Home SPORTS FIFA 21 GameCam promises more ‘rewarding and spectacular’ goals

FIFA 21 GameCam promises more ‘rewarding and spectacular’ goals

by Bioreports
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The new camera angle is only available on PS5 and Xbox Series X and utilises the processing power of those consoles to make the game more realistic

The trailers for the next generation of FIFA on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have shown the improved realism off the field as thousands of fans descend on Anfield to watch Liverpool in action.

A lot of games have advertising videos like this that do not reflect the true gameplay of the game itself, but FIFA 21 attempts to be more realistic than ever on the pitch thanks to the new GameCam.

Looking to reflect television broadcasts of matches by showing both the field of play and the crowd at once, GameCam utilises the processing power of the fifth generation of consoles in ways that were impossible before.

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FIFA 21 Creative Director Matt Prior is a huge fan of the new camera angle, which is the default setting in FIFA 21 on PS5 and Xbox Series X.

He believes that GameCam allows people to connect with the game better than they could previously and makes it feel much more like watching a real-life game on television.

“We think it’s a gamechanger in terms of the believability of the experience,” Prior tells Goal.

“One of the main things we want to do is have people connect to our game the way they would the real world of football.

“The more powerful processing power of Gen 5 allows us to show more of the stadium. Previously, if we were showing a lot of the crowd, it would hit framerate.

“GameCam is much more of a reflection of how people interact with football. Most people digest football by their television and one of our main goals is to make our game look as close to the reality of a broadcast as we can.

“It really adds an extra layer of dimension and immersion to it because you get to see a lot more of the field, a lot more of the off-ball play and a lot more of the crowd, who are such an important part of the atmosphere of football.”

FIFA 21 Liverpool fans

GameCam is currently only available on new consoles and was not part of FIFA 21’s initial release on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Those previous consoles did not have the processing power to show the crowd in such detail as framerate would struggle to keep up with the on-field and off-field animations.

All the traditional camera angles and camera settings are still available, but Prior hopes that having GameCam as default will cause more people to use it despite the fact they can switch to one of the older angles in a few seconds.

“Some people will want to change back to the original camera as they’ve grown up with it and that’s what they’re used to,” Prior admits.

“The majority of users when we tested it, liked the new look and feel. But we don’t want to limit it and everyone is different, so all the old camera options are still in there if you want to change it.

“But for us, GameCam is a real step forward and the big difference from Gen 4 and Gen 5.

“The reason we wanted to make it the default is because it shows off the power of Next Gen and for any returning users, they know they can change the camera angle, but any new users, if we hid this one, maybe they might not know they could change it.”

Showing the crowd is one of the key features of the new camera angle and EA Sports worked on ensuring that the crowds were more varied than in the past, with previous games often duplicating fans to fill stadiums.

The crowd react better to in-game actions, but Prior’s favourite aspect of GameCam is how scoring feels in FIFA 21 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

The new camera angle brings users closer to the action and makes some goals look “more spectacular,” according to FIFA 21’s Creative Director.

“Football is a lot about atmosphere and that’s what makes it the best game in the world. The chanting, the colours, the tifos. That whole atmosphere is part of the experience, so the more we can bring that into the gameplay experience, the better. Previously, once you were in gameplay, you saw very little of the crowd.

“This now allows us to bring the crowd into the gameplay much more,” he adds.

“Some of the changes are subtle, such as if you hit a belting shot and it goes over the bar, you’ll see the crowd try to get away from it now.

“Or if you score a goal and run behind the net to your fans, they’ll swarm towards the front and cheer.

“Overall, we’ve improved the textures of the crowd. We struggle to get them to the fidelity of the players because there’s 50,000 of them, but we have made big improvements. There’s less duplication in Gen 5 and much more reactive stuff, they can cheer more accurately and do the Mexican wave for example.

“The stadiums will now feel much fuller and more alive. There’s more cameramen, more stewards, etc. It’s much more of a living environment due to the extra horsepower that Gen 5 gives us.

“You can score some incredibly satisfying goals from the angle of the camera, because you can see the ball arc and curve much more than you could with the previous cameras.

“It feels really good. In a lot of instances, it makes scoring goals more rewarding because they look that much more spectacular.”

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