SteveM's Blog
I freely admit it: when it comes to video game basketball, I love the little things. I don't mean getting the sneakers and accessories right—although when I see people who do obsess about such stuff, I have no problem with it, just because my own concerns are so specific and micro-tuned.
As someone who writes about the real-life NBA a fair amount, what I'm most interested in are the ways that NBA 2K can bring the game closer to that real life sport. I'm fine with having the ability to tweak the game to allow for a more fun, fast-paced game, and I don't need it to be super-realistic out of the box, but I think there's room for 2K Sports to fix some very specific things.
Defensive schemes
It's natural that the defensive part of NBA 2K lags behind the offensive part—dunks and 3-pointers are where the glory is and they're fun. But as the saying goes, defense wins championships, and there's so much more NBA 2K could do on the defensive side of the ball. They've improved your ability to set defensive schemes for individual players in terms of how your players double or hedge, but that's based on individual players, whereas a large part of NBA defense is reacting to the situation.
It would be great to be able to replicate a defensive scheme like Tom Thibodeau's for the Bulls where pick and rolls near the sidelines are always forced to the baseline. Or Miami's strategy of trapping the ballhandler if they cross halfcourt near the sidelines. As it is, doubles and traps in 2K start animations that are barely useful, especially when bringing down a guard to double in the post. Some guys are good at that and some guys are bad, but in NBA 2K, all the guards are universally terrible at it.
If 2K could make defense both rewarding and important in the game, you just might see more people picking teams like Indiana or Memphis, and that would be pretty cool.
Chemistry
The way chemistry works right now in Association mode and My Player mode seems to be either completely predictable or completely unpredictable: if guys don't play, they get angry and play worse, or else they go through ups and downs that seem unattached to their circumstances. It would be great to see chemistry that's based on real factors like playing time (including when in the game guys are played), amount of plays called, and other things, but that's harder to fix. You can't just throw time at guys to make them happier. Some guys are happier coming off the bench. Some guys will not get better no matter how much time you throw at them. In essence, chemistry is not hard to perceive, but the challenge is not fixing it, it's working around it.
And in My Player, it's relatively easy to keep pushing your chemistry with your teammates in the right direction by answering the press conference questions with the obvious correct answer. Those press conferences need to matter more or be done away with. It would be nice, also, to not have them at a table with a room full of reporters after every game. Having them happen where they really do—in the locker room—would be more realistic, plus create more drama for when they move to something more formal in the playoffs.
Player models
I've said it before but first and foremost: For Pete's sake can we get some new hairstyles for created players? Just do it.
Secondly, it's high time that 2K introduced a separate wingspan measurement for players. That's a simple thing that can create more variance across created players and make drafting rookies in Association more interesting. To go along with that, there should be more impact for a player's physical size in the game. A slim rookie is going to get banged around, but I want the ability to make a truly slender guy like Larry Sanders or Alexey Shved or make a tank like Nikola Pekovic.
My Player/My Career
My Career is the mode I play the most, and it has some significant problems. In NBA 2K13, the way Virtual Currency is set up leads to a real problem: you earn so little VC for playing the actual mode—even though that's where you spend your VC—that it's actually easier to develop your player through playing any mode EXCEPT My Career. But at the same time, it's still possible to dominate the mode with a player who's only ranked 65 or so. The result is a mode where it's difficult to improve your created player by playing, yet there's also little incentive to improve him.
You can see this most starkly in the drills, which have reached a whole new level of meaninglessness in NBA 2K13. In 2K12, I only ever ran the Dribble Course because it was the only one I knew for sure I could pass, plus it helped boost Speed, the most expensive stat to raise. But in 2K14, the paltry VC reward for passing a drill is outweighed by the boredom and frustration of doing the drill.
Maybe the essential problem is that practice is boring, and not something anyone wants to spend time doing in a video game. But I think this could be fixed by drills that reward you even when you don't fulfill their requirements. After all, it isn't just success that teaches you, but failure. Maybe you don't get a boost to Ballhandling or Speed if you fail the Dribble Course, but you should get a boost to your Stamina just for running up and down the court. Right now, if you can't do them perfectly, the drills are a waste of time. Is this really what we should be teaching our children? If you elect to work on training, it should always benefit your player in some way, even if it's small.
These are just a few suggestions, and admittedly from someone who doesn't spend much time playing online. So I want to know, what else needs to be fixed going forward in NBA 2K14?
# 48
crystalship @ Apr 2
I think something important for NBA 2K14 are changes to its design overlays. The aesthetic was terrible in 2K13. I'm not sure how long it has been like that, but I hope it is cleaned up and made simple, rather than using really elaborate fonts. It looked bad.
# 49
actuallybrown @ Apr 3
I think the coaching should be emphasized going forward. While gameplay on the court is largely determined by the players, the coach is really the anchor of a team, as far as team chemistry, motivation, effort, dedication, and skill/practice.
I'd like to see more focus on the coaches in MyCareer mode; right now if you want to talk about the team, you can only talk to the GM's. That's unrealistic, as GM's should only get in on the conversation once you feel an antagonistic relationship with the coach or maybe if you are a star player and you are trying to get traded or maybe pick up some better free agents etc.
Also, pacing/tempo control, defensive intensity, offensive execution, and things like that should be Sig Skills for coaches.
And I don't want to see coaches giving you more playing time every time you play well. If you're a starter, then stay a starter and just maybe get more touches...but don't get 41 minutes in your first season...that's ridic.
I'd like to see more focus on the coaches in MyCareer mode; right now if you want to talk about the team, you can only talk to the GM's. That's unrealistic, as GM's should only get in on the conversation once you feel an antagonistic relationship with the coach or maybe if you are a star player and you are trying to get traded or maybe pick up some better free agents etc.
Also, pacing/tempo control, defensive intensity, offensive execution, and things like that should be Sig Skills for coaches.
And I don't want to see coaches giving you more playing time every time you play well. If you're a starter, then stay a starter and just maybe get more touches...but don't get 41 minutes in your first season...that's ridic.
# 50
LoveBasketball @ Apr 8
We should be able to build rivalries with other teams & players in Myplayer
# 51
sharigan77 @ Apr 16
Id like an veteran influence system that affects how players progress based on how much experience the veteran has/his rating/what he's good at. Say if you have Shane Battier on a team with Harrison Barnes his defense should progress slightly more than it would with a younger player.
# 53
LoveBasketball @ Apr 16
and also players stand around and do nothing to much...players like carmelo follow their own shots.. not shoot then stand there
# 54
LoveBasketball @ Apr 21
Let us choses our team accessory colours before the game like madden...or when we go to edit player have home accessories and away accessory menus ..and let us change the headband colours
# 56
Skuxx24 @ May 8
Personally would like a halftime show or something alongs those line in assciotion or a weekly recap on what's going on in the nba
# 57
jcofor25 @ May 17
HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD!!!!
NEW HAIR PLEASE!!!!
Character creation has been the same since College Hoops 2k8.
Great game, just same player models.
NEW HAIR PLEASE!!!!
Character creation has been the same since College Hoops 2k8.
Great game, just same player models.
# 58
LoveBasketball @ Jun 9
players seem stupid at times...they just stand and watch the rebound go past them or after they miss a layup and the balls right in front of them they just stand there (no matter how many times you press Y) instead of trying to get a second shot
# 59
BIGROC @ Jun 9
I thought the article was pretty spot on, until we got to the "is this what we want to be teaching children" line... Seriously? You made a very accurate, and succinct argument for what could be done... and then laid an egg.
I'd love to be able to tailor my teams defense in depth. (the Knicks could really use it) And I wholeheartedly agree about the drills. I play the ones that I find fun, because I can generally pass certain ones for offense. I steer clear of the ones that all but waste the precious points you get each month in association. I did think that the MyPlayer mode was a bit better in 2k12. The VC DEFINITELY needs to be reworked.
I'd like to see a card collection (or player collection) that you could use in a 'Diamond Dynasty' type mode. Basketball seems to fit in there better than most other major sports due to the low amount of available roster spots on each team (15).
I'd love to be able to tailor my teams defense in depth. (the Knicks could really use it) And I wholeheartedly agree about the drills. I play the ones that I find fun, because I can generally pass certain ones for offense. I steer clear of the ones that all but waste the precious points you get each month in association. I did think that the MyPlayer mode was a bit better in 2k12. The VC DEFINITELY needs to be reworked.
I'd like to see a card collection (or player collection) that you could use in a 'Diamond Dynasty' type mode. Basketball seems to fit in there better than most other major sports due to the low amount of available roster spots on each team (15).
SteveM
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