Hi everyone. It’s been about a month since we announced The Run: Got Next and we’re thrilled with the reception so far. We’re taking that excitement to continue to push us as we make more progress on the game. To that point, we wanted to share some of what we’ve been working on behind the scenes and areas where we're welcoming feedback.
Differentiating Teams
Because we’re a street based game, we don’t currently intend on having players in matching uniforms (plus, we feel it would take away from the character’s personalities). We’re looking right now at Shirts vs. Skins, with some additional variances. Not only is this easy to read visually, but it’s also how things often play out in pickup games. (Note: we will also have UI elements to help distinguish you and your teammates).
Here’s a quick screenshot our Creative Director took in early exploration of shirts and skins.
Courts
If you’ve made it here, you’ve no doubt seen our recreation of the Tenement Court we showed in our teaser trailer from the Philippines. This month, we’ve been steadily improving the look of that court and others. And now that we have a quality bar set, we’re moving onto additional courts not only for launch, but also for post-launch. Are there any courts you want to see?
Here’s a very (very) early look at a court hoops fans should be able to ID right away.
Courts Influencing Gameplay
Another idea related to courts we’re exploring is how to make sure each one can feel distinctive. We’re being very intentional on which courts we’re choosing so we have a good variety. And we want them to influence gameplay in an authentic way that will require you to think strategically about your lineups. As we recreate different courts, we’ll be considering things that are unique – from court size, rims, 3pt distance, surroundings, weather and more.
We’ve been seeing some awesome examples in the real world of courts with a 4 point line, courts where large overhanging tree branches are an obstacle for long range shots, courts where fans always seem to get a little too close to the action. Let us know if you have any thoughts on how courts and their environments should impact gameplay.
Have Opinions? Join our Discord
If you want to stay up to date with what the development team is doing and see more behind the scenes and (sometimes extremely) work in progress visuals from the team, you should join our Discord. Not only do we do our best to share weekly updates on Friday’s, we ask for specific feedback. If you have opinions, we want to hear them.
As a small team in a brand new studio, all of us at Play by Play want to cultivate a sense of connection with the community early on, especially for those of you who are already excited from our initial teaser. And we can’t wait to share more.