MLB The Show: Opening The Creative Floodgates - Turbojugend's Blog

Turbojugend's Blog

MLB The Show: Opening The Creative Floodgates

Posted on April 28, 2015 at 10:04 PM.

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In the three years since I've been playing the series regularly, Sony's MLB The Show has skyrocketed on my list of annual sports titles from lukewarm expectation to rabid enthusiasm. Not only has it managed to rekindle my interest in baseball video games, but more surprisingly, in the sport itself. The Show does so many things right that it would be pointless to list them all here. So how it possible to substantially improve the series moving forward? Well, here's a thought or two on the matter�

More than anything, what The Show is lacking is the open-ended creativity that gives other sports games their long-lasting appeal. Diamond Dynasty manages to touch the tip of the iceberg with its logo and uniform editor, and the Roster and Player Vaults are always full of awesome player-generated content. And while these tools are a decent start, Sony needs to integrate them and take an important leap forward. Why not allow you to design your own custom team -- roster, logo and uniform -- for use in modes outside of Diamond Dynasty? For that matter, why not allow the creation of entire leagues and seasons? For example, imagine having the ability to recreate the entire 1940 MLB season, complete with throwback uniforms, divisions and schedules accurate to that particular era of baseball and set to The Show's patented brand of exciting video game baseball.

Of course this would be a huge undertaking on Sony's part, but it isn't unprecedented. In fact, they would need to look no further than FIFA's outstanding Creation Centre for inspiration. Using a web-based design suite built on the Unity engine, gamers can create their own custom leagues on their desktops and port them into their console world. They can then share their creations with the rest of the community, or keep them private if they wish. Looking for the NASL (the soccer division below MLS)? No problem, you'll find three or four interesting user-created options in Creation Centre. Every team, player, logo and uniform imaginable can be represented in FIFA, which is quite the accomplishment for a video game representing a global sport such as soccer.

Another long-standing request from Show fans is Create-A-Stadium. Just imagine a Stadium Vault full of custom green cathedrals, everything from Ebbets Field to local minor league stadiums to futuristic Space Mountain-style ballparks. Given the complexity involved in current-gen stadium models, it's quite possible that this feature may never see the light of day, but if it did it could become one of the game's more popular features.

The one unknown here is how Major League Baseball would receive all of these changes. While FIFA is a governing body overseeing dozens of leagues around the world, MLB is a singular organization and may be more interested in protecting its own brand identity. In other words, they may not want gamers creating a Toledo Mudhens fantasy roster when their interest lies in promoting current teams and players.

We haven't even touched on expanding the variety of player models, uniforms, caps... the list goes on. It's exciting to envision what all of the above would add to a baseball game, enthusiasts could accurately recreate classic eras, international leagues from around the world, or entire divisions that currently do not exist in-game (ex: Class-A Advanced). For a sport as timeless as baseball, a fully-realized design suite would open up exciting new possibilities for gamers, creators and history buffs alike.