In the latest 2KTV episode, NBA 2K21 Gameplay Director, Mike Wang, was asked about the upcoming NBA 2K21 game. While not giving away too much about the upcoming game, he does shed light on some of the differences between NBA 2K21 on Current-Gen and Next-Gen, the process of creating the game, and more.
Check out the full interview below:
Q: How has development been staying at home during this tough period?
A: It’s been a whirlwind. I think at first it was a little bit rocky, we were all trying to learn the ropes and over it’s time it’s gotten smoother and smoother. And now we’re pretty much 100 percent efficiency and we’re going strong.
Q: Is Next-Gen (NBA 2K21) just going to be the same game, like 2.0, what can you tell us?
A: It’s absolutely not, and I think that’s something that we’re so excited about. We’ve actually taken the Current-Gen version of the game and we split development between VC (Visual Concepts) Novato (2K Headquarters) and our studio in L.A. called VC South. They’ve done a great job just taking that game to the next level, while the team in Novato is focused on the Next-Gen version. You’re going to find that the Next-Gen game is going to be everything you have in the Current-Gen version, but just so much more in terms of like what you can do, the breadth of the title is so much more. There’s so much more content, it just feels completely different. So it’s a very different beast, and you know if you have the means, I highly recommend to all our fans to save up for that Next-Gen version because it’s going to be a great one.
Q: With all this new technology, what does that mean for gameplay in NBA 2K21 for the Next-Generation?
A: Whenever we have a new console year, that’s something that always excites us developers because we’re always able to look and kind of dream bigger. And for us it just meant, you know, faster processing, it meant more memory, just the ability to do things that we couldn’t do in last generation. So for us it’s, I think the big next step you’re going to see is just immediately when you play the game, it’s going to feel completely different. From there, we’re able to add just so much more on top of that to make it feel even better.
Q: Let’s talk specific (game) modes. Anything new that you can tell us about?
A: Well we didn’t want to unveil too much stuff today with new modes, but one thing I will say is that fans of the WNBA are going to be very excited for what we’re bringing to the table with Next-Gen.
Q: When’s the game released next-gen?
A: A little bit later than usual.
Q: Gameplay differences next gen?
A: A lot. Some similarities between Current-Gen and Next-Gen, they share the
same DNA, but Next-Gen has a lot more of everything.
Q:What’s been your focus going into the year?
A: How can we make the game fun. A lot of times from the Dev standpoint, we’re like how can we make the game more realistic? How can we make it more like what we see on tv? And sometimes those things aren’t equal. Sometimes a really fun game is not necessarily the most realistic game. So we went through a lot of just different meetings and design ideas of like , what’s not fun in 2K? And we got called out by some NBA players of what wasn’t fun… Like throwing the ball away on cherry-picked passes, things you didn’t have control over.
Q: This is like the first time in a while that you’ve really had a generation jump, is there anything you’re really excited about?
A: There’s some really cools stuff with movement, I’ll say that. The movement, the feel of the game, from Current-Gen to Next-Gen is like this giant leap. And on top of that, (although) I’m not a graphics / artist guy, when I look at it, as a fan as of the game, I’m blown away by what that team has accomplished. It just looks incredible. The lighting looks crazy, the details, the textures, the skin, everything looks so life-like.
For all NBA 2K21 news, info, features and more, check out the NBA 2K21 News Tracker.
