fighter attributes, moves, perks, etc. into account as the game becomes older? Will there truly be a 100 percent balanced solution at all times? 

Whenever a player searches for a fight the game accounts for a number of factors before matching you up. Player skill, player location, tier of fighter, equipped items, and many more calculations are happening under the hood to create the most fair and fun fights possible. Our first goal is to make sure we’re doing everything we can to make the game fun for our players.

With fighting games on PC seeing greater popularity over the years, do you think that EA Sports UFC 3 will ever come to that platform as well?

I don’t have anything to share on new platforms right now, I’ll just say that we’re always looking at what our players want and where they want to play our games and making the call from there.