NBA 2K24’s Mamba Moments aim to be the definitive representation of Kobe Bryant’s career, 2K senior producer Ben Bishop tells GLHF. The team at Visual Concepts dug into Bryant’s biggest games to recreate everything in the sports game, from stat overlays and scoreboards, to insightful match commentary, and even Bryant’s signature gestures and characteristics.
The result is what Bishop calls a set of “games to savor… [a] special Kobe package that’s unique to him and gives you an idea of who he was.”
The Mamba Moments mode divides its seven games into three major eras of Bryant’s career:
- The Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal phase
- Bryant’s “scoring machine” years, which Bishop called “Kobe against the world”
- The end of his career with the Lakers
Each game offers unique ways, with a set of challenges tied to Bryant’s performance in that match. You get themed rewards that carry over into MyCareer and MyTeam if you manage to clear them.
Then there’s everything surrounding the games. Bishop says commentary provides key context for what was happening off the court at the time, including personal stories from the players and even how the match fits into the league’s history.
He also says that Visual Concepts put a lot of effort into recreating how the court, stat overlays, and, most importantly, Bryant’s animations look. Bishop used one example of how Bryant, fresh off a scoring streak, blew on his fingers to metaphorically cool them off. Visual Concepts captured that as realistically as possible.
NBA 2K24 launches for PC, PS4 and PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on Sep. 8, 2023. For more on NBA 2K24, check out our coverage of what’s new in the skills department and for the WNBA league and what to expect from MyNBA this year.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
