Richard : Yes, very pleased. The game looked good graphically, with the replica stadiums looking fantastic. Having as many stadiums as we did allowed us to make it a truly national game. Also, seeing how well the full intro sequence, where players run out of the race and through the banners, turned out was very pleasing too.

One of the most pleasing aspects of the game is that it was made almost entirely in Australia. Having several members of the development team being mad keen AFL fanatics was a bonus as it allowed us a better understanding to how to make the game, as well as assisting in interpreting all those obscure rules.

I was fairly happy with the look of the player models, being it was our first attempt at making a game as complicated as Aussie Rules is, and having the reference material for the jumpers, shorts and socks allowed the art team to get the players and umpires looking as close to the real deal as possible.

There wasn't that much of the AFL Live 2003 that I was unhappy with, but there were things that could have been improved. The player animations were pretty good, but due to technical limitations of the game engine, we couldn't do various things easily and that meant that some animations that we wanted to get into the game didn't make it in the end. Overall it was a fairly good game and it was probably the right time that the gamers and fans alike were exposed to a new simulation of Aussie Rules.

We received both positive and negative feedback for AFL Live 2003, which is not an uncommon thing. Most of the negative feedback was mainly about the longevity of the game, with suggestions on new features, but unfortunately we just didn't have time to implement those extras due to the tight production schedule.

The AFL were very positive about the game as a whole. They especially liked the extra details that make AFL the unique sport it is – celebratory team songs after a win that were especially formatted to sound like they are being played through the ground's PA system, running through the banners before a match, huge species, things like that.

AFL Live 2004 offers the gamers with 3 new stadiums in addition to the six that were in last year's game. The new game includes stadiums at Geelong and Carlton, and a training ground where the training and mini game modes are played. The stadium at Melbourne even features brand-new 'city views'!!!

The player models have been updated, and will have a higher polygon count than the previous version and will be of higher definition as well. There will also be a batch of new animations such as snap kicks, chip kicks, and of course, several new speccies.

All the stadiums have had a rework with more geometry for stairs, entry points and even the player benches will look a lot more detailed. We have also added ground damage to each stadium so you will be able to see the grass progressively get damaged during a match to add a little more realism to the game.

We have had a commentator changeover from Steven Quartermain and Garry Lyon to Dennis Commetti and Gerard Healy for this year's version of the game. With Dennis, we have even added a few of his 'Commettisms', sayings that he normally uses when calling a game, not unlike what you would hear him say on television.

We've even included a boundary rider in AFL Live 2004 with the help of Christi Malthouse. Christi will give you updates on injuries, weather, etc during the breaks and also give you her votes at the end of a match.

With additional categories relating to players' statistics and their part in a given match, the commentary will sound more varied, that is, more match focused comments will be heard over the general play by play calls. This is especially noticeable when you play a longer match (10 or 20 minute quarters), where the commentators have more opportunities to notice trends developing and comment on them.

We are currently in the process of reviewing, what we call the 'main problem areas' of the AI, and endeavor to improve these areas. We will also be increasing the difficulty of the AI so that players will have to choose shorter options for their kicks. The AI will also be utilizing the new player moves like the handball 1-2, snap kicks, stab and chip passes.

The marking control will also be revised to allow players to gain the right position and based off the timing of hitting the mark button the mark animation will be chosen so players that hit the mark button early will animate early and in turn miss the mark if not timed correctly.

There will be some variation in the mark animations with more speccies this time round, adding more excitement to taking a huge grab from a pack. So timing your mark will still be a major part in deciding whether or not you will come away with the ball or it falling into the oppositions hands, or even dropping behind the pack.

Yes, there are a larger variety of kicks in AFL Live 2004. We have included snap kicks for when you get into sticky situations and need to clear the ball from a pack really quickly, chips and stabs to pass the ball to players in short, or you can even unload a massive torpedo to kick those 9-point super goals in the Wizard Cup competition.

Another kick that we have included is the safety kick where the ball will tumble along the ground, useful when you don't have anyone to kick to and try to get it close to the boundary line. The drop punt kick has also been improved as well, and kicking is more responsive than last year, as you will see the players launch into the kicking animations as soon as you press the button.

Wind has also been added as a feature to AFL Live 2004 and will play a part in where you have to aim before you kick the ball. You will see the bend in the ball's trajectory and if you're not aiming left or right of the sticks on a windy day, then you may miss the opportunity to kick a goal.

AFL Live 2004 will provide more statistics for all those statistic hungry people out there who like to see how many possessions a player is getting during each season. We are recording statistics for every player of each club for each season you play (which will be capped). The Coleman and Brownlow medals will also get a guernsey in this years version of the game, so consistently kicking goals with a particular player from a club will move that player higher up in the Coleman medal ladder.

Included this year is a lot more historical data in the game, such as how many times every team has played every other team, win/loss records, complete player career stats, record goal kickers for each club, etc.

You won't be able to customize competitions, leagues or create your own players in AFL Live 2004 due to time constraints and the number of other features we have included in the new game, but it is something that we have considered and will hopefully be available in future versions of the game.

However, we have extended the playability of the game by allowing multiple players in a season and also playing multiple seasons. In AFL Live 2004, you will be able to play a season with your mates and play against each other during the season rather than being forced to play on the same side. This makes it more fun for when your friends come around because you can play against or alongside each other and see how each of your teams is progressing for that season.

The competition has also been extended with the introduction of the Wizard Cup. Most of the rules of the pre-season game has been implemented including the 9-point super goal, 3-point deliberate rush behind, play on if you kick backwards in the defensive 50, and so on.

Unfortunately due to licensing issues, we don't have the rights to access old players for use within the game, so you won't be able to play the game with players like the ones mentioned. It's a shame, as it's something we'd have loved to implement. We have however included an exciting new section of the game: Missions. Missions include historical, fictional and user defined.

Historical missions will be based off 'classic' matches whereby you play an historical match of the past with the teams of today. So you could relive the '89 Grand Final between Geelong and Hawthorn and try to change history by playing Geelong and winning that historical match.

Custom missions will include being 4 points down in the Preliminary Final with only 15 seconds to go and you need to kick the goal to make it to the Grand Final. This is just an example of one of the custom missions available to the player.

The user missions will allow the player to fully customize their game from the teams playing through to how many goals and behinds currently scored, which quarter of the game you're in, how much time you have left in the quarter. These are just some of the things you can customize to set up your own missions to play. This will definitely add longevity to the game.

The user missions are really good as well for those people that may want to have a quick game when they don't really have a lot of time as they can set up a match to suit the amount of time they have available to play.

Xbox Live! isn't one of the features included in AFL Live 2004 but it is something to consider in future versions of the game. It would be an awesome extension to the game to allow players to play a match with other people on-line and choose a specific player to play as rather than playing a whole side. Imagine a 36 player network game! It certainly has enormous potential.

Unfortunately AFL doesn't have a very large presence in North America so it would be very hard to market the game there and compete with NFL titles. The sport is gaining in popularity in the U.S. though, and I do know that they have some sort of Aussie Rules league over there.

Last year the U.S., Canada, Japan and various other countries around the world participated in an International Aussie Rules Competition held here in Australia so there is definitely a small audience around the world that enjoys the sport as much as we do over here in Australia. If that market continues to grow, there's definitely potential for future release in markets outside Australia.

The North American market is a pretty hard market to get into in terms of the video games industry and trying to sell a game like AFL there is quite difficult. But that said, I do believe that Aussie developers have the ability and talent to produce top quality games that can rival those in the U.S.

I think with a cool idea, design, budget, talent and time, Aussie developers will be able to penetrate the North American market, but sadly a lot of developers in Australia just don't have those luxuries to be able to make a huge hit that will be popular in the North American Market.

Players of AFL Live 2004 will hopefully enjoy the new features that we have added to this year's version of the game. We have included minigames, for those that want to play the game when they've only got a short amount of time. There are 4 minigames featured in AFL Live 2004, they are Handball Challenge, Superkick, Around The World, and Elimination. Each of these games can be played with up to 4 players on the Xbox.

We have also added user profiles so that you can record the number of games that you have played with each club with win/loss records, number of goals that you've kicked, and other statistics that will allow the players to keep track of how much of the game they've been playing for.

Also included is a training facility where you can practice the player moves that can be used within the game to familiarize yourself with the player controls and learn all the new kicks.

Visually it will look more detailed than last year as the stadiums, players and textures have all been reworked. There will be new animations included, with more kicks, marks and speccies.

There is also a new interactive replay feature where the player can have full control of watching the last goal scored or last piece of play when they want to. Players will get to control which player to focus on, how fast to play the replay back, and even watch the action in reverse as well.

So with all these new features and more, we hope to have increased the playability of the game and extended the replay value of it as well.