FIFA STADIUM

After checking in with the FederaciÃƒÂ³n, the leaders of the organization have decided to allow for the representation of soccer in the digital world. Overflow funds from a Nike side project were placed in the hands of its marketing department with the hope of attracting the attention of the Bungie and Forge Hub communities, expanding the video game demographic already present with the FIFA Soccer series. Intentions were to increase American support for Ã¢â‚¬Å“the worldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s gameÃ¢â‚¬? by creating an inventive mini-game with maximum playability and replay value, with obvious connections to the sport we Americans call soccer. The complexities of the game and the Halo 3 framework were merged and crafted heeding the companyÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s famous slogan, Ã¢â‚¬Å“Just do it.Ã¢â‚¬?

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Introducing the worldÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s first objective-based soccer mini-game compatible with Halo 3, designed from the ground up by a former collegiate soccer player. The map and game variant combination boasts a system that keeps track of goals scored by each team in a series of five round matches. Complex goal machinery, precise locker room, stadium entrance, and field layouts, a patented penalty box, tweaking of the VIP game structure, and more, are all evident in this next generation soccer game.

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Each team begins in its own locker room, facing the chalkboard as it receives its respective pre-game warm-up speech. Players are outfitted with swords, ready to play in the upcoming match. As they tire of this chalk-talk, they make their way out of the locker room and into the stadium hallway.

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This sets the stage for an added game element. The teams have the option of engaging in a locker room brawl before the game! If a player on either team manages to make it through the sea of players on the other side of the shield doors, they have the option of killing the other teamÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s VIP before the soccer game even starts, as might happen in the smaller venues that attract sworn rivals and rowdy crowds. The reward is winning the round; players that are killed respawn on the field, leaving it to their teammates to finish the job, so to speak. When players tire of this mini-game within a mini-game, they may choose to take their respective entryways to the stadium instead.

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Players choose two routes to get to the stadium. The first is a tunneled route that is much safer in harsh conditions such as sleet, rain, snow, and an onslaught of a variety of objects fans manage to throw at their hated rivals. The second is more open and features a memorial to the stadiumÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s construction.

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The one and only requirement of any kind in this game is for VIPÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s to enter the sender node positioned along the tunneled route; this sends them to the goal, where they become goalies for the rest of the round. Separate VIP spawns would solve this problem; at this stage, however, this is not possible.

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Players climb up steps aside the goal and are launched onto the field of play by specially-positioned man cannons that function as part of the goal as well. At this point, team captains make their way to the press box for the coin toss and kickoff. When both teams are ready to play, the ball is knocked into play; the game continues until one team manages to knock the ball into the opposing teamÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s goal, killing the VIP (explained below). The scoring team wins a point and a new round quickly commences.

Field Layout

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The field itself is very large and rectangular, designed to fit the open area of the warehouse. Aside from the obvious goal placements and walls lining the sides, this particular game features a number of in-game effects. At 90Ã¢â‚¬? and every 90Ã¢â‚¬? interval thereafter, bubble shields and regenerators spawn in the middle of the field and speed boosts (200%) spawn in four separate field quadrants. The bubble shields are designed to make it hard for the opposing team to hit a player with the ball. The regenerators allow for teams to anticipate where players in possession of the ball will go; laying the regenerator down in the path of the forward will give him more protection against defenders. Both of these power-ups serve as an aesthetic distraction. At 120Ã¢â‚¬? and every 120Ã¢â‚¬? interval thereafter, active camouflage and overshields will spawn in a centered fashion. The former is meant to simulate a playerÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s ability to hide in the defenderÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s blind spots. The latter is meant to simulate the brute strength that some players have. The speed boosters obviously simulate someone with, letÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s say, the speed of recently signed Barcelona player Thierry Henri. When looked at from above, the power-ups are configured in the shape of MÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s on either side, a tribute to the Mario Strikers series.

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The Goal: An Advanced System

At first glance, the goal might be an overwhelming assemblage of tightly placed objects; they are actually configured in a way that solves several problems with previous soccer goals and takes advantage of the real-time physics component of the game. The window panels are constructed in a box that keeps the goalie from leaving the goalie box. A receiver node placed in the back of this box is where the goalie initially appears. The heart of the goal rests with the fusion coils. One fusion coil is placed on either side of the goalie box, and two fusion coils are placed inside the goalie box. When an opposing player strikes the ball into the goal, the ball will tap the fusion coil backward slightly. At this point, man cannons positioned in back of the goal will send the fusion coil upward into the ceiling of the goal. The resulting explosion will set off the fusion coils within the goalie box, killing the VIP and ending the round. The man cannons in front of the goalie box are intended to keep players from directly killing the VIP. They also add an extra element to the game; players who try this will be hurled backward. A ball making contact with the man cannons will fly opposite the intended direction (if left to its own devices, all the way across the field and into the other teamÃ¢â‚¬â„¢s goal)! The sender nodes placed on either side of the goalie box are intended to keep field players from directly hitting the fusion coils with their swords. If players get too close they will be sent back to their locker room or the penalty box in the sky. The gravity lifts placed above the sender nodes launch players onto the field initially and also keep players from jumping over the sender nodes. The man cannons placed in back of the goal help with his; as the gravity lifts force the player upward, the man cannons force the players backward.