STACK #163 May 2018

GAMES FEATURE

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Making Racquet A

Two new-gen tennis games in one year?You could say that tennis fans have had a grand slam of choice in recent months. TennisWorldTour is brought to you by Breakpoint Games, and we spoke to Etienne Jacquemain – lead game designer – to see what they're bringing to the court. Words Alesha Kolbe T ennis World Tour is a new tennis sim that has put its own spin (literally and figuratively) on the itself,” Etienne Jacquemain tells us. “Even though arcade tennis games are fun, we wanted to emphasise all of the techniques and mental strength this sport requires from the players. "We conducted a lot of different

genre in many ways; the most noticeable of which being its injury system. In the game’s career mode, gamers will need to choose which tournaments to participate in, in order to avoid injuring their players.

motion capture sessions on real courts, with French professional players such as Maxime Teixeira and Guillaume Ruffin, in order to ensure the final quality of our animations. "But we wanted to go further, working on the small details that you need to take into account as a pro player. For instance, each court surface will have an impact on gameplay, the ball being faster on grass or on timber courts. In the career mode, you will have to master your form along a full season and choose wisely between different tournaments in order to rest and avoid injuries, just as a real player would do.” This is thanks to the attention to detail Breakpoint have placed on the depiction of player behaviour in-game. “We know that these pro players travel a lot, and sometimes have to

gamers will need to choose which tournaments to participate in, in order to avoid injuring their players

“We wanted to make sure that the game was a real simulation, true to the sport of tennis

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MAY 2018

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