FIFA 22 is going to have some very beautiful character animations, as its publisher Electronic Arts really would like you to know. The latest trailer for the game shows off a behind-the-scenes peek at the work that went into the animation technology, which has been overhauled from previous games. This feature will be exclusive to next-gen versions of the game, which are launching on October 1 alongside all the other versions of the game.
The trailer hypes up the Hypermotion tech as much as possible, calling it the “biggest addition to gameplay in FIFA 22.” The tech is a combination of motion capture and machine learning designed to have player animations that respond to each other. The video shows how the motion capture is used to help create the Hypermotion, as it’s a bit more complicated than having players in mocap suits on a soundstage. In this case, EA apparently captured “simultaneous motion capture of 22 professional footballers playing at high intensity. The data from every touch, tackle, and sprint inspires over 4000 new animations…”
Once the data is processed, the in-game “tactical AI” will mean the players react faster to changes in position, defensive players can hold formations around the ball, and two-character interactions won’t look nearly as awkward as they’ve done in the past. Other additions include an update to goalkeeper behavior, better ball physics, and new tactics. There will also be new gameday environment animations, new commentators, and bigger goal celebrations.
Overall, it looks like the game will look better and play more smoothly than previous versions of FIFA have. This is assuming of course that the Hypermotion tech works as promised. There were a few animations in the trailer that looked a bit suspect, but there’s no harm in being optimistic about it. The game launches on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC on October 1.
