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cdj
07-07-2011, 11:54 AM
http://thegamingtailgate.com/images/NCAA12/NCAA12StrategyGuide.jpg

This year, the Prima Games NCAA Football 12 Strategy Guide (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307891445/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thegamtai-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0307891445) has new authors - Sgibs7 (https://twitter.com/#!/sgibs7) and ZFarls (https://twitter.com/#!/maddenbible) from MaddenBible.com (http://www.maddenbible.com/). Two of the most respected and talented football gamers in the Madden NFL & NCAA Football communities, the duo has been hard at work over the last few months writing the strategy guide for each title.

Here is the Amazon product description for the 224-page guide:

* Find information about your school. We cover ALL colleges in this years edition.
* Team offensive playbook, player ratings, and offensive/defensive depth charts for 120 colleges.
* Develop offensive schemes that will drive your opponent to call a timeout.
* In-depth expert strategy teaches the "5 Formations for Success" technique designed to simplify and exploit your opponent.


Here is an exclusive Q&A with co-author ZFarls:

- Tell us about the process of writing the NCAA Football 12 Strategy Guide. Where do you start on tackling such a large project?

Thankfully, we had enough time to get started playing the game. While football concepts and strategy remain the same, NCAA Football changes from year to year. We knew zones were going to be tough this season and wanted to figure out every way to attack them. By putting in 100+ hours before writing, we knew we were providing good tips and not just filler.

- How many hours of playing the game, writing, editing, etc. go into making the guide?

Playing, taking screen shots to help people follow and then, actually writing easy to follow steps are the basics of writing the guide. We spent around 250+ hours each; for NCAA we fell in love with the game in the process.

- Who is the target audience for the guide?

Our guide ranges from the casual player who loves checking out the teams and new features to the hardcore player who takes on all of his friends every weekend. Our easy to follow "5 Sets for Success" allows any player to have more confidence and start winning more games fast. This was a major focal point of the guide.

- How much formation/playart can we expect to find in the guide?

There are statistics on formations for all the teams in the game. For the top 20 teams and all eight different play styles we provided a money scheme carved out of our "5 Sets for Success" to get you started on your way to to the title.

- Based on your early time with the game, what are some of your favorite offensive & defensive schemes to run?

I have always loved the option, but the Multiple really got my attention on offense. EA did a great job adding TCU's 4-2-5 to the game and I loved learning it on defense.

- How different does NCAA Football 12 (and Madden NFL 12, for that matter) play compared to previous versions with suction eliminated and zone defenses improved?

The elimination of suction so far is the biggest next gen change in my opinion. It causes the game to play a lot more realistic and gives the user so much more control! I won't be a feature that goes on the back of the box like custom playbacks, but the team at EA did a great job listening and getting it into the game.

- In general terms, what is one tip that we'll find in the guide that we won't find anywhere else?

When you have two friends breaking down the game and talking every night, there is no doubt that we have some great tips in the book. I personally think installing a 3 headed rushing attack into your offense is the most frustrating thing for a defense. (Author's Note: Expect some teaser videos soon.)

- For those who may have bought the Prima NCAA Football Strategy Guides in the past, what differences can they expect? What separates this guide from previous versions?

We focused on making the tips really easy to follow and allowing everyone to see how our minds work. By using our layout and providing gameplans over individual tips, the guide is very easy to follow.

- If someone has never purchased an NCAA Football Strategy Guide in the past, why should they start with NCAA Football 12?

Every year, we get fired up for Football season and say 'this is the year I am going to be the best.' This guide is catered to not just giving you plays for this game, but teaching you how to become a great football mind. If you follow the guide, you will quickly learn how to take your game to the next level and everything we did revolved around that mantra.

Thanks to ZFarls for the interview. The NCAA Football 12 Strategy Guide hits store shelves on July 12. It retails for $19.99, however it is currently on sale for just $13.59 at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0307891445/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thegamtai-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399373&creativeASIN=0307891445).

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You can view the page at http://www.thegamingtailgate.com/forums/content.php?482-NCAA-Football-12-Strategy-Guide-Author-Interview

shockscape
07-07-2011, 01:25 PM
Nice interview and article...a lot of time and effort go into making a strategy book and I hope even the casual gamer can use this one to his/her advantage.

JeffHCross
07-08-2011, 04:01 PM
ZFarls is an interesting guy, and a really good player. One of these days I need to accept his challenge to play in NCAA -- I was "too busy" to do it in May.