Sup everybody, Ryan here. Last week we dropped knowledge on a new game mode called Dynamic Season. This week we focus on a new online game mode, the adidas LIVE Run. I’m going to talk about the concept and gameplay ideas behind LIVE Run, then Garreth with get into the mode itself later on.
This mode will be a new way to play online team play (OTP). If you’re familiar with OTP in the past, you could connect with 9 other online users in a 5v5 game of NBA LIVE. We’re taking that same functionality and presenting in a new format.

The inspiration behind this mode was based on pick up basketball. More specifically the off-season runs you sometimes hear or read about. Legendary stories of ballers getting a chance to play with some NBA superstars. Rumors of battles between some of the league’s best. I’m talking about the pick up games where the NBA’s elite play in the summer.

Coincidently, when designing this new feature, we looked at various videos like the Adidas Run commercial.

Here are a couple pics to show you how the venue turned out.

Now to go into the more detail on how this mode works. First you’ll need to create a squad (aka Club in LIVE 09) or join one. Once you’re part of a squad, you’re ready to go online and challenge other squads.

Upon starting a game, Users will be given the opportunity to select what position they want to play along with an NBA star that plays that position. Unlike regular OTP that is NBA team based, we allow you to run with stars on other NBA teams. Be part of your fav 5. Once an NBA player chosen, he cannot by chosen by another teammate. Sorry, you can’t have a team of all Kobes or Lebrons: ;) Essentially you and your friends can form your own all-star team.

Before entering a game, you’ll even be given the option to customize the look of your player by selecting his kicks and uniform (for Adidas branded players only). Everybody knows you need to look fresh while hooping. These customization options add to your expression of style on the court.

Once you get into the game, you’ll be playing in the Adidas LIVE Run court. This is a fictional court that was designed to feel like a small intimate rec centre like the ones all over the US, a place that only the top players know about and have access too.

As for the players, they’ll be rocking the uniforms and kicks you and your friends selected. Notice the untucked uniforms to give the game more of a casual feel.

Along with the environment and player visuals are gameplay changes to make this mode feel like a pick up game. Rules have been adjusted to keep the game flowing. You’ll play a game up to 21. Scoring is by 1’s and 2’s. Fouls have been tuned down, so you won’t see guys shooting free throws. Violation has also been adjusted to keep the pace going. Once you get your hands on this mode, you’ll see just how fun it is with the mode specific gameplay. Trust me it’s highly addictive. Internally the dev team couldn’t get enough of playing and testing this mode. It’s a blast to run with team of sick players because these are the guys that are so fun to use. When I use a player like Chris Paul, I’ll break down the D, go for steals and setup the perfect assist. Conversely, if I use a guy like Dwight Howard, I’ll post up, grab boards and protect the paint. Success lies on your squad playing like a team and playing to the strengths of their players. You’ll have to experiment to see what combination of players works best for your squad.
Here’s a sneak peak at some game footage of the Adidas LIVE Run. Enjoy!

I think those highlights speak for themselves. As an added feature to this mode, the soundtrack will play in the background as you ball.

Hey guys, Garreth here. Now that you know about the gameplay and setup, I can get into more detail on the mode itself. adidas LIVE Run is all about you and your squad; tracking your own performance through leaderboards and squad records, but most importantly trying to make your squad one of the elite teams. Each month we start a new season of runs: play and win as many games as you can to move your squad up the leaderboard. At the end the month or ’season’ we hand out awards to the best squads. The best overall team gets a special chain, and the best of the rest get Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals. These medals are based on the top percentage of the season you finished in. After the month is over, we start the next season. The great thing is if you got a late start in the mode, or found your perfect collection of team-mates later in the year, you aren’t stuck at the bottom of an impossible-to-climb overall leaderboard. There’s always the next season to suck it up and go hard with a fresh start. If you are the best of the best you can’t rack up wins and go to sleep; next season everyone will be gunning for you.

In addition to seasonal play, we’ve added Squad Records and Awards. Records keep track of all the single game and all-time records for player stats per squad. At a glance you can see the guys that play the most and contribute the most to the team in all stat categories. Awards are squad accomplishments your team can earn that range from easy (win a game) to rough (win 1000 games).

Finally I want to talk about how we implemented the game setup and the basics of playing a game. In NBA LIVE 09, playing Team Play with a big team meant that you went into game with random people from your team. This year we added ‘rooms’ within your squad. This way you can specify who you want to play with. When you select ‘Play adidas LIVE Run’ you enter the home room where you can see all your friends and what room they are waiting in. Then simply enter the room you want and start your game. The second addition here is that in past years we only had quick match search ability. For NBA LIVE 10 we added a ‘challenge’ feature, which allows you to challenge any other squad online that has enough members ready to play. It’s going to be sick to see some of the top teams gunning for each other and starting rivalries with this feature.

Finally, to top it all off, we have web support for adidas LIVE Run. If you don’t have a squad, you can search for one and request to join. It’s a great way to check the leaderboards, scout other teams, or review your stats from last night’s runs. You can even see who is online to know if you should jump in for a game. As you can see in the screenshot below, there is a lot of information you can look up and review, not only about your squad, but anyone’s. If you are a GM for a squad, you can add players, send messages to your team-mates, even schedule nights and times to play. To top it off, any uploaded highlights from an adidas LIVE Run game are viewable from your squad page online.

That wraps it up for this blog. Make sure to get your Run on with NBA LIVE 10 on October 6th. In the meantime, download the demo to keep you busy until the full game ships.

Peace,

Ryan + Garreth (iminurbase)