NBA Live 18 is ready to launch Sept. 15 and after a year break , the long-running franchise from EA looks to have players buyin to the changes made including a brand new solo mode called The One. The One mode was revealed during E3 2017, along with the first look at NBA Live 18, and showed off custom characters playing on the streets and in the NBA against some of the Association’s best players.
“The One is a brand new experience that’s focused on You. You can scan your face and put yourself in the game,” NBA Live 18 Creative Director Connor Dougan told Player.One. “And what you do is play in a solo career experience in the League or play on the streets.”
World famous street courts like Rucker Park and Venice Beach are featured in The One, and special live events will allow players to face off against NBA superstars for a chance at exclusive gear or traits.
Dougan described an event featuring Vince Carter that pits your character against the future Hall of Famer to win Vince Carter gear or even a signature dunk to add to your character’s repertoire.
“We’re constantly going to be releasing new gear as we launch,” Dougan said. “Live events where only on a specific day you may get a cool pair of shoes or new animation that’s available only for that time. Our idea is to keep pushing those out to keep players engaged.”
Customization will play a big role in NBA Live 18 as player archetypes and skill trees will make their return.
“We have a brand new player archetype system that lets you pick your play style,” Dougan said. “So if you want to be a Point Shooter we redid the player progression from the ground up so there are a number of play styles that will feel unique and different.”
In past games there were different ratings t you would level up, but in NBA Live 18 your character now manages a set of primary skills. There are fewer skills but more rewards and customizations as you level up. Skills or Traits will be made available to players as they make progress in-game.
“When you play the game, you’ll have new play styles but every player will have a unique play style that’s special to that build,” Dougan said. “And then there are traits, for example you can be a Point Shooter and if you hit a certain number of threes, you can unlock traits like the Way Back trait that lets you shoot from further or a trait that lets you be late on your timing.”
Dougan explained that traits can affect other players on the court as well. These traits will provide buffs designed to support your teammates.
“You can be a Playmaker and have the Penetrate and Kick trait where I hit a shooter and he takes the shot he will get a boost to his shot percentage. So when you think about all these unique play styles and traits and loadouts, it becomes quite unique and strategic and something we feel is different,” he said.
As for the gameplay mechanics, NBA Live 18 changed the fundamentals of how players handle the ball on both offense and defense.
“We are taking a new philosophy from a gameplay standpoint,” Dougan said. “We’re making it more twitch based instead of dice-roll based. So we have a new mechanic called the one-on-one system on both offense and defense. We want to make defense fun in basketball games.”
Dougan admits that playing defense hasn’t been super engaging in the past so the new one-on-one mechanic allows for players to defend the ball better. In NBA Live 18, when you’re guarding a ball handler, a small pop-up window will appear that will allow you to cut them off.
On the offensive side, players can use the right stick to dribble and perform a combination of dribbles to get around the defender. It’ll be a move/counter move system between the offense and defense that will make the game more engaging.
“I find, traditionally, when I see a lot of players playing basketball games that they are just waiting to get the ball back to shoot the three or dunk,” he said. “So we want to change the game.”
NBA Live 18 will release for PS4, Xbox One and PC on Sept. 15.
