November 25, 2016 Topic Discussion: What Do We Mean By Sim?

[RaychelSnr]

Sim is a tough word to define.

When you think you've figured 'sim' out, the definition is presented in a different way by someone else and you are left starting all over again on a quest to understand it.

My journey started in the earlier days of sports gaming with sim meaning something akin to balance and avoiding taking advantages of a game's unfixable flaws which created imbalances. It also meant forcing yourself to do crazy things like have to run the ball in Madden.

Today, with games a lot more balanced (but not perfectly so) it seems to be morphing into another definition entirely. Balance is still key, avoiding some flaws and money plays is still important, but the overall thought of 'simness' seems to be a little different than it was before.

I typically use a self-LOL inducing phrase, 'not sim' when something extraordinary happens in sports these days.

Kevin Love gets 34 points in a quarter? Not sim. Some of the Big XII offenses of the past few years? Definitely not sim. Aroldis Chapman throwing 105 mph? Nah, not sim.

But yes, they're all real events that really happen in sports. The unexpected becomes the expected quite often, which is why many of us keep coming back to sports in the first place.

So what about you? How do you handle the sports uncertainty principle while still desiring a simulation experience? Where do you draw the line at sim vs. not sim?

Sound off in the comments!

[Eyeman79]

I think the word sim should be used only for text based games, OOTP etc. Gamers are so demanding today on a realistic experience from player likeness to team tendencies, but realism and sim are not the same. The better players(not me) on Madden can take the Browns undefeated to the Superbowl so it's not a true sim as this is based on the gamers skill and knowledge. That's why I laugh at the regular updates that change player ratings by +/- 1 point. Does this really affect the sim factor or does it just help to maintain the realistic feel of the game?
To me sim is just the realistic representation of the sport i.e The Show vs. Super Mega Baseball

[spike83]

Sorry people, but no game will ever be "true sim." That's reality but no one wants to accept it. There has to be a balance for both hard core and casual games for obvious reason (money). At the end of the day, one needs to enjoy what it's worth (a video game).

If you want "true slim", purchase a text only PC game.

[tril]

sim for me is
-realistic stats
-players behaving to their likeliness. with the occasional average player getting into a zone etc. I dont mind a player scoring 34 in a quarter if you cant stop him
-great ai adaptiveness, awareness
-a defensively balanced game. (personally I think defense is what makes or breaks a sim/realistic experience)
-no abundance of animations clipping, morphing etc.
-logical financial signings, trades etc.

[AlexBerncoGaming]

Sim is very hard to define, because in sports just about anything can happen. To me SIM is trying to replicate identical stats in a sports video game compared in real life, and from there you can see how well a game was simulated. If your're looking for SIM the best thing to do is play offline with sliders that best represent real life. Its rare to get SIM gameplay online unless you and your opponent like the thought of playing "SIM"

[JayhawkerStL]

If you are holding a controller and moving a player, it's not sim.

[ausclppa]

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