Every part You Have to Know About Bruce Lee in EA Sports activities UFC
You needn’t ask why Bruce Lee is a secret character within the upcoming “EA Sports activities UFC.” As Brian Hayes, artistic director for “EA Sports activities UFC” put it, “It is. Bruce. Lee.” However we had just a few extra questions for Hayes about how somebody as iconic as Bruce Lee makes the transition to video video games, in what would be the medium’s first critical illustration of him.
Xbox Wire: When did the choice to place Bruce Lee within the sport go from fantasy to actuality?
Brian Hayes: The primary time it got here up was simply over a 12 months in the past, and it was a fantastic brainstorming, like, “May you think about if we put Bruce Lee within the sport?” after which it was “You already know… that is truly a good suggestion,” and it snowballed from there.
Xbox Wire: EA Sports activities has a historical past of incorporating historic athletes into its video games, like Muhammad Ali in “Combat Evening Spherical four. ” How did you strategy Bruce Lee as an athlete, versus the film star that most individuals know him as?
Brian: Principally, the strategy we took was grounded in actuality. Whereas Bruce Lee clearly by no means competed in a sanctioned no-holds-barred struggle in a sporting context, those who skilled with him in martial arts are unanimous within the opinion that he is without doubt one of the most wonderful athletes they’ve ever seen by way of his velocity, his energy for his measurement, and his dedication to revolutionary coaching concepts and exploring totally different martial arts disciplines. He was an motion film star as a occupation. As a martial artist, he was somebody famend for being an amazing athlete and really succesful in a number of totally different sides of martial arts. So from our perspective, we’re creating that. This is an athlete with super hanging skill and succesful abilities on the bottom, as a result of these are the disciplines and abilities that he began to discover later. We’re not recreating a personality from Enter the Dragon; we’re recreating Bruce Lee, the athlete, if he had been within the current day of UFC.
Xbox Wire: Does Bruce Lee have a variety of grappling and floor expertise which might be basic to the UFC?
Brian: He definitely has grappling skills. In case you recall one of many opening scenes in “Enter the Dragon,” he is sparring with one other actor, Sammo Hung, and so they’re nearly carrying a precursor to the UFC glove in that struggle. So Bruce is in that struggle, and he finally ends up getting a takedown and rolling into an arm bar, and ending Sammo Hung with an arm bar. Bruce was conscious of how essential and efficient abilities on the bottom may be. However definitely, his strengths lie in his footwork – his velocity, accuracy, quickness, and energy – so he is most likely extra of fighter who would like preserving the struggle upright, in order that he can use his benefits there. But when it goes to the bottom, he isn’t going to be a fish out of water.
Bruce Lee’s affect may be seen in so many different combating video games, but it surely’s often a wacky, cartoonish caricature of him. How did you guys go about embodying him and making him Bruce Lee, with out making it really feel like a gag?
Brian: From an integration standpoint, in a variety of different video games the place there’s a “Bruce Lee” impressed character, it’s a very cinematic strategy to his combating type, with how a lot flourish and embellishment that character might need. He was a really clever blended martial artist, so what we would anticipate from him in immediately’s UFC is to make use of the methods which might be handiest, as a result of that was the muse of his philosophy.
So its not that Bruce Lee’s combating type is an over-the-top caricature of martial arts; he is utilizing the identical efficient methods for an athlete of his stature and nature, that different athletes of that stature and nature makes use of in MMA.
Clearly his stance – the best way he holds his palms, and the rhythm of the best way he shifts his weight on his toes – are distinctive to him, to make it actually appear to be him. But when Bruce Lee goes to throw a lead proper punch to your face, he throws it in probably the most environment friendly straight line that he probably can, which is the best way any good martial artist throws that very same punch. So we do not put a variety of bells and whistles on that simply to make it a cinematic Bruce Lee. He’s a talented MMA fighter who makes use of the methods that work.
Does Bruce Lee communicate within the sport?
Brian: Not by way of precise spoken strains, however he does have his personal vocalizations that you’d anticipate from a Bruce Lee character when he punches you within the face.
Is Bruce Lee arrange like a boss character? Is there any additional sport facet constructed round him?
Brian: He is a reward for making it into the Corridor of Fame on profession mode. You do not face him as a boss character or in a fantasy struggle or something like that; our profession mode is a simulation of a UFC profession, ostensibly occurring within the current day and time, so it did not actually make sense to be dealing with Bruce Lee on the finish of that.
And the way does one unlock Bruce Lee in “EA Sports activities UFC”?
Brian: There are 4 Bruce Lees. He is obtainable in 4 weight courses – bantamweight, featherweight, light-weight, and welterweight – as a result of we needed you to have the ability to take him in in opposition to as many UFC fighters as potential.
In case you pre-order the sport, you unlock all of them instantly. In-game, for those who make it to the Corridor of Fame in Profession mode on both of the 2 highest issue settings, then you definately unlock him. And you may unlock him within the retailer as nicely.
Xbox Wire: You talked about extra rosters and the shop. So can we additionally anticipate extra fighters to the roster?
Brian: You’ll be able to positively anticipate extra downloadable characters, after we get these characters finished!
Xbox Wire: One final query: Who’s your private favourite fighter within the sport?
Brian: Clearly, taking part in as Bruce Lee is superior. However I am very a lot an individual that’s impressed by the final actually thrilling struggle I noticed – so just lately, I have been utilizing Robbie Lawler rather a lot, as a result of the struggle he simply had with Johny Hendricks was superior. And I identical to throwing punches with Robbie Lawler. However within the subsequent UFC struggle that’s completely thrilling and superior, whoever I appreciated probably the most in that struggle is who I will most likely begin taking part in.
“EA Sports activities UFC” will probably be available in shops and digitally on June 17. If you would like entry to Bruce Lee proper out of the gate, be sure to pre-order!
