NBA Live
Scott O'Gallagher Leaving NBA 2K Series For Creative Director Role at EA Sports, Joining Ex-NBA 2K Senior Producer Rob Jones
Scott O’Gallagher announced on Twitter earlier this morning that he is leaving the NBA 2K series and headed back to EA Sports. His updated Twitter profile now shows his new role as creative director at EA Sports. One would assume that he’s back on the NBA Live team and not associated with something outside of basketball, but weirder things have happened.
— Scott O'Gallagher (@ScottOGallagher) September 1, 2020
As most of the hardcore sim players remember, OG was an associate designer on NBA Live 14, before landing the NBA 2K gameplay producer role in 2014.
It appears as though he’s joining ex-NBA 2K senior producer Rob Jones, who according to his LinkedIn account, has been the senior producer at EA Sports for 3 months now. His Twitter account was also updated recently, showing a new handle of @therEAlRobJ, replacing his former @RobJones2K handle.
NBA Live 20 was delayed back in July of 2019, before announcing the eventual cancelation of the game, in late October 2019. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, as we’ve been down that road before, in regards to NBA Live delays.
At that time, EA set their sights solely on next-gen and the upcoming PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Hopefully we hear something more official from EA in the near future, with updated plans on the next NBA Live.
All the best to Scott and Rob at EA Sports.
@therEAlRobJ
Hope this does mean a new Live game and we hear what direction they are heading in the next couple months
Damn, EA poaching from the NBA 2K team hard. Sucks losing Rob Jones too.
Official HQ of Bills Backer/Spurs Nation
the ai been a mess defensively for a while. czar is just better at his job(smarter too) and you could see it in the product
Hopefully with the Live series being on its last breath and the recent public outrage behind maddens poor product the guys in charge have learned that cutting corners won't work.
I agree that the defensive A.I. has been weak over this entire console generation, but I wouldn't put it all at the feet of one person.
Getting a little more off-topic, but hopefully the staff changes lead to improvements for both titles.
Official HQ of Bills Backer/Spurs Nation
So how long will they stay with EA? The higher ups seems to LOVE getting they're greedy little fingers in the game. Mike was with EA then something happened which made him come back to 2k.
@therEAlRobJ
Huge.
The best things for every sports gamer is to have options.
This research is being done by a friend of mine at EA (and fellow researchers) to improve animations via AI methods.
I just hope they hire more good developers and coders and such. I hope it isn't another Live 18 and 19 situation where Madden had to have their developers focus on building up Live. It was a time where Madden was transitioning to Frostbite, Longshot. I dont want a situation where they have to share their resources and Madden suffers from it
Pretty much this. I predict Rob and OG will produce a great game. Then management will step in because the numbers they were expecting didn't happen. From there they will leave and come back to 2k. EA will destroy what those two created and we will get NBA Elite 24 lol
I have no faith in EA. They wasted talent for years now and they haven't changed a bit. Whoever is running the sports division needs to be replaced with someone more hands off and let these guys do their thing.
Very smart moves. It's kind of like let's say, the 76ers going to get Moses Malone to play alongside Dr. J so they could get past the Celtics and the Lakers. You go get the best that's out there. Ain't no shame in that.
I did think Live 08, 10, 18, and 19 were all decent. I really liked Live 10's gameplay but the association mode of that game flat out sucked.
Anyway, hoping this just leads to a better overall market of basketball titles.
I have no faith in EA. They wasted talent for years now and they haven't changed a bit. Whoever is running the sports division needs to be replaced with someone more hands off and let these guys do their thing.
I agree. Thats when people say they want NCAA Football back, I'm iffy on that because of direction EA is headed towards. The main problem EA seems to have is that they don't let their Devs and Producers have the creative freedom. Whose to say a New NCAA game doesn't focus on adding College Legends to Ultimate Team and focus on a cringey single player story like Face of the Franchise while Dynasty stays stagnant.
I'll be happy with a competitve Live game. But EA has to let their talent have the creative freedom and resources to get there.
Someone high up @ EA is a real bball head. This franchise has gotten a TON of lifelines.
I have no faith in EA. They wasted talent for years now and they haven't changed a bit. Whoever is running the sports division needs to be replaced with someone more hands off and let these guys do their thing.
I have faith in EA games, when they actually come out. They tend to be usually pretty good... at least 50% of the time they are good haha. Maybe.
It's funny, people acting like 2k made these guys and they didn't make 2k.
EA has done itself a huge disservice by not being transparent. That's something I won't forgive them for. I'll still buy their game if it comes out and looks good, but I'm def not worried about what they're doing. There are some games I wanna play that are like TBA 2022... that's what I look at "Live" as, if that's what the title ends up being.
They needed to write a better announcement. You can project strength while saying you messed up or aren't able to make the cut, or are switching directions. They said the truth, but it wasn't potent enough, and they said they would continue to update, and haven't.I'm sure they want to have good news before they say anything, but still. Then say "We'll let you know as soon as we have news worth sharing."
But yes, the truth is "Making a good game" should be first priority. Then you try to sell it. But companies with AAA successful games act like they can't deal with the process. It's kind of an ego thing, if you really think about it, imo.
I really think EA would be better off if they hadn't cancelled any game, including elite, and just let things evolve naturally. We shall see tho...
-Smak
Someone high up @ EA is a real bball head. This franchise has gotten a TON of lifelines.
I fully agree..
NBA Live has gotten so many chances from EA lol. They really want Live to succuessful. Any other publisher would have gave up on the series especially after only releasing what 5 games from '10-19. EA gave up on other series that sold worse.
What are you on about?
real simulation like a badge of honor. Rex talk about simulation but Rob talked and showed us simulation.EA got a big steal like a theive in the night
With clown comments like these, do people actually wonder why devs stopped posting here?
2K has the best defensive AI that has ever existed in a basketball game.
Nino and Scott both played basketball at a higher level than you (and everyone else here) so I would LOVE to hear you elaborate and embarrass yourself talking about other people's intellect, basketball or otherwise.
2K has the best defensive AI that has ever existed in a basketball game.
Nino and Scott both played basketball at a higher level than you (and everyone else here) so I would LOVE to hear you elaborate and embarrass yourself talking about other people's intellect, basketball or otherwise.
I don't doubt that Czar & Scott OG are extremely knowledgeable & passionate about making the game(s) (from an AI stand point) as realistic as possible, but limitations & shortcomings exist & those aren't fully their fault.
I'm hopeful that 2K can find adequate replacements for Scott & Rob, while they can go on to make the Live series competitive again.
Also, whether it has effected engagement or not, people should be allowed to give their opinions. I don't agree with questioning or attacking someone's aptitude or knowledge, though.
Official HQ of Bills Backer/Spurs Nation
No offense to O’Gallagher, but I agree with you. Czar is the best of the best when it comes to his job. It may be that the defensive AI job is a tougher job then the offensive AI job. Either way, you can’t get better then Czar.
Haha check it.
Dudes saying live stealing 2k devs is the only way they can be good, the implication is that 2k has devs not devs developed 2k. Nobody owns these people or made them and I doubt ea strat is to take 2ks devs. Prol to get good people.
Reread the threads about it.
-Smak
Dudes saying live stealing 2k devs is the only way they can be good, the implication is that 2k has devs not devs developed 2k. Nobody owns these people or made them and I doubt ea strat is to take 2ks devs. Prol to get good people.
Reread the threads about it.
-Smak
Again what are you on about? Either you're quoting the wrong person or YOU need to reread what I wrote. Since I didn't imply anything about EA "stealing" 2k devs to be the better game. What I am implying is that history might repeat itself.
Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk
I've made no secret around here that I'm a huge Live fan(I also love 2k. Yes loving both is possible lol)and what I like about Live is just how much different it is then 2k. Some people fault Live for it but I really appreciate how Live just seems to take itself way less serious.
Looking forward to learn more from people like Scott and Czar.
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https://solecollector.com/news/2014/10/interview-breaking-down-how-sneakers-make-it-into-nba2k
All the evolution this feature went through over the last 15 years came from Rob.
Did the Defensive AI even have "concepts" prior to Scott taking over?
10 years ago the only thing you could change in Defensive Settings was Loose/Tight pressure on shooters.
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Yea I just randomly choose who to quote. I pick people who I like, u madman. I read your post and decided that was what I'd make my post after.
Fight me!!!
-Smak
I used to have conversations with him over AIM and he would ask me what I liked, didn't like and how he could improve the game. He's passionate about his work. This is a good sign for EA.
2K has the best defensive AI that has ever existed in a basketball game.
Nino and Scott both played basketball at a higher level than you (and everyone else here) so I would LOVE to hear you elaborate and embarrass yourself talking about other people's intellect, basketball or otherwise.
I disagree, it's quite easy to beat the CPU in 2k20. I don't know if the offense have become too advanced and the defense hasn't caught up but I can run around CPU 1v1, run pick and roll and I won't really have problems scoring the ball. I recently tried 2k16 and 2k11 and it was noticebly harder to score in these games.
Sent from my SM-G965U using Operation Sports mobile app
I've made no secret around here that I'm a huge Live fan(I also love 2k. Yes loving both is possible lol)and what I like about Live is just how much different it is then 2k. Some people fault Live for it but I really appreciate how Live just seems to take itself way less serious.
"Way less serious" is EA approach to its whole sports/racing lineup, which personally I don't mind at all. It's a nice change of pace when you have a different kind of experience available in the market. Sometimes after grinding in Grand Turismo Sport it's just plain silly fun to race around in Need for Speed Heat. A good change of pace. I look forward to Live returning, as long as it is quality tested before hitting the shelves.
I've made no secret around here that I'm a huge Live fan(I also love 2k. Yes loving both is possible lol)and what I like about Live is just how much different it is then 2k. Some people fault Live for it but I really appreciate how Live just seems to take itself way less serious.
I LOVED Live 19, and this was really the reason. It just felt lighter and more fun. I think if it had crossplay with PS4, Switch, and XB1, it might have done better.
While playing 2K I never got into the MyPlayer and MyPark stuff. It was not fun at all. I was kind of surprised by how much I liked The One in Live 19. The 5 on 5 would have been so much better with a larger pool of players, but they had some great modes.
Never touched the franchise mode, and hardly touched LUT. The One was free of microtransactions and had enough gameplay to be a standalone game for me. There is some solo play in The One, but even that seems designed to get you into the online games with teammates.
I think part of it is that I've played sports games since the 70's. I played so many franchise modes, and it just matter to me anymore. Even if they get good enough to play as a sim, I think I'm done worrying about that. I've managed thousands of rosters though seasons. Mostly, I was just glad when PCs could just do all the bookwork.
Give me fun ways to play the same games. For all the great organized sports I played, including playoffs and all-star games, our back yard sports were as competitive and fierce as any we played, weird rules and all, based on weird fields. So The One, The Yard, and Chel just kind of work on that level for me.
They use stars from today and the past to make it fun by using the strengths of the medium to do the sport in other ways, emphasizing specific skills and exploiting weaknesses in ways that get you applying the same sport logic to different circumstances, that are hopefully balanced enough to make competition fun and fair for live players.
I want Live back, but it really is for The One. I have no idea if that is something they are willing to stick with, but it is what I am hoping for.
This is basically why Forza and Forza Horizon are perfect for me on Xbox. It's comfortable because it is essentially the same game, but from two wildly different perspectives. The last Need for Speed I actually enjoyed, though, was High Stakes in 1999. Really never cared for the cutscene heavy style they do now.