With newly published developer diaries including a small mystery, the promo of UFL goes into the hot phase. What is there to see, what is revealed in the first diary entry?
“Fair to play” is the simple motto of Strikerz Inc. regarding the upcoming FIFA competitor UFL. For the developer studio, this means one thing above all else in the course of the promo for their debut work: transparency towards their own fans. That this is more than just phrases became apparent in recent weeks, when UFL followers were able to influence the development process through surveys and were asked for feedback on first game scenes.
On Friday, Strikerz Inc. took the next step and announced the next stages on the way to announcing the release date in August. These are Developer Diaries, in which developers of the team want to give deep insights into the game and its development.
New video series “takes you through all aspects of UFL” – including scripting
For Kirill Ustinovich, Head of Marketing at Strikerz Inc, insights the studio owes its fans: “Thousands of players follow our project and undoubtedly want to know more about the game and the development process. Our goal is to maintain a trusting relationship with our fans. That’s why we’ve decided to release the first season of the UFL Journey.”
Comprising a total of six videos, the series will take viewers “through all aspects of UFL and the current state of development,” Ustinovich added.
Before future episodes focus on core and meta-gameplay, animations and the surely hotly debated topic of scripting, the first YouTube video of the series already offers new insights into skill moves, a kind of league system – and possibly an upcoming partner.
Censorship leaves room for speculation
If you pay close attention after five and a half minutes, you will notice that a club logo is blurred during a screen recording of the match. Whether this is a design by the studio that is not yet intended for the public cannot be ruled out.
However, the fact that other logos penned by Strikerz Inc. are shown in the same clip without any form of censorship at least leaves room for speculation. Has UFL taken on the next club as a partner and retouched its coat of arms?
Strikerz Inc. at least does not try to nip such speculations in the bud in the video. Rather, CEO Eugene Nashilov explains that it is not yet legally possible to show some game content because permission is lacking to “use assets outside of the game or the content is somehow tied to our partnerships”. Licensing, he said, is a “delicate matter. “
Prominent partners on multiple levels
So far, the list of confirmed clubs is quite impressive. Europa League semi-finalists West Ham United, Celtic Glasgow and Portuguese top club Sporting Lisbon are among the clubs that have entered into a partnership with UFL, as are German representatives Borussia Mönchengladbach. In addition, Strikerz Inc. has already been able to win over a number of top players as brand ambassadors, headed by none other than Cristiano Ronaldo.
But not only successes are to be celebrated in future Developer Diaries. Difficulties in the development process are also on the agenda. On the one hand, Nashilov says, so that fans can understand why a concrete release date is so difficult to determine. But also to remain true to themselves and their own motto: Fair to play.