Back in May, I wrote an article detailing what developers could do to improve a non-licensed football game. My "five keys" were context, presentation, personality, longevity and customization. It will be interesting to see how upcoming games, namely Backbreaker, Blitz: The League II, and Tecmo Bowl: Kickoff, address what I see as important issues.

One game that we won't see is All-Pro Football 2K9. After being announced, this game was quickly shelved by 2K Sports. But, with my five keys in mind -- and a healthy dose of imagination -- let's look at what "could have been" for APF 2K9.

Context

Simply put, there was absolutely no context for the league that existed in APF 2K8. Sure, there were lots of believable team names and uniforms, but the stadiums themselves had better back-stories. And, while legends were interesting, they seemed to be randomly assigned to teams, presumably for the sake of balance.

This probably seems too over the top, especially for the usually grounded 2K Sports label...

So what background can be given for an imaginary league full of retired (or deceased) players? 2K could have been extra creative, and come up with a pretense that, while fun, still makes some sense. Perhaps the legendary -- and now anthropomorphic -- "football gods" are holding a contest to see which team is the best all time? Each god creates a team for its city, and reflecting the "theme leagues" of whatifsports.com, is limited to the historical players from that city. You yourself become a god, chose a city, and draft a team to defend its name. Nice tongue-in-cheek cinematics set all of this up before you even reach the opening menu.

This probably seems too over the top, especially for the usually grounded 2K Sports label, but risks like this could have set 2K9 apart from its competition.

Presentation

Nearly everyone agrees that ESPN NFL 2K5 is the pinnacle of sports gaming presentation. APF 2K8 tried, but didn't quite live up to its predecessor -- although it did outshine contemporary Maddens. Surely the loss of the ESPN license hurt, but (again with creativity) APF 2K9 could have come back stronger than ever.

APFTV could have set the standard for video game broadcasting while fully supporting the backstory of the league.

In my fantasy/comic background above, the gods would certainly need a broadcast partner for their APF contest. They could have turned to FOX, NBC, TNT, or better yet, created APFTV: "the exclusive home for legendary football action." Using Dan and Keith (the old 2K5 announcers), a fully realized presentation palette, and weekly recap shows, APFTV could have set the standard for video game broadcasting while fully supporting the backstory of the league. Also, borrowing from racing games, APFTV could have been integrated into the online league experience, letting you scout games as they are played live.

Personality

Outside of the colorful commentators, APF 2K8 lacked any kind of real personality. While the O.J. "throat slashing" celebration garnered lots of negative press, it was about the most interesting off-the-field aspect in the game. If you were like me, you mentally created personalities for your generic players. I had a tough ball-hawk safety once named Bacon. In my head, newspapers read "Bacon Slices" after this guy sealed a win with a hard hit and interception return. He became a character, someone I liked seeing do well. Unfortunately, this was relegated to the confines of my imagination.
During the year I've owned 2K8, I've put more time into creating teams than I have actually playing the game.

2K9 could have added real personalities to the generic players -- and the legends -- which would have made it interesting to follow the players throughout the course of a season. Utilizing the advanced broadcasting 2K knows how to pull off, each recap show could feature a "rising star" or a "slumping legend." They could of had those legends known for fiery temperaments get suspended for a few games; or perhaps ramped up the celebrations, albeit tastefully, to show off the more charismatic players. Anything to make these players, including the legends, seem less generic.

Longevity

During the year I've owned 2K8, I've put more time into creating teams than I have actually playing the game. This aspect of the game was that much fun for me -- kind of like drafting a fantasy team -- that it sometimes overshadowed the fine but bland gameplay. What could 2K9 have done to increase my time on the field?

In my madcap tournament of the gods scenario, I suggested that you start by creating an all-city squad to begin your season. The star system, uniform creation tool, and crazy stadiums remain, as they fit the theme. Following that line of thinking, I would begin my franchise as the beleaguered Philadelphia football deity, creating the perfect all-time Philly team. With Reggie White and Randall Cunningham as the cornerstones of the defense and offense, I guide the team through a grueling 16-game season and into the playoffs. Let's say I win the championship; what's next? Why do I keep playing?

As it turns out in my imagined 2K9, the football gods are just getting started -- they are omnipotent beings with lots of time on their hands. After one year of defending their cities, it's on to defending their favorite eras. So now I must take my all-Philly team and turn it into a team from a certain era. Maybe there is a keeper rule: you keep all of your generic players (who have individually become better or worse based on their performance) and two of your stars. Everyone else is released to the draft pool. Naturally, I keep White and Cunningham -- now as the backbone of my all-'80s team.

Depending on what legends 2K could have secured, there could have been 20 or more different scenarios that are randomly chosen at the start of each season.

The following year, the argument is defense vs. offense. So I dump Cunningham, keep White, and form the best defensive team I can -- no stars on offense. It creates some interesting matchups. After that it's letters that start with the last name, T-Z, etc. Then players who've won a championship vs. those who haven't. You see how many various scenarios there could be?

Depending on what legends 2K could have secured, there could have been 20 or more different scenarios that are randomly chosen at the start of each season. And, in most cases, you'd be able to keep one star around for multiple years -- allowing team, career, and league records to be kept. For example, maybe some of your generic players would develop into stars over the years. With a context as "out of the box" as the "god tournament," age isn't an issue, so no forced retirement. Certainly, these ideas make for a game that I would keep coming back to.

Customization

This is easy. Many fans had this idea on their wish-lists the day 2K8 was announced: full customization. So you aren't into the whole football gods thing? No problem. 2K9 could have shipped with an additional "vanilla" franchise mode with fully customizable teams, where you can mix-and-match legends how you see fit, or replace them entirely with fully editable generic players.

This is just one way 2K could have revamped the APF title for its second go-around, without ditching its core idea of legendary players. I know it's a little out there, but I still contend that the best way to make a non-licensed football game is to be super-creative, think outside the box, and do something different. We probably will never see 2K's second attempt at a legends-based football game, so in the words of writer John Greenleaf Whittier: "For all sad words of tongue and pen, The saddest are these, 'It might have been.'"