FIFA 22 - EA's game changer is an LPS system

 
In terms of FIFA 22 Coins virtuality, it meant that players who ran around would return ten meters away from their starting spot. EA's game changer is an LPS system that is local to the player. Rather than GPS satellites LPS beacons were distributed across the stadium, with motion sensors strapped to players' chests.

It meant high-quality data could finally be recorded in a real-life football game. "We chose the two teams in Spain's third tier because they share a long-standing relationship," Eaves says. "They're professionally-coached teams with amazing techniques. They play possession-based football with precision and aplomb - ideal for a video game because we want it to be fast and fun."

EA's direction was minimal beyond instructing players and the coaching team that the match was an "must-win game." However, the game required any extra edge. "Just like in a regular football match, we had players subbed on and off. We were able to capture tired defenders and fresh forwards when the game began to unfold," recalls Eaves. "You felt the animosity. There were so many fouls within the first five minutes , it was exactly what we expected."

It was those off-the-ball motions - shouting, pointingout, or posing was priceless for EA in making the most of the physicality and excitement of a live game. "If the stuntman is able to slide into people in motion capture area and then pops back up, but it isn't as intense as real-life challenges," explains Eaves. "In this game, the physicality is real. When a player is up and is angry. We take all that energy and apply it to our games."

It was by recording 22 people over the span of 90 mins that EA could produce enough animated, 8.75 million frames, to drive its new 'HyperMotion technology. Machine learning comes into play. "Previously whenever a player approaches the ball to perform the next movement - whether it's such as a pass, shot or dribble - we've picked an animation from our database," Eaves explains. "But this doesn't understand the context. All the data it gathers trains the network and buy FUT 22 Coins aids in blending animations."