As somebody who grew up playing the NHL series (and hates the current fighting module), it was really interesting to read Glenn's take on fighting in hockey games. In many ways, you can ask the same question about diving in soccer games. Is there a place for it? And if it does, is there a way the games can simulate-- no pun intended-- it properly?


Right now, the option for players to initiate a dive is present in PES, but not in FIFA. However, most PES players will tell you that the diving option feels much more like a sideshow than something that's integrated into the flow of the game. So while it is implemented in the broadest sense of the term, it's hard to argue that it's done properly, at its present state.

From purely a realism perspective, yes, I would like to have the option to dive in soccer games, if only because I believe that we should have the ability to emulate everything we see on the pitch in real life. There are idealists who say that diving shouldn't be included because it's a cynical part of the game, and that it condones cheating. That's like saying there shouldn't be an option to tackle a player from behind-- isn't that just as cynical? It's all about the risk and reward: what the player is willing to risk (in both cases, a card) to win either a free kick or deny a goal. The fact is that diving is part of what we see on the pitch every week, and-- however unethical it may be-- we should have the option to do it if we so choose.

But practically speaking, there are a few problems preventing diving from being successfully implemented, and received, in soccer games.


First, the technological issues. As we've seen in PES so far, it's quite hard to simulate diving and it's subsequent results in a realistic fashion. For starters, the sequence to pull off a dive is rather convoluted, needing four of your fingers to press the buttons, which is a bit ironic since it's the easiest act to perform in real life-- just fall over, really. And if you are able to successfully execute the dive, the risk/reward is much too black and white: it's either a card or a foul. That's the reason why diving still stays, for the most part, on the fringes of most PES matches-- the outcomes are too drastic. The referee never just lets play continue, as many will do in real life. Losing possession, in many cases, is a good enough punishment for simulation.

It's going to be hard-- very hard, if we consider PES' track record with referees-- for a game to get the outcomes right. It's such a small sweet spot: enough non-calls/cards to deter players from frequently falling over, and just the right amount that will fool the ref. And we can't forget about online, either. If the scales tilt even just a tiny touch towards rewarding diving, it will make multiplayer a total mess, especially if you have the good fortune of matching up against an idiotic player. Ultimately, it's such a fine balance that I don't think either of the soccer games can get it right, at least in the near future.

And even if it does, there's still a bigger, more fundamental, problem to overcome: our reluctance to relinquish control. This, I believe, is the real reason why opinions on diving in PES (and to a certain extent, handballs in FIFA) are still so polarized. Most of us don't want to be punished by things we didn't do, whether it's the virtual player sticking out a hand, or going in for what looks like a fair tackle and have the opponent tumble over, writhing in agony.

Even if random events like that-- events beyond a player's control-- occur all the time in real life, it's something that many of us instinctively resist because gaming, to a majority of the population, is supposed to be 100% about our ability to play that game. Being punished for an action we did not perform is a hard pill to swallow. Personally, even if I am pro-diving in soccer games in theory, I'll admit that it will probably take me a long time to get over the feeling of frustration and helplessness if I see it happening more, even if the ref gets it right in most cases. A few blown calls is enough to make me throw my hands up in exasperation. And to change a mindset is much harder than changing any technical algorithms or calculations.

So does diving belong in soccer games? I'd argue, from purely a realism point of view, that yes, it belongs because it's there in soccer. But is there a way to give users free reign to go to ground, without causing a great amount of frustration? At the moment, I just can't see it.

Sound off, OS! What do you think about diving in soccer games?