Fore! Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07’s Wesley Culver

We’ve played tennis, bowling, baseball and golf with the Wii. Well, for the serious golf enthusiast, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 would be heaven.

Wesley Culver is a producer at EA Sports for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. He talks about the ins and outs of developing an integral part of the game – the Swing. Since the Wii’s potential seems endless, the dev team began developing a specific version for the Wii.

They started with putting down a basic swing. The next step came after putting into account the “shot shape”, the draw and the fade. It’s all about the flight of the ball, left to right is the fade while right to left is the draw.

They incorporated this (rather than making it a preset option) by using tilt for the control scheme. If the player wants a draw, tilt the Wiimote clockwise and for a fade, counterclockwise. Natural tendencies would rule over advanced shot-shaping as it is intuitive. Culver admits that he has a tendency when playing real golf, in game it translates into a natural fade.

The other gameplay mechanics are midair spin control, power, and aiming. Midair spin direction can be controlled via the directional pad and spin can be added by shaking the Wiimote. To get more power into swing, all one has to do is swing harder – extra juice can boost power to 110%. With aim, the directional pad can be used or the grab and drag function.

Culver concludes that the swing was made to be “very accessible and intuitive to use” so that everyone can have a great time playing it. From casual to hardcore gamer and from golf novice to pro.

We’ve played tennis, bowling, baseball and golf with the Wii. Well, for the serious golf enthusiast, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 would be heaven.

Wesley Culver is a producer at EA Sports for Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07. He talks about the ins and outs of developing an integral part of the game – the Swing. Since the Wii’s potential seems endless, the dev team began developing a specific version for the Wii.

They started with putting down a basic swing. The next step came after putting into account the “shot shape”, the draw and the fade. It’s all about the flight of the ball, left to right is the fade while right to left is the draw.

They incorporated this (rather than making it a preset option) by using tilt for the control scheme. If the player wants a draw, tilt the Wiimote clockwise and for a fade, counterclockwise. Natural tendencies would rule over advanced shot-shaping as it is intuitive. Culver admits that he has a tendency when playing real golf, in game it translates into a natural fade.

The other gameplay mechanics are midair spin control, power, and aiming. Midair spin direction can be controlled via the directional pad and spin can be added by shaking the Wiimote. To get more power into swing, all one has to do is swing harder – extra juice can boost power to 110%. With aim, the directional pad can be used or the grab and drag function.

Culver concludes that the swing was made to be “very accessible and intuitive to use” so that everyone can have a great time playing it. From casual to hardcore gamer and from golf novice to pro.