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Interview with Paul Hossack, FIFA 08 producer

Interview with Paul Hossack, FIFA 08 producer
Paul Hossack is the producer of FIFA 08. We asked him some questions about FIFA 08 and his work in the EA studios.

FIFA Corner: The FIFA fans and community no doubt ask for many new additions to each new game. Which football club's fans are the most vocal in their FIFA requests?

Paul Hossack: We get a lot of requests in from all over the world to add specific leagues and club stadiums in the game. We decide on their suitablity for modelling and licences and the time that it takes to build these into the game. The Argentinean fans seem to be one of the louder groups.

FIFA Corner: Are you the best player in the studio? If not who is?

Paul Hossack: I'll probably get a lot of grief from the guys if I say a specific person what I will say is that we have a little trophy that we pass around the office depending on who is the reigning champion, I've had the trophy on my desk for at least two hours before it was snatched from me ... If I had to pick someone, it's a toss up between Marcel (AI producer) and Milan (AI Lead SE)!

FIFA Corner: On occasion the referee has to stop play when two balls are on the pitch. Does FIFA 08 include any weird nuances of real football? If so, what?

Paul Hossack: Currently there is nothing like that in the game, interesting thought though. However we do have improved animations this year so if you get smacked in the face by a ball or hit in the groin, the player is stunned or drops to the ground and the animation reacts accordingly...

FIFA Corner: What is the coolest part of your job i.e. the part you think is most fun and which gives you most satisfaction?

Paul Hossack: Being involved with such a great team, on the FIFA franchise. Introducing new features to the game. Satisfaction comes from seeing people happy with the game, (end product) and getting great feedback from fans and the press.

FIFA Corner: The referee's seem more realistic in their decision making this year - how hard is it to strike a balance between the real world where refs occasionally make a howler, and the video game where we want to be as realistic as possible without losing focus on the spirit of the 'beautiful game'?

Paul Hossack: There is a bit of a trade off here, what is perceived on the outside world as a howler, could be perceived as a bug in game, and QA would flag it and the team would have to fix the code. If we did intentionally add things such as this, they would have to be supported by commentary to make it believable to gamers, but it is a fine line between mirroring reality and annoying our fans.

FIFA Corner: Sometimes goalkeepers slip when taking a goal kick - is this type of random accident on the list for things to include in the game?

Paul Hossack: Again a similar answer as the above question (5) - it might imbalance the game and frustrate users, we want to create the most realistic football game, however we do not want to add frustrations in the game that alienate our fans.

FIFA Corner: If you weren't on FIFA which game would you most like to work on?

Paul Hossack: There is no answer to that because I love working on FIFA, it's such a great team to work with and a great game to produce; why would I want to work anywhere else?!

FIFA Corner: What are you most looking forward to in FIFA 08 - the best innovation?

Paul Hossack: Positioning is really cool and very important to the game a big impact. The most innovative changes I would say are the manual through balls and being able to switch player with the right stick.

FIFA Corner: When attacking a player it seems very 50:50 rather than the attacker having the edge over the (static) defender. Do you think this needs to / can be addressed?

Paul Hossack: There is a lot more control in this game than previous, you will find that if you attack / defend and you think you have lost the opportunity, don't give up that easily as you might suprise yourself in being able to win back that ball! Determination pays off in the game, as in real life.