UCF Football: A Living Lab for EA SPORTS Research

American football is defined not only by the players on the field, but also by an electric atmosphere – from the thunderous roar of a crowd celebrating a touchdown to the lighting of the stadium in a coordinated display to celebrate a home team victory. Capturing the essence of this environment is critical to creating authentic sports simulations that allow players to experience the rich traditions of their favorite college or professional teams from anywhere in the world. 

Bringing that magic to life demands careful research and planning, including firsthand experience of the immersive sports atmospheres we aim to recreate in our EA SPORTS™ titles. The journey begins with members of our Audio and Visual Experience Team (AVX), composed of talented artists and content creators tasked with crafting the look and feel of our games. Through character development, environment design, lighting, animation, audio and more, these artists work collaboratively to leverage groundbreaking technologies at the cutting edge of video game production to create the most authentic in-game experiences possible.

For AVX team members, being physically present in a sports arena or stadium, feeling the collective energy of the crowd, observing the nuanced reactions of athletes and absorbing the ambiance of the arena ultimately enriches the experiences that they help craft when game development is in full swing. This first-person insight is crucial in recreating environments where every cheer, chant or anticipated breath of silence significantly affects the player’s emotions throughout a game. In more ways than one, the journey players experience when taking control of their favorite team and leading them to victory in a video game, provides the same rush of excitement and adrenaline that players on the field experience when they sweat out a hard-fought win from a riveled opponent. Part of the AVX team’s mission is to capture and emulate those real-life moments as closely as possible. 

Luckily, the University of Central Florida (UCF) – one of the nation’s largest universities and newest members of the Big 12 Conference − is less than 20 miles from our EA Tiburon studio in Orlando. 

When we needed a place to test new camera equipment that is now the benchmark for reference collection for EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL and College Football, UCF Football welcomed us to the sideline for its annual Space Game with open arms. This provided a new, exciting chapter for our already extensive 20+ year relationship with UCF, and it only seemed right to work hand-in-hand with a regional partner dedicated to providing opportunities that foster a positive impact for future electronic artists.

Before the game, EA SPORTS Executive Art Director, Paul Kashuk, assembled a team of three EA Tiburon AVX members to strategize, review the game day schedule, make assignments and prepare relevant camera equipment. The goal was simple: capture as much footage as possible. 

“Our plan was to arrive early enough to set up and record all the pre-game ceremonies, as well as capture as much of the actual game as possible through a variety of different lenses and camera settings,” said Kashuk. “The team members divided and conquered using three separate cameras so we could make the most of our time on campus and get the best coverage possible.”

While in-game footage is critical to game development, so are all the other festivities that make game days so memorable, such as tailgating, player introductions, pre-game light shows and more. 

An early afternoon kickoff also proved a major advantage, as it allowed the team to capture footage under diverse lighting conditions – from the bright afternoon sunlight to sunset hues and the artificial stadium night lighting atmosphere. This transition, which is notoriously difficult to replicate accurately in video games without something to draw from, provided the AVX team with critical visual data to simulate the most realistic stadium environments for our players.

The game also turned out to be UCF’s biggest upset win of the year and Knight Nation brought an extremely high level of energy, including a controlled field storm after the game! The AVX team is now actively studying what they captured to determine how to best represent this footage in our games.

At EA Tiburon, we like to say that if something is in the game, it is in our game. Experiences like this one with UCF Football allow us to realize that vision and create the most authentic sports simulations possible. 

“It was so cool to see the Bounce House (FBC Mortgage Stadium) used as a living lab for the creation of EA SPORTS games,” said Jimmy Skiles, Chief Brand Officer and Senior Executive Associate Athletics Director for UCF Athletics. “The partnership and collaboration between UCF and EA SPORTS showcase the advantage of being in a collaborative and innovative city like Orlando.”

As we prepare to release EA SPORTS™ College Football 25 and EA SPORTS™ Madden NFL 25 later this year, there is no better time to peek behind the curtain and learn more about how EA team members are working hard to bring authentic American football experiences to life. 

Interested in learning more about the AVX team? Check out our blog post about how AVX team members created visual experiences for Madden NFL 24: www.ea.com/news/ea-sports-madden-nfl-24-visual-experience-spotlight.

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