Three Lessons About Fun Factor and Sports Gaming From Casual Gamers - RaychelSnr's Blog

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Three Lessons About Fun Factor and Sports Gaming From Casual Gamers Stuck

Posted on October 18, 2012 at 04:07 PM.

(25)

Personal foul on the fun police!

Sports video games are, first and foremost, meant to be fun.

So with that in mind, I want to reset things a bit on my blog. I've taken a bit of time away from blogging the past month while running things a bit behind the scenes and having some family time and all that fun stuff. It was honestly a great decision. I feel I've come back to writing about sports and sports gaming as a whole with a fresh new perspective.

In my travels to distant lands, I was able to see people playing sports games all over the land (or something like half of Oklahoma) and what I saw was surprising. There was no nitpicking of the games, there was no rejection of a game's greatness on the basis of discolored elbow pads.

People were just playing and having fun.

I observed this new and unknown phenomenon, and I made a few observations on how this was, even despite the super obvious flaws that were apparent on the screen -- here are three things I learned:

1. On average, people having fun with games don't obsess over realism. That's right. They don't worry about the trajectory of a football pass or the location of off-the-ball defenders. They just played the games given to them. I know, I know, this is a strange and foreign concept -- but it seemed to increase enjoyment of the common man towards a sports video game ten fold. I tried this method myself, and it was quite relaxing. I even found myself not questioning whether the offensive line blocking schemes were valid, but if I should run or pass to win this game.

It was an amazing moment of clarity.

2. People do crazy things with their sports games. A young man was playing NCAA Football's dynasty mode but it was who he was playing as with his that caught my eye. A 7', 320lb quarterback named Paul Bunyan. That's right, Paul Bunyan was playing Quarterback for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. I told him that was rubbish, he told me it was fun.

He even handed me the controller and had me play a play with Bunyan. He was fast, a 99 speed, 99 throw power and accuracy monster. I found myself giggling as he sped past much smaller defenders. What was this lunacy he had brought upon me?

3. People play sports games to get away from real life, not to try to be a successful GM of the New York Yankees. Another interesting moment happened when a friend of mine would play exhibition games over and over again on MLB: The Show. This was a strange concept to me.

"Why don't you just play a franchise mode already?!" I asked him.

His response was simple, "I manage a business in real life, I don't want to have to do it again in a video game. I just like playing a game of hardball every now and then."

Simple. To the point. Concise. Clear.

True.

So yes OS'ers, I know the color of the socks of UL Monroe and the type of Jonte Green's facemask is important to you. And yes, I know that the OPS percentage as a whole in MLB The Show for the AL East is probably a bit off from reality. And yes, I know that Lebron James' shooting ability off of the dribble in the corner might need some tweaking in NBA 2K13.

But go have fun with these games a bit. Lighten up. Relax.

Hold sports games to a high standard, but enjoy the escape from reality and the freedom to have fun they allow us.

I know I am.

Wait, why in the world was that defensive back just sitting there on a post route? Doesn't he know he's supposed to shade over to the strong side in a cover 2 when a receiver is running down the seam?

I guess we're all hopeless after all.

Comments

# 1 wallofhate @ Oct 18

I look at games like food places. Nba 2k is like a fine restaurant and madden is like fridays or chilles and xbox arcade games are like fast food. 2K its great most of the time every now and then you can get a weird tasting meal but all in all the food and the service is great. Madden is good but not great but its still way better than the cheaper alternative. Sometimes you dont have the time or effort to play real so a lil fakeness in your video game is ok ala olive gardens tour of italy. Arcade games are fast cheaper but you usually get done quick and most of the time you feel like you didnt get your money's worth. But no mstter how much ruth Chris's or 2 for 20 at fridays you get in the mood for a greasy cheap big mac and fries lol

# 2 seventwenty3 @ Oct 18

Honestly I always start making trades right away. It's the only way to have fun. At the end of my first year I usually have 15 draft picks or 0 draft picks. Depends on how much I trade for/away.

# 3 keator @ Oct 18

1. On average, people having fun with games don't obsess over realism. That's right. They don't worry about the trajectory of a football pass or the location of off-the-ball defenders. They just played the games given to them. I know, I know, this is a strange and foreign concept -- but it seemed to increase enjoyment of the common man towards a sports video game ten fold. I tried this method myself, and it was quite relaxing. I even found myself not questioning whether the offensive line blocking schemes were valid, but if I should run or pass to win this game.

It was an amazing moment of clarity.

This right here is the reason FIFA will always be my game. Soccer is a game i am just now learning to understand, since i grew up playing bball, baseball and football, so withouth the overall knowledge of the actual sport, its easier for me to just play and not notice the faults.. Unlike madden or 2k

# 4 cwash020 @ Oct 18

Great blog. My time on OS has actually decreased lately because of the members that are obsessed with minutia (i.e. sock length, dreads, etc...). The little details definitely add to the immersion but is that enough to make or break the game? Gimme a break...just enjoy it for what it is.

# 5 raiders81tim @ Oct 18

How bout no. ****** fans have their games. Blitz, NBA JAM, ect. Now let us have ours.

# 6 keator @ Oct 18

FYI none of these games are sim... the only thing sim about them is the players names.

# 7 bxphenom7 @ Oct 18

Well, for me, realism = fun. I don't need an unrealistic game to escape reality. If the game is truly realistic, then I'll be immersed in it. I think ****** fans should have their games and hardcore should have theirs. Developers shouldn't try to blend arcade and simulation. I love simulation, and I don't see the point of bringing new tech with the next consoles if it's not going to be utilized to make more realistic games. So, all in all, I kind of disagree with this blog. I do feel ****** players are being neglected though but I guess companies associate ****** with portable gaming, like on iPods etc. But simulation games should in no way be tampered with.

# 8 The_Wise_One @ Oct 18

Thats why you gotta love going back to NFL Blitz

# 9 TeeDogg @ Oct 18

great blog, "go have fun with these games a bit. Lighten up. Relax." words of wisdom. while i prefer sim/realism i take it with a grain of salt. I think some dudesrun their blood pressure up over these things. when the whole purpose should be to relax.

# 10 Cardot @ Oct 18

Great blog. One of the ironies with sports gaming is that by and large, the more one is into the real sport, the more miserable they are with video game representation of it.

# 11 tarek @ Oct 18

Good post. There is a massive difference between story driven games and non-story driven games. Sports gaming by design isn't really story driven. There are elements within for the user to create their own 'story' or choose not to. Drafts, trading, games, etc. They all add elements for the user to design their own level of immersion.

That might lead to some of the strong opinions you find on the OS forums. Certain elements may either enhance or detract from their goals. I can accept that, and I always like reading about people establishing 'house rules' because I think that's a pretty mature approach (I don't use house rules though, I exploit the hell out of poor AI

)

I work in military simulation and experimentation and we have a saying:

"All simulations are wrong. Some just happen to be useful."

Same thing really

# 12 Jimbo614 @ Oct 18

But Chris...... We ARE OSers!!That's the whole point of this entire website. We obsess over realism, Franchise Modes, the color of socks. That's why we're here. Take that away and you might as well shut down the site.
How many of the ****** gamers you polled are members here at OS? My point being that Operation Sports is kinda special exactly because we ARE this way. Yeah, we all have OCD. And thats why you love us, don't you?

# 13 DJ @ Oct 18

Good blog, Chris, but I can tell you are a little rusty. You used bit three times in the first paragraph.

Back to the blog:

It is refreshing to get a different perspective on how other people play video games. My friends never mess with sliders or get worked up over player equipment not being 100% accurate. As you said, they just play the game.

# 14 SHAKYR @ Oct 18

yes, this is a debate that can go on for days. What's fun to someone is boring and annoying to someone else.
The companies make a game to ****** fan friendly it kills it for the fans who are hardcore fans of the sport.
Many companies try to blend sim and ****** elements together instead of making options for the different kinds of players and fans.
Many fans have stopped support certain games and franchises because they are tired of being forced to accept the ****** fans perspective of a game.

# 15 bigdoc85 @ Oct 19

One thing that I often see here on OS is an assumption that all sports gamers are focused on the same things -- e.g., franchise modes, etc. -- I saw that with the recent thread about the wish list for MLB The Show or NBA 2k13 where they totally dismissed the significance of legends and historic teams. The reality is that each sports gamer is different. For example, with most sports games I play in "exhibition" mode yet I'm thrilled to see classic / historic roster sets and have spent a lot of time making historic Teambuilder teams for NCAA Football. I know I'm not alone on this yet many posts on OS make it seem that way.

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