FIFA 17 hasn’t officially been announced yet, however there’s a chance that the game may include a story mode according to a recent job listing by EA seeking for a Cinematic Designer who can ‘create story content (cameras and animation) in the dynamic world of a video game.’
EA’s yearly football release is in need of a shake up following FIFA 15 and FIFA 16 and the developer may well be about to do just that by adding a story mode to its career mode. If this does prove to be true, it will mark EA’s biggest addition to the game since the introduction of the hugely popular of Ultimate Team several years ago. Other than that, the series has remained relatively unchanged and safe when it comes to game modes.
The job listing reveals that EA are seeking someone who has previous experience in film and animation as well as an eye for ‘quality storytelling’.
“The Cinematic Designer has a background in film and animation and has an eye for quality storytelling,” reads the listing. “They know how to make a scene feel tense, triumphant, harrowing, etc, just by selecting the right angle and lens. They can recognize the subtle movements that make a character look realistic and believable and strive to capture that in the animation.”
The job listing goes on to say, “The Cinematic Designer can take a script and bring it to life while executing on the Cinematic and Narrative Director’s visions. They are familiar with the cinematic process from preview to polish.”
“In addition to creative skills, the Cinematic Designer can work in the technical space to achieve the cinematic design goals. They are able to navigate a game engine competently. They are familiar with testing and check-in procedures and can deliver their content while maintaining the stability of the game. The Cinematic Designer can problem-solve and find creative solutions to deliver quality, especially when working with less than ideal content (such as lower-quality source animations or low-res textures). ”
Of course, this is not confirmation that a fully fledged story mode is heading to FIFA 17, however it is an interesting prospect nonetheless given the mention of storytelling in the listing.
Instead of a story mode though, the cinematic designer could be working on improving the visuals of replays as well as the animations of fans and players to make them more realistic and add an extra layer of atmosphere and immersion to the game.
