The data gets updated on a 24/7 basis throughout the year. Our editors are dedicated football supporters and they follow their teams and leagues every single day. We use an online database that they log in to and update the team and player data. This enables us to have constantly updated information and evaluations that reflect the real world. So when we notice that a player is performing better or worse than originally evaluated the database is edited to reflect the changing status of that player.

The same goes for the appearance of the players: if David Beckham gets a new look from his hairdresser, our editors go into the database and select his new hair style right away. All these changes happen frequently so the community of database researchers are always busy adjusting and tuning the ratings and rankings.

The database team works closely together with the producers, engineers and technical artists from the FIFA 08 game team. Together we decide which attributes and traits are added to the database, which attributes and traits are used by the AI of the game to determine decisions of the player or the CPU, which new data fields would be useful to support the manager mode part of the game and make it better in general. We also work with the artists to create new hair styles and other assets the community can assign to the players later on.

This data plays an integral role in creating a dynamic and authentic gameplay experience and drives all of the decisions that are calculated by the game code. FIFA 08 features AI with a 35-point decision engine which enables players to process 1,000 potential options and reactions every second in real time - more than 60,000 options every minute. They combine this new level of intelligence with a dynamic ‘Threat Map’ system to capture the excitement and realism of football.

The database drives these types of decisions. This includes things like how successful the gamer or the CPU opponent is when shooting, passing, tackling, or heading the ball, how a player reacts in a challenge or after losing a ball, what the goalkeeper does during a one-on-one situation, etc. The database describes the playing style, behaviour and characteristics of each player and distinguishes him from all the others.

For example, the database tells the game engine that Steven Gerrard has a very powerful shot from long distance when in a good position. Or that Cristiano Ronaldo will rely on his speed and dribbling to get past the defender and attempt to score from inside the penalty box.