NCAA Basketball 10: New Feature Revealed

The feeling of attending an NCAA basketball game is unlike any other, especially in March. The fans are rowdy and raucous and can totally change the outcome of a game if you're playing in one of the crazier arenas in the country. NCAA Basketball 10 has a new feature that adds life to the top 20 toughest places to play. If you let one of these home teams go on a run your attributes will take a hit, the camera will start to shake and the crowd volume will be turned up to an obscene level.

I recently sat down with Connor Dougan, Lead Producer on NCAA Basketball 10 to talk about the new feature. Not only did I come back with answers from the developer, but we've also got a shiny new video.

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IGN: You guys have had the toughest places to play in the past. Why is this year's feature so different?

Connor Dougan, Lead Producer: Atmosphere has always been a focus for us on NCAA Basketball as it's a staple of what makes our game unique. This year's Toughest Places to Play feature focuses on recreating the experience of what it's like to play at some of the toughest venues in college basketball. We've really tried to make the atmosphere and Gameplay experience in these environments unique. From the crowd chants and reactions, play-by-play and speech, camera treatments and of course the on the court play - it's all about going into a hostile environment and controlling momentum. You have to keep the crowd out of the game and make sure it doesn't get away from you or you will be punished.

IGN: Why only do the top ten toughest places to play and not the top 25?

Connor Dougan: Our actual list is 20 of the toughest places to play and all of these venues will have different feel and energy to them.

IGN: If I select a school that's not on the top ten toughest places to play list for my dynasty, can I build them into such a powerhouse that they'll eventually make it on the list?

Connor Dougan: You sure can - It's all about taking your school and building up that powerhouse program and a big part of that is having a great home court advantage and great home record. Do that and you'll find yourself among the top 20 Toughest Places to Play.

IGN: I noticed that the camera started to shake at the end of the video. Does that vary depending on what school you're playing as or do all of the ten schools have the same effect?

Connor Dougan: All schools have the same camera shake effect. The original intent of the feature was to have a variety variable degree of camera shake depending on how tough a venue it was, but we had to account for the Gameplay experience and couldn't add more shake without detracting from it. We do however have variable crowd intensity and ratings penalties depending on the schools ranking. So playing at the #1 toughest place to play is going to be that much more difficult than playing at #20.

IGN: How much of an attribute upgrade/downgrade will I see when playing in one of the toughest places to play?

Connor Dougan: It depends on a variety of factors. If the home team is doing well and is on a run then the away teams ratings will start to decay. Thankfully you can call a timeout to stop the snowball effect of the home team going on a run. I should also mention that the tougher the place to play – the greater effect it has on ratings decay.

IGN: How did you come up with the top ten toughest places to play?

Connor Dougan: What's cool about this feature was the fact that last year we ran a promotion where college basketball fans around the nation could vote for their school to be one of the toughest places to play. We had an overwhelmingly positive response and fans determined to top 20 toughest places to play rankings. It was great to see the fan participation – we had over 250,000 fans log in and vote.

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We'll have more on NCAA Basketball 10 as it nears its November 17 release date on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

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