#Knockout city beta times how to#

“And then people could really explore it.” “With that, we could actually open up a new kind of team play,” Guha Bala said. But Karthik Bala and his brother, Velan co-founder Guha Bala, knew in their earliest designs that dodgeball would be obliged to use the ball as something to be passed and caught, not just thrown as a projectile weapon.

With its weapon spawns, and deathmatch-style playlists, Knockout City resembles a multiplayer shooter as much as it might a sports title. You’re rewarded as much for making the extra pass as you are for following the play and being in position to take it (rather than going off, alone, to hunt for a ball spawn). Passing doesn’t require any accuracy, just tap the left bumper, and it’s going to the nearest teammate. Melee attacks don’t cause eliminations, but they do separate an opponent from their ball Image: Velan Studios/Electronic Arts More precisely, you have to see another team working with passing, swarming your side, eliminating you or your teammates before anyone can collect their thoughts, to understand its importance. Players really have to see that in action to get it.

“Just that takes them to a whole new tier, in terms of team-based dynamics,” Bala said.Ī tutorial encourages you to pass, because it charges up the shot, and can even lead to a one-hit elimination (three standard hits are necessary to eliminate an opponent).

#Knockout city beta times how to#

“We see this sort of interesting progression: Players are playing on their own, just learning how to throw and catch,” Velan co-founder Karthik Bala said after Knockout City wrapped up its multi-platform beta at the beginning of this month. There’s always something I can be doing to help my squad, even if I’m not holding a ball, and none are spawning within sight. Velan Studios’ dodgeball derby - the schoolyard staple as sport-of-the-future - seems to have been made with support-minded folks in mind. This is why I’m fired up for Knockout City’s launch next month. And I don’t do such things grudgingly I’m grateful they’re there to give me a job. You’d be surprised what kind of a teammate grade you can rack up in NBA 2K21 just by rebounding and setting picks. Multiplayer, when my skills, or lack thereof, are out there in real time with no do-overs, I drop back into a support role. Messing around in a single-player sports title, sure, I’m the superstar all the time.