Fanning the flames of rumors, the creator of NBA Jam (as well as Smash TV, NFL Blitz, and others) has joined EA Sports as the new Senior Creative Director. Mark Turmell brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the EA Sports team and the EA Sports blog has been updated with a brief Q&A session to see what he'll be bringing to the table.
Turmell says that for now his time at EA Tiburon will be spent working on the Madden and NCAA franchises.
This isn't your first venture with sports video games, as you were the driving force behind a number of original sports IPs at Midway (NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, NBA Ballers, etc.). While those are wildly different than traditional sports sims, where do you see that experience carrying over to EA SPORTS?
A: I have focused on arcade sports and fighting game titles for the last 17 years, and even though they aren't traditional sims, there are huge lessons learned that can be applied to sim titles. Including how to communicate rules/situations to the user, ways to make the game easier to pick up and play, how to make plays/moves more impactful and entertaining, and even the general pacing of a game to keep player attention. The industry and audience is changing fairly dramatically, and often times our customer is looking for a quicker, more streamlined experience. That type of thinking was required in the arcades, and is becoming more important for all platforms. I love the arcade style games, but certainly understand the difference and requirements for sim products.
A: I have focused on arcade sports and fighting game titles for the last 17 years, and even though they aren't traditional sims, there are huge lessons learned that can be applied to sim titles. Including how to communicate rules/situations to the user, ways to make the game easier to pick up and play, how to make plays/moves more impactful and entertaining, and even the general pacing of a game to keep player attention. The industry and audience is changing fairly dramatically, and often times our customer is looking for a quicker, more streamlined experience. That type of thinking was required in the arcades, and is becoming more important for all platforms. I love the arcade style games, but certainly understand the difference and requirements for sim products.
Turmell says that for now his time at EA Tiburon will be spent working on the Madden and NCAA franchises.