Interview with David Rutter – FIFA 11 Senior Producer

David Rutter is the senior producer for FIFA 11 (Xbox 360 & PS3). After some busy days at E3, we could finally catch him and ask him some questions about EA Sports FIFA 11.

What key features will make FIFA 11 different from FIFA 10?
David Rutter: So far this year we’ve been talking about the improvements to the gameplay – how we’ve continued to refine the experience, respond to feedback and innovate, and also we’ve touched on some of our customization features this year.

For refinements, we have again made many hundreds of changes to all the fundamental areas of the game to improve the overall quality of your FIFA experience. But one of the bigger changes we’ve made is with Pro Passing – which is a brilliant new passing system to alivate the “Ping Pong Passing” that has been synonymous with FIFA’s assisted settings. That said – our fully manual passing system remains, is still superb, and continues to be a big fan favourite.

There are some good reference videos here:
http://www.easportsfootball.co.uk/media/play/feature-video/Pro_Passing

How about the number of teams and players, will EA include more official leagues and teams in the game?
David Rutter: We’re not talking about that at the moment. Sorry.

By looking at the first screenshot of FIFA 11 we can see improvements on graphic. How about the current-gen version?
David Rutter: Well the features I talk about only concern the 360 and PS3 versions. But FIFA 11 will be released on all the usual platforms yes.

FIFA fans were asking about some features such as diving, be a goalie, be a ref or futsal, would it be possible to have them in FIFA 11?
David Rutter: We know that our fans are after these features – we’re looking at the forums and talking to the guys all the time, and once I’m allowed to commit whether or not we’re doing them – I will.

Have you read fans’ comments on the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa game? They had some constructive feedback for its gameplay. Are you gonna learn from the World Cup game to improve FIFA 11 gameplay?
David Rutter: Yep – we’re continuing to refine the game based on feedback about FIFA10 and WC. There has been a lot of crossover on the forums for people who have played a lot of FIFA 10 and also WC – so we’re definitely focusing on it. FIFA 11, naturally, will be somewhat more simulation based than WC.

Talking about World Cup 2010, what team do you support and think will win the tournament?
David Rutter: Naturally, as an Englishman, I support England. But as we’ve passed the group stages as I answer these I would be foolish to suggest they’ll win. I’ve always liked the Netherlands, and Brazil are usually epic but I suspect it will come down to Spain or Argentina.

Many thanks David! … Next time we will be back to you with more questions!
David Rutter: No problems! Thanks for asking.

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