NBA 2K24 launches soon, and 2K lifted the lid on new skill-based and approachability features in the sports game. Game director Mike Wang told GLHF during a roundtable interview that the team’s goal this year was implementing feedback from fans who wanted higher skill ceilings, but in a way that doesn’t alienate newcomers and players on lower difficulty levels.
There’s a whole suite of new features to help create a balanced experience, including new shot timing animations and features that let you choose your timing cue and release points. Wang says the idea is to teach you how a player shoots and when the ideal release timing is, so you don’t have to just guess anymore.
2K wanted to make dribble moves more interesting and easier to pull off this time as well, so they came up with dribble breakdowns. These include over 100 new dribble moves you can pull off just by flicking the stick, completely doing away with the need for complex inputs.
Takeovers got an overhaul in 24. They borrow from MyCareer and let you boost stats such as finishing and shooting when you trigger a takeover. Plan well, and Wang says you can change the course of a match and bring your team back from the brink.
Visual Concepts included several other features, big and small, to help improve NBA 2K24’s realism, including better steal and collision logic, but the new ProPlay technology is one of the more significant changes. Wang said relying on motion capture for animations often led to inaccurate results, not to mention challenges in recreating styles for retired or deceased players, including NBA 2K24’s cover star, Kobe Bryant. Pro Play takes footage from actual NBA games and recreates it as authentically as possible in NBA 2K24.
NBA 2K24 launches on Sep. 8, 2023, for PC, PS5 and PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
