recently caught up with Nicholas Wlodyka, associate producer of the FIFA series who gave them the lowdown on FIFA: Road to the World Cup.

What have you done to capture the spirit of the World Cup?

Wlodyka: We've done several things from both a gameplay standpoint and a visual standpoint. We really wanted to capture the drama, emotion and passion of the World Cup, so we've brought the scenes to life by doing things like making the crowd wear their teams colours, having camera flashes and big national flags - everything that makes a stadium feel alive.

We've also added a whole new layer with what we call theatrical musical scores - that's music like you'd have in movies like the Gladiator when you go into a big battle. It's orchestrated music to really pump up the moment. We've done that with all the key moments in the game including match intros, goals, fouls, and celebrations. Every time you play, you see and hear different things to illustrate the way the intensity rises as you progress through the competition.

What about changes in gameplay?

Wlodyka: Gameplay changes are quite substantial. In FIFA 2002 (the game previous to the World Cup edition) we started moving towards a more realistic kind of football product. We've taken the philosophy that we're a game that's easy to pick up and play - we have to be: fun is the core essence of a videogame. But the other thing is, it's got to be a fun, realistic football product. We've therefore addressed several things - we've built on the passing system by introducing a new airplay system, which gives more control for the user without making it more complicated.

Before we had multiple button presses for headers and so forth. Now, when the ball is in the air, you decide whether to pass or shoot, and choose the power and where you want it to go. The AI then determines what the best corresponding animation is for that, so if the ball's at head height I'll do a header, or if it's at foot height I'll do a volley. For the situations in-between, when it falls on his thigh or chest, the great thing about this system is it will actually play the ball of these body parts and play a volley.

Anything else?

Wlodyka: Another major change is with the player animations. We've had a lot of problems in the past where the animations didn't flow together very well and didn't look realistic. We've worked on this a lot, so now when two players come together they actually push at each other as they fight for the ball; we have all sorts of tackle animations, from hook slides to just putting a foot in, to going in with studs up. All these things add another element of realism to the game, and make everything flow a lot smoother.

Then there's the concept of Star Players. Without making the game unbalanced, we wanted to have certain players possess unique abilities that would make them like secret weapons and give them the ability to turn a match around - just like they would in real life. We've broken it up into four categories: pace - Michael Owen will always have a few steps on the defence; passing - Beckham puts a natural curl on the ball; if you're a great shooter like Scholes, you have more power; finally free kicks, so players like Figo, Carlos, and Beckham have more swerve, power and accuracy.

All these changes put together make World Cup feel completely different from FIFA 2002.

Are there any notable differences between the various versions on different formats?

Wlodyka: All the different versions, PC, Xbox, PS2 and GameCube are exactly the same game. Basically we use what's called "common modules" - the AI is developed by the AI team and put onto each platform and that ensures quality control across the board. The only differences you'll see are as a result of the actual hardware: GameCube can do some cool lighting effects that PS2 can't; Xbox looks very realistic because of its power, and it has bump-mapping on the field. All the features you'll find, however, are available on all skews.

Why buy FIFA World Cup instead of any of the other football titles due for release around the time of the World Cup?

Wlodyka: FIFA is absolutely the complete football experience. FIFA has always had great visuals, and they've been tremendously enhanced for World Cup. What blows you away the most is how much the game has changed - traditionally we've been associated with being an arcadey version of the game, which is great because people have picked it up and had fun right away, and we've kept that in place, plus added a new Beginner level to give new users a chance to enjoy it.

More importantly though, we're moving forward trying to make it a more realistic football experience in terms of how the players play and what animations we use. The new airplay system allows you to do things like little flick-on passes to breaking players, and also score new goals you've never been able to manage before.

In addition to this we've added a souvenir element to the product, so we offer the user the chance to see what's happening in different parts of the world. We have videos that show off what football means to people in Africa, and how they group up with football compared to Europe, Asia, and South America. There's also exclusive John Motsen commentary, and behind the scenes footage of the orchestra sessions.

These aren't reasons to buy the product necessarily, but they put it together into a nice, cohesive package.

Do you learn much from other football games?

Wlodyka: Absolutely. We look a lot at Pro Evolution Soccer and This Is Football - all our competitors for that matter: each has its set of strengths. We're listening to consumers and building a game for them, finding out what they want.

Finally, what do you make of England's chances in the tournament?

Wlodyka: Interesting question. They're in a very difficult group. I actually think there'll be a lot of draws in the group and it will come down to goal difference. Interestingly enough, the FIFA team [based in Canada] is a big fan of England - we have a lot of people on our team who are from England, so if there's one team to follow it's England.

A lot of the games we go to see are English matches, so we have a good chance to see what they're all about. In terms of how they'll actually do, I think they'll make it through their group and surprise a lot of people. Are they gonna win the World Cup? It's probably not going to happen this year, but I think we're in store for an exciting World Cup.

As long as it's not France.

Wlodyka: [laughs]. Exactly