Lots Of Inside Information On WWE 13 Revealed – Details

Credit Mike Johnson and Pwinsider.com

The live webstream began with an interview with WWE ’13 franchise Creative Director Cory Ledesma and designer Bryan Williams. They said that they built a great foundation with WWE ’12 and wanted to build the game play experience and the franchise even further.

CM Punk as the cover athlete was brought up. They said it was a big year for Punk. In discussing how they were going to pick their cover athlete, they knew it would be him even before WWE ’12 came out. The pipebomb on Raw made him a much more popular star to the masses and they hoped they he could maintain his momentum and he did. They had already planned to include the Attitude Era and he really fits into that mode and it’s a perfect mix of attitude in the past and present.

They’ve overhauled their road to Wrestlemania storyline to revisit the Attitude era. It brings back nostalgia and allow new fans that don’t know much to experience it for the first time. They will focus on the WWE side of the Monday Night Wars to relive the era of DX, Steve Austin and more. The Attitude era is very faithful and authentic so you’ll see a lot of WWE footage that plays during the experience and you will have objectives to accomplish during the matches.

They discussed balancing control of the players last year and feeling like they lost after being in control of the match. They are trying to maintain the authenticity of the matches and giving players the complete control of how they pursue the matches. You re-live the moments and if you get the bonus objectives achieved, there will be extra bonuses and content.

They were asked where the Attitude era begins and ends since they are blurring it a little. The single player mode will run over “two years.” You jump around and play different talents and do different storylines from that era. Players unlock bonus matches as they go forward and the game will have 100 unlockable features based on how you achieve in the game.

They discussed the Austin 3:16 collectible edition which will come with a Mike Tyson character you can play and a signed item from Austin. Austin signed 25,000 pieces. They said Austin was the only other cover athlete they could have given the Attitude era theme.

They discussed the visual fidelity of the game. They noted that the characters always look amazing but they look to refine the look and the sound of the game so slams on the mat sound like they do on WWE TV. The game looks and sounds more refined and appears closer to what you’d expect from watching Raw and Smackdown.

They are trying to recreate the TV experience while you are playing the game. They have added a replay system that happens after big moments, such as the ring collapsing or a big move to the outside of the ring as well as finishers. The replays will have audio commentary calls that will back up the replays. The crowd sounds are from WWE TV, so it’s more of an authentic experience.

They discussed a new OMG moment feature. When you have a stored finisher in your possession, you will be able to activate the OMG moment when prompted. You will also be able to grab and maintain capture finishers, which will allow you to reverse big moves if you do the the right combinations at the right times. The ring breaking moments will be reserved for Super Heavyweight talents. There are different moments for different talents and weight classes. There will be a variety of moments.

THQ worked with WWE and the production team on the road to get raw sound audio, chants and effects for the authentic WWE experience. They noted that this will be “night and day” from WWE ’12. Last year, they had 150 people in a warehouse chanting and this year, they have real Arena sounds. A lot of the crowd audio and chanting are from the Raw the day after Wrestlemania last year. WWE is able to give them the raw sound audio from specific moments and matches.

WWE creates a lot of content and they are amazed at the size of their production content. They were able to get all the WWE graphics and sound effects and have edited specific video packages for them. They wanted to mimic what you see on TV and WWE has been happy to oblige and help them. They had some challenges with going back into the Attitude era material but they have incredible editors. The Attitude era videos give you goosebumps while watching. They had to come up with ways to explain who talents were for fans who weren’t alive during that time period. They said it’s entertaining and fans will learn about that era.

They discussed the framework for the game play. They laid a strong foundation for WWE ’13 last year and refined their grapple system and added reversals for strikes and top rope moves to make the game play smoother. They continued to build and evolve the game play. Williams said he plays the game for hours at work and it’s fun. He never gets tired or old of playing it. Ledesma said they did a lot of “under the hood” stuff to make it a smoother process and fans will feel it while playing.

They have brought back the chance to assign finishers for talents before they start playing. Fans can only list 1-2 finishers for their talents to handicap themselves and give them a chance to overcome the battle. Some of the fans want long grueling matches, so they give fans the chance to have quick or harder, long fought bouts. The “match experience” gives them a chance to customize their experience playing the game.

The live webstream began with an interview with WWE ’13 franchise Creative Director Cory Ledesma and designer Bryan Williams. They said that they built a great foundation with WWE ’12 and wanted to build the game play experience and the franchise even further.

CM Punk as the cover athlete was brought up. They said it was a big year for Punk. In discussing how they were going to pick their cover athlete, they knew it would be him even before WWE ’12 came out. The pipebomb on Raw made him a much more popular star to the masses and they hoped they he could maintain his momentum and he did. They had already planned to include the Attitude Era and he really fits into that mode and it’s a perfect mix of attitude in the past and present.

They’ve overhauled their road to Wrestlemania storyline to revisit the Attitude era. It brings back nostalgia and allow new fans that don’t know much to experience it for the first time. They will focus on the WWE side of the Monday Night Wars to relive the era of DX, Steve Austin and more. The Attitude era is very faithful and authentic so you’ll see a lot of WWE footage that plays during the experience and you will have objectives to accomplish during the matches.

They discussed balancing control of the players last year and feeling like they lost after being in control of the match. They are trying to maintain the authenticity of the matches and giving players the complete control of how they pursue the matches. You re-live the moments and if you get the bonus objectives achieved, there will be extra bonuses and content.

They were asked where the Attitude era begins and ends since they are blurring it a little. The single player mode will run over “two years.” You jump around and play different talents and do different storylines from that era. Players unlock bonus matches as they go forward and the game will have 100 unlockable features based on how you achieve in the game.

They discussed the Austin 3:16 collectible edition which will come with a Mike Tyson character you can play and a signed item from Austin. Austin signed 25,000 pieces. They said Austin was the only other cover athlete they could have given the Attitude era theme.

They discussed the visual fidelity of the game. They noted that the characters always look amazing but they look to refine the look and the sound of the game so slams on the mat sound like they do on WWE TV. The game looks and sounds more refined and appears closer to what you’d expect from watching Raw and Smackdown.

They are trying to recreate the TV experience while you are playing the game. They have added a replay system that happens after big moments, such as the ring collapsing or a big move to the outside of the ring as well as finishers. The replays will have audio commentary calls that will back up the replays. The crowd sounds are from WWE TV, so it’s more of an authentic experience.

They discussed a new OMG moment feature. When you have a stored finisher in your possession, you will be able to activate the OMG moment when prompted. You will also be able to grab and maintain capture finishers, which will allow you to reverse big moves if you do the the right combinations at the right times. The ring breaking moments will be reserved for Super Heavyweight talents. There are different moments for different talents and weight classes. There will be a variety of moments.

THQ worked with WWE and the production team on the road to get raw sound audio, chants and effects for the authentic WWE experience. They noted that this will be “night and day” from WWE ’12. Last year, they had 150 people in a warehouse chanting and this year, they have real Arena sounds. A lot of the crowd audio and chanting are from the Raw the day after Wrestlemania last year. WWE is able to give them the raw sound audio from specific moments and matches.

WWE creates a lot of content and they are amazed at the size of their production content. They were able to get all the WWE graphics and sound effects and have edited specific video packages for them. They wanted to mimic what you see on TV and WWE has been happy to oblige and help them. They had some challenges with going back into the Attitude era material but they have incredible editors. The Attitude era videos give you goosebumps while watching. They had to come up with ways to explain who talents were for fans who weren’t alive during that time period. They said it’s entertaining and fans will learn about that era.

They discussed the framework for the game play. They laid a strong foundation for WWE ’13 last year and refined their grapple system and added reversals for strikes and top rope moves to make the game play smoother. They continued to build and evolve the game play. Williams said he plays the game for hours at work and it’s fun. He never gets tired or old of playing it. Ledesma said they did a lot of “under the hood” stuff to make it a smoother process and fans will feel it while playing.

They have brought back the chance to assign finishers for talents before they start playing. Fans can only list 1-2 finishers for their talents to handicap themselves and give them a chance to overcome the battle. Some of the fans want long grueling matches, so they give fans the chance to have quick or harder, long fought bouts. The “match experience” gives them a chance to customize their experience playing the game.

The WWE Universe mode is back with this game and “isn’t going anywhere.” They can’t roll out details yet but will as they get closer to the game’s official launch. They didn’t take it out and spent time making changes after listening to what fans wanted. They pushed customization a little farther this year.

They were asked about their vision for their create suite. They had a lot of cool ideas that they will roll out in the future as they discuss the modes. They are almost two games in one – the wrestling mode and the other modes at your disposal.

They went to some fan questions:

They were asked what the process is for creating WWE talents for the game and how long the process is. It takes 100 days to create the models from scratch and they need a lot of lead time. They have people that go to shows to take photo references and others will model the characters. It takes several months to build the creation of the model.

They were asked if they import older models for the new games. Usually they can take the existing model and evolve or change it. If they feel someone didn’t work out so well, they will take extra time for the next game to make them better. It all takes a lot more time. Williams said it was some of the best likenesses they’ve ever had in a WWE game.

They were asked what talent has the coolest moveset in the game. Williams said CM Punk has one of the coolest movesets because he always evolves. He said it’s tough but he enjoys playing as Punk.

They were asked how they figure out the ratings for the talents in the game and how they set those. They are working off the attributes of the talents and they create a formula based on how they do over the course of the previous year and what sort of momentum they have as talents. It’s all based off WWE programming.

As we noted earlier, THQ and WWE held a major media event this afternoon to announce the complete roster for the upcoming WWE ’13 video game. Courtesy of IGN.com, here is a complete list of the “Modern Era” and “Attitude Era” WWE Superstars and Divas who will be featured in the game:

The Modern WWE Era:

Alberto Del Rio
Big Show
Booker T
Brock Lesnar
Brodus Clay
CM Punk
Chris Jericho
Christian
Cody Rhodes
Daniel Bryan
David Otunga
Dolph Ziggler
Edge
The Great Khali
Heath Slater
Hunico
Jack Swagger
JBL
John Cena (Doctor Of Thugganomics)
John Laurinaitis
Justin Gabriel
Kane
Kevin Nash
Kofi Kingston
Mark Henry
The Miz
Primo
Randy Orton
John Cena
Rey Mysterio
The Rock
R-Truth
Santino Marella
Sheamus
Sin Cara
Epico
Ted DiBiase
Triple H
The Undertaker
Jinder Mahal
Wade Barrett
Zack Ryder
Alicia Fox
Beth Phoenix
Brie Bella
Eve
Kelly Kelly
Kharma
Nikki Bella
Lita
AJ Lee (RAW General Manager)

The Attitude Era:

Road Warrior Animal
Big Boss Man
Billy Gunn
Bradshaw (APA)
Bret Hart
British Bulldog
Cactus Jack
Chris Jericho (Y2J)
Christian (Edge & Christian)
Dude Love
Eddie Guerrero
Edge (Edge & Christian)
Faarooq (APA)
The Godfather
Road Warrior Hawk
Hunter Heart Helmsley
Kane
Ken Shamrock
Mankind
Mark Henry (Nation of Domination)
Mike Tyson
Mr. McMahon
“The Big Show” Paul Wight
Road Dogg Jesse James
The Rock
Shane McMahon
Shawn Michaels (D-Generation X)
“Stone Cold” Steve Austin
Triple H (D-Generation X)
The Undertaker (The Lord of Darkness)
Vader
X-Pac
Lita (Attitude Era)
Stephanie McMahon (The Billion Dollar Princess)
Trish Stratus

Downloadable Characters:
Mike Tyson
Damien Sandow
AJ Lee

EXCLUSIVE: 47 SCREENSHOTS From The WWE ’13 Game – FIRST SITE TO HAVE THESE (>>)!!!