Motion capture technology has become an important ingredient in today’s video games which are based on real-life sports including football, basketball, wrestling, and the like. The intention, of course, is to come up with the exact same movements of the players on the video game version to make it as close to being real as it can be.
Game developer 2K Sports of the upcoming basketball simulation video game “NBA 2K16” is making an extra by doing body scanning of real NBA players. Consistent with the usual intention, the idea behind the body scanning is to resemble the bodies of the NBA players so that their video game versions would very much have the same physiques as theirs.
But it is not just the NBA players that the game developer is body scanning, even the dancers are also being made to undergo the same scan.
The game’s official Twitter account revealed this new feature of “NBA 2K16” when it posted on July 1 that body scans are coming to the upcoming game, giving players more authenticity than ever before. The tweet also came with a photo of center Anthony Davis of the New Orleans Pelicans, which “NBA 2K16” referred to as its cover athlete.
The following day, the official Twitter account of the video game, posted a collage of photos of some 12 NBA players while working out in the gym. It captioned the post by saying that body scans are being done on NBA players and dancers for the game to be able to generate the most authentic bodies in franchise history.
Among the NBA players who were in the image in the tweet include Ty Lawson, Rudy Gay, Ryan Kelley, and Robert Sacre, notes Design N Trend.
Spike Lee’s involvement
Meanwhile, game developer 2K Sports shared a video on Instagram for “NBA 2K16” showing the actual involvement of acclaimed director Spike Lee in directing as much of the game as he can.
The footage is actually a three-in-one clip showing two motion capture actors acting out a scene as Lee looks on intently, notes Gameranx.
The second clip shows Lee barking instructions to an actor in a suit. The third clip, on the other hand, shows Lee and his staff just laughing.
More than the very small clip, the footage actually shows the extent of involvement of Spike Lee in the development of “NBA 2K16.” Being a fan of the game himself, he really wants to make his contribution count in the video game.
Game developer 2K Sports has already announced that the next iteration to its basketball simulation video game “NBA 2K16” will be coming to both the current and next generation gaming consoles as well as the PC on September 29.
Special edition
For the third time since the NBA 2K franchise was launched, Michael Jordan will be featured on the cover of the basketball simulation video game. His Airness will be appearing on the cover of the Special Edition of the upcoming “NBA 2K16.”
The regular edition of “NBA 2K16” shall have three different cover options when it officially comes out. Accordingly, the cover will either have Stephen Curry, James Harden, or Anthony Davis in it. Depending on who their favorite player is among the three NBA superstars, buyers of “NBA 2K16” can choose their video game cover because it will come with foldable inserts enabling them to swap covers as they prefer.
2K Sports has decided to put Michael Jordan on the cover of the “NBA 2K16” Special Edition to celebrate Jordan’s Hall of Fame legacy and give fans even more options to customize their in-game experience.
And as an added bonus, gamers who shall pre-order the “NBA 2K16” Special Edition will receive a couple of Michael Jordan memorabilia and several in-game contents four days before the official video game launch on September 29.