Pucking Ridiculous (The OBG Chronicles): Realism, Really?

[catcatch22]

These games are no way any where close to being "too realistic". If anyone thinks these games are too realistic then A. They do not watch the real games for 2.5 hours or B. have not competed in those sports at a competitive level.

I always played my baseball games at 9 innings but I also spent 3 hours watching every moment of the mets broadcasts. So in summation, the more we have become a highlite ESPN nation, increasingly more people want less of the sport and more of the highlites of said sport.

[savoie2006]

I'm fine with the idea of a good blend of "sim"/ "arcade" style of gameplay. Like you said, I don't have the time between work and family to play an uber realistic style of sports game. However, I would still like the game to represent the sport enough to where it kind of feels like I'm watching an actual game on TV. Atmosphere and Presentation help this alot. Something NHL 11 does well, but hopefully it gets much better with NHL 12.

[stlstudios189]

gameplay and presentation are a must in the realism but too much can make the game a chore

[Gordy748]

Quote: Originally Posted by thedudedominick

For me the realism I search for isn't in playing full length games, but for the players and the reactions to represent the real sport. I want the players to play like real players on the ice or on the field. In hockey I would love to see more stick play to help add the next bit of realism. In football I would love to see the hand play and interaction between WRs and DBs. Just a couple of things that would add to the realism without taking away from the fun of the game IMO.

Ditto squared. While I don't mind never seeing the Seagals opening performance or sitting through the national anthem every game, I do mind when each and every introduction of NFL11 is a battle of the quarterbacks (which is a little weird as the QBs are never on the field at the same time). I also mind when I get no information about the capabilities of the team I'm playing and, ergo, advice on how to change my strategies.

I don't mind either if I can accelerate the clock play so a 3 hour game gets done in 45 minutes. But I do mind when the players (both mine and the AI's) pull off impossible moves to make plays (e.g. Tron-like sliding LBs, tacklers speeding up in mid-air to tackle RBs, WRs slowing down to let the CB pick, WRs speeding up or sliding left to catch a ball). I honestly don't mind playing NFL using animations but the way it plays, it's just BS.

That said, I'm playing NHL11 this year so EA managed to get another 60 bucks out of me. Hey ho.

[Nunyerbiz]

For me, it's all about gameplay. If you need to bend the laws of physics a bit to give the player great control and a well-balanced experience, then so be it. I'm not a huge fan of this trend to motion capture the entire sporting universe, as I feel from a gameplay perspective, it takes control away from the player and gives it to the CPU. It's the computer that has to decide which scripted and preset animations fire for any given scenario to make sure it all "looks realistic". NBA2K11 is the best combination ever for solid AI and great animation work, but I still think the game can feel clunky at times when pre-canned animations trump controller inputs.

As far as "presentation" and making things more TV-like... with pre-game storylines and commentators babbling on about this or that via canned soundbites... Developers can knock themselves out with as much of that stuff as they like... or they can completely give it up all together. I don't care either way. I skip past all of that pre-game stuff as soon as I'm allowed. With sports video games, I want to play them, not watch them. Never once, in 20+ years of sports gaming, have I ever thought to myself "Wow, I'm glad I listened to that soundbite that the computer thought applied to this pre-game warmup scene." ... I just never understood the fascination with aping television presentation.

[onlybygrace]

Man, I truly jinxed the Blues.

Since I spoke these words, they have completely come apart at the seams.

So Hockey Gods, I doeth truly repent of my arrogance. If you wish, let me write you a song...

I'm a badass guitar player.

Oh...yes...arrogance, right...I'm sorry, Hockey Gods. Save my Blues!!! We're all sorry for whatever it is you hate about us!!!

Sometimes I think that the fact that Gretzky played here for only 3 days or something is really an omen. Perhaps it's a telling sign of the position of the Blues in the universe.

The Curse of The Great One!!!

[White Out]

Awesome article and I cant agree more. More realistism does not equate to better game play experience. A balance must be achieved.

[Caps2cup05]

Now if only the standings in BAP worked...
So real...