Do you like story mode in your sports games? If you do, you’ll be happy to know that FIFA 17 will be including a story mode with the game when it ships in September. The story mode has been christened “The Journey,” and will feature Alex Hunter as an up-and-comer with a legacy to live up to as the grandson of Jim Hunter.
As Alex Hunter, you’ll work your way through your Premier League career, where your actions off the pitch will have results as well. That includes a dialogue wheel, which is something that the developers seem to have borrowed from RPGs like EA and Bioware’s Mass Effect franchise.
The Journey will also feature a “true-to-life” experience by giving players a cinematic world “informed and influenced by real players.” For now, they’ve released a trailer for the new game mode along with an interview with Creative Director Mat Prior. We’ve included some of the questions from the interview below, but I’d recommend giving the whole thing a read over at the website.
Why develop a story mode for FIFA 17?
It’s a side of football we have never been able to showcase before and is something we have wanted to do for several years – give the player the experience of living a professional football career on and off the pitch. We have done an amazing job of recreating football through gameplay but up until now we have never ‘peeked behind the curtain’ and brought to life what happens off the pitch. That side of the game has become more known about in recent years through social media and the countless number of websites devoted to the sport. Fans can digest football 24/7 and have a window into footballer’s lives outside of matches that just wasn’t available before. I think it’s a side of football people are very interested in now and it’s a great opportunity to really innovate in FIFA 17.
It’s also a mode that will allow players to learn about the sport but just as importantly get familiar with the game – you can learn the fundamentals of FIFA and some of the more advanced functionality through playing. Any player that completes The Journey should not only have a great time but come out the other side with the ability to play the game at an even better level.
How long has it taken to develop The Journey?
We have been thinking about this for a long time and been plotting ideas for more than two years. We mapped out the story and all the features, then a large section of the team came together back over a year ago. Most of the EA SPORTS FIFA team have worked on an annual cycle. So for this, it was a pretty long production but at the same time, a very rewarding process.
FIFA 17 is the first in the series to use the Frostbite engine, how did it help shape developing The Journey?
Without Frostbite, a story this immersive doesn’t happen. It really gave us the means to tell the story. We built our engine around delivering authentic true to life action on and off the pitch, but with the move over to Frostbite gave us the opportunity and the tools required to create scenes and environments necessary for this kind of mode. The Frostbite engine has given us a lot of incredible games many of which featured story modes and it was the perfect vehicle for us to bring a story into FIFA.
Are you excited to see a story mode on the way for FIFA 17? Let us know in the comments or social media and be sure to stay tuned to SGO for the latest FIFA news and tips. We’ll be at E3 all week!