Immersion, Not Gameplay, the Key to Sports Gamers Hearts - JohnDoe8865's Blog

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Immersion, Not Gameplay, the Key to Sports Gamers Hearts Stuck

Posted on October 13, 2011 at 02:02 AM.

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Ask most people what the most important element of sports gaming is, and they'll tell you that it's gameplay. It's a popular opinion and one that I shared for a long time. As I've grown older and began to examine what is missing from this generation of sports games, I've come to appreciate another element of sports gaming as much, if not more-so, than gameplay. It's hard to put into just a few words because it encompasses so much. And when it's missing, you notice immediately. It's the feeling you get from competing with an intelligent computer opponent. It's also the sights, the sounds and the emotion of the game. It's the suspension of disbelief, it's something you "feel" in a great sports game. The key to a great sports gaming experience is immersion.

Immersion, especially in sports games, can be very subjective. My definition would be "a feeling you get when you're totally absorbed in the virtual environment in which the game resides". Going forward, immersion is going to separate the wheat from the chaff. It's going to separate the sports games that define the next generation and the ones that are filling up bargain bins and sitting on shelves in droves at your local game shop. The ability to "lose yourself" in a game has been sorely missing in this generation of consoles. Whether it's poor audio presentation, missing visuals, animations that destroy the illusion or poor AI, all of these things and more can absolutely kill immersion. And once the immersion is gone, you've lost the gamer.

There are two ways to address immersion in sports games. One is to try and recreate what you see, hear and feel as a player. I'm going to focus on football games here, because NBA 2K does a much better job of on the court immersion in it's My Player mode than either football game in their career modes. In Road to Glory or Superstar mode, little things like hearing the grunts, the crack of pads upon collision and the constant yapping of players on the other team would be great additions. Hearing the quarterback calling out the mike linebacker, hearing the linebackers calling out pre-snap adjustments and actually seeing the players communicating (pointing, adjusting position) would really add to immersion as well. These are some small additions that would make a big difference.

The other way to address immersion is by trying to recreate what you see on a television broadcast. This is the most common way that fans get immersed in their favorite sport, so it's really important to nail this. Again, we'll look at football. Madden 12 made great strides this year by adding actual NFL films camera locations and the authentic entrances are a nice touch too. But something that has plagued this generation of sports games has been the idea that immersion and authenticity end after the opening ceremonies. It's great that we get authentic entrances and key players to begin the game but we have to go much, much further.

However, the most egregious offender is NCAA 12. There are some cool moments, like my head coach yelling at me when I fumble or the 'Gametrack' cut-ins. The sterile environment is a real bummer, though. When you watch a college football game and then go play NCAA 12, the difference is staggering. I know we're working within certain limitations, but allow me to make some observations.

The dull roar of the crowd in NCAA 12 is not even close to what you hear on Saturday. Recording a real live crowd of various sizes and then having the crowd noise react intelligently to the play on the field would make an enormous difference. Addressing the crowds should be very high on the priority list for NCAA 13. Include more shots of the crowd like we get at the beginning, showing traditional chants and fan rituals. The only times we see the crowd after the entrances in NCAA 12 is after scores and at the end of the game. 'White outs' are another notable omission of something that is very common in real football, all the way down to the high school level.

Another problem is publishers under-utilizing the assets it owns. EA Sports has the ESPN license. For some reason it seems like they refuse to use it to it's full potential. In both Madden and NCAA, we should be seeing a complete ESPN presentation package customized to how each sport is broadcast on our TVs. NCAA 12 has begun the process but NCAA 13 has got to take it to the next level of full integration. Simply take what is seen on Saturday on ESPN, and make sure all of it happens in NCAA 13. Saturdays are an experience for the schools who play high level football, not just a game. Madden 13 should mimic Monday Night Football, with authentic wipes, ongoing stat overlays and competent commentary. Get it in place and build on it in the future. The blueprint is in plain sight.

A great example of broadcast immersion, even without a license, is NBA 2K. This game had a believable audio package (including the best commentary in sports gaming), the proper visual touches and animation and AI that allowed gamers to get wrapped up in the feel of NBA basketball on television. But even NBA 2K falls far short of what immersion can and should be in sports gaming. It has the all of the pieces in place, but hasn't completely put them together yet.

It's very clear that sports games still have some pretty significant strides that can be made for a more complete immersion experience. Active player 'personalities', coaches that feel alive (with dynamic decision making based on real data), crowds that finally react appropriately to what is happening, and the "little things" that demand their own threads ever year. These are a few more additions that are vital to help create immersion.

As we move forward, developers and publishers face the daunting task of immersing gamers who are jaded by a generation of sports games that have fallen well below expectations and are hungry for someone to step up and fill the void. When we gamers turn on a sports game, it should feel like a natural extension of the sport that is represented. It should so closely represent the sport, that it inadvertently acts as a great advertising and marketing tool. An NFL game needs to drip National Football League from the on-field visuals to the presentation and post-game fall out. An NBA game should make you feel like you have control of the best basketball players in the world while "expert" analysts pick your strategy apart. Any game representing collegiate athletics must be bursting with school pride and pageantry; the experience that makes college sports so distinguishable from professional sports.

I hope that sports game developers are up to the task. As sports gamers, we will demand greater immersion in our games. We all deserve better. More than any other single element, immersion will be the defining factor in what sports games thrive, and what sports games merely exist.

Comments

# 1 khaliib @ Oct 13

It would be difficult for me to agree or disagree with your thought because I have yet to play a Next-Gen Football game that has the core fundamentals of football incorporated.

To me, both feed off of each other, but having only one can't carry the game, and making replay short lived.

# 2 TreyIM2 @ Oct 13

Great points, here. For me, many a time gameplay means more, tho. Case in point - The NBA Elite 11 demo. After getting over the shock of how bad the graphics and animations were, I found I couldn't put the demo down because of the gameplay, which was moreso linked to the level of control. That made the game fun. I really couldn't even get into the 2K11 demo, at that time, and was going to forgo the level of immersion 2K11 would have offered come retail time to go with Elite 11 but that never happened, of course, so I reluctantly bought 2K11. That game ended up a dust ball on my shelf, early, even with my fave bball player, and team, of all time being featured.

That being said, the masses have definitely spoken and immersion has been yelled out loud and clear. But, I believe a happy marriage of the 2 is what's most important. One or the other will always be off somewhat and that subject to individual perspective.

# 3 cmehustle @ Oct 13

I agree with a lot of the points made here. Not sure about the immersion over gameplay stuff, I still beleive 'gameplay' is the most crucial part of the 'game'. When I go to a stadium or watch a game on TV the immersion part is nice but if the game itself isnt well played, or my team isnt winning Im not too happy. As for the Elite over 2k stuff Im not sure what that guy was smoking before he wrote that but we should focus more on this guys article than which game was obviously better, no dis.

# 4 jmik58 @ Oct 13

I disagree but we're playing a semantics game. It all comes down to how you define and place gameplay and immersion into a hierarchy.

Gameplay is hands-down THE most important aspect. It is the key to sports gamers' hearts. When the gameplay is spot on it makes us feel like we're playing the real thing. Thus, we have accomplished immersion.

If immersion is the key to our hearts, gameplay is the key to immersion.

# 5 drj32 @ Oct 13

I'd have to disagree with you here...http://www.operationsports.com/drj32...nder-the-hood/

# 6 TreyIM2 @ Oct 13

Lol @ cmehustle. Never said 'which game was obviously better'. Learn to read and comprehend. No dis

# 7 Kaanyr Vhok @ Oct 13

Can you have immersion without solid gamepla? With the right sliders NCAA 2012 is very immersive because the gameplay is there. It’s balanced enough to where you have to make complex decisions and there are consequences for those decisions. This is true with all great sports games. In short order the best sports games I have played are Madden 93, NHL 93 and 94, Live 95, Sports Talk Football 94 or 95, gameday 98 NBA 2k1-3, NHL 2k5 NFL 2k5, the last LaRussa's, Live 2004, NHL 2k8 with sliders the last two NHL games from EA, CH 2k8, The Show 2009, WE/PES in 2005, recent fifa, NBA 2k11 (online) and 12 (offline for now) etc etc. These games were immersive because they had the gameplay. If you don’t have the gameplay you aren’t even in the conversation.

# 8 truintellectplaya @ Oct 13

I agree and disagree. Immersion to me is just really getting into something. I have not really gotten into a football game this gen, so I can't speak on them. What I have gotten into is quite a few NBA 2K games and I realize that to get immersed into a game I have to have good realistic gameplay. My point is I think they go together so I kinda disagree. On the other hand, I agree that the key is being immersed.

# 9 stlstudios189 @ Oct 13

I believe its a combo package if gameplay is at least there to a certain extent the presention factor can really get you sucked in.

# 10 JohnDoe8865 @ Oct 13

Can good gameplay in a sterile, lifeless environment make for a compelling $60 gaming experience? Not in my opinion, which is why I value immersion so much. Immersion HAS to be there IMO to make the gameplay shine.

# 11 tril @ Oct 15

I believe it has to be a combination of both.
It's not just about immersion.
case in point EA NCAA COllege Basketball 2010- had all the elements in play for total immersion. They had the CBS and ESPN licenses and visuals throughout the intro and gameplay. commentary from 2 different networks, great crowd atmosphere. reccruiting though simple was just enoough to keep things interesting. they had the motion offense. great stuff.
until you got to the gameplay. within a few games you would realize that every team played the same. gameplay mechanics was terrible, couldnt go out of bounds etc. all sense of immersion dissapeared.

2k is years ahead in total immersion. The NBA title, The CH series, especially 2k8, NFL 2k5, and even the baseball series is on its way

last point woudl be-you know a game is immersive if you continue to refernse it or playyears after the release date.
IMO, NFL2k5, CHk8, all immersive sports game.