Lights, camera and … scans
Team gets turn at updating look for ‘NBA 2K’ game
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rockets guard Armoni Brooks ducked into a nondescript, gray, 30-foot long trailer parked across the street from the team hotel in downtown Sacramento.
Inside, two men ushered Brooks into a dark room, where 78 DSLR cameras arranged vertically in four rings all pointed toward a single chair. After Brooks draped a smock around his shoulders and sat down, the cameras closed around him like a cage. A hydraulic platform raised Brooks up so that his eyes were level with the second ring of cameras, a high-tech throne with 360-degree surveillance to capture every wrinkle and expression.
This was Brooks’ introduction to have his face scanned for “NBA 2K22,” the latest version of the insanely popular basketball video game series released last September. “NBA 2K23” is set to arrive sometime this year.
Video game publisher 2K, which is headquartered in Novato, Calif., has been taking scans of NBA players to achieve lifelike features since 2014. In 2020, the company set out to rescan every player in the league by deploying two custombuilt trailers to travel around the country, but the mission was slowed by the pandemic.
As of now, there are still about 100 players left — including Brooks and a handful of his Rockets teammates, who were scanned Saturday.
With the Rockets in Sacramento for the weekend to play the Kings on Friday and Sunday, Saturday’s practice day was the perfect opportunity for the 2K crew to check the final group of Houston players off their list.
Just as 2K’s developers are diligent about regularly updating the game’s stats to reflect real-world happenings, they also make sure players’ appearances are up to date — from hairstyles to tattoos.
As technology continues to advance with every video game re-release, the lifespan of each facial scan taken shrinks. What was considered adequate detail in the 2018 version of the game is no longer up to industry standards. So, even NBA players who were scanned as recently as a couple years ago need a refresh.
Most of the Rockets had been scanned either within the last year or at the Las Vegas Summer League before this season. Those who hadn’t included Brooks, guard/forward Garrison Mathews, forward David Nwaba, center Daniel Theis and coach Stephen Silas.
On Saturday, three 2K employees guided them through the process: director Mauricio Baiocchi, road producer Bill Gale and technician Luke Kreger.
Once a Rockets player was properly positioned inside the ring of cameras, he found himself video chatting with Kreger, who was at a control station in a van next door. Kreger guided each man through a series of 16 facial expressions ranging from a closed-mouth smile to a squint to an angry yell. Some were more subtle, like a slightly wrinkled nose or a drawn-in lower lip. Photos of actor Michael B. Jordan and rapper Drake performing each movement served as examples on another screen.
Baiocchi explained that 2K relies on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), a system for describing and analyzing human facial movements used by scientists, psychologists and animators. 2K’s goal is to capture a combination of expressions that allow characters to simulate speech in addition to emotion.
“We added a new shape this year, and next year’s recipe might require new shapes,” Baiocchi said.
Polarized filters on the cameras and flashes allow video game developers to achieve increased nuance and more accurately replicate real life details, from Eric Gordon’s meme-worthy reactions to the individual pores or drops of sweat on a player’s face.
The models created by the scans are so accurate that a few years ago, Gale and Kreger used a scan of Shaquille O’Neal to 3D print the former MVP center in chocolate. Baiocchi made soaps out of his son’s facial scan for Christmas gifts this year.
The facial capturing process took less than 10 minutes, after which Gale asked each player if he had any new tattoos he wanted included in the game. Brooks, Mathews, Nwaba and Theis all did, so Gale and Kreger photographed their ink outside the trailer.
While the Rockets waited their turn, they could play “NBA 2K22” on a TV in the trailer’s front room, and many took the opportunity to scrutinize the video game versions of themselves.
Brooks, a second-year guard who was sick when the 2K trailer came through summer league and had never been scanned before, was appalled by the avatar who bore almost no resemblance to him.
He was less affronted by his attribute ratings, which he deemed to be accurate: low ratings for standings dunks and post shots; high ratings for outside shooting; average rating for speed; and a strength rating of 45 out of 100.
“I’m just glad it’s not in the 30s,” he joked.
Mathews, who said he never plays “NBA 2K” as himself, shook his head in dismay when he pulled up his profile and saw a speed rating of 50.
“You ain’t ever getting up the floor in transition!” Brooks howled.
Among the Rockets, K.J. Martin and Josh Christopher are the most avid “NBA 2K” gamers, though many other Rockets enjoy video games and play with their teammates.
Theis travels with a gaming laptop because his console is too bulky, and plays “NBA 2K” often enough that he’s memorized player ratings. Gordon likes to watch streams of other people playing video games. Mathews plays mostly hunting games, along with some baseball games and “Call of Duty.”
Then there’s Silas, who admitted he is not a video games guy and had not played much since he was a kid.
“Back in the Atari days,” he quipped.
Silas recalled being scanned for “NBA 2K” a few years back when he was an assistant with the Mavericks, but he had never seen his likeness on the screen. Gale pulled it up, and Silas laughed at the slightly younger-looking, less detailed version of himself: “Oh, wow. I got a fresh cut, though!”
Gale said Saturday’s scans will be reflected in the video game within a month. The game includes an option to play with all-time NBA teams; the all-time Rockets squad has players like Rudy Tomjanovich, Steve Francis and Calvin Murphy alongside Yao Ming and James Harden. Some players from decades ago have not been scanned, and as a result their likenesses are not as detailed as current players.
That won’t be an issue for the current Rockets, whose faces are now memorialized in video game lore.