As a friend of lots of guys who like playing sports games on their gaming consoles, particulary the
playstation 2, I have stared (nearly) mindlessly at the television screen and pondered what can be done to make a sports game more fun for a guy who isn't into sports.
Creators should allow adjustable
gravity, such that the football can be thrown miles into the air, and players can jump equally as high to retreive it.
Increase the physical strength of the players in a way that when you tackle, ram, whatever another player she or he blows up into a fabulous splattering of
guts. I haven't found evidence of rain or snow affecting football fields in games, so what about
blood and guts on the field?
The ball should be altered as well, maybe instead it should be square. Put spikes on the ball, so if you catch it wrong, your players have serious
bodily damage. Maybe the ball could be replaced with something a bit more interesting, like the
head of a goat.
Some players in the game should be a different type of
species. For example, why not have a basketball game in which
donkeys vs.
panda bears are put against each other. The donkey is sturdy, and has great kicking power. Panda bears are relatively fast, and
massive, a well defended animal. That's a sports game I would watch. Imagine a hockey game in which the fans are packed in the arena to see the
armadillos defeat the
wombats!
More tactical strategy ought to be implemented as well. Maybe during half time a player could sneak beneath the stage championing the latest
musical sensation in order to dig a twenty foot hole, cover it with brush and wait for an opposing team mate to fall into it.
Also, I don't beleive sports games have ever included disabled people. Imagine a basketball game where all the players are bound by wheelchair. Implement some previously mentioned topics,
wheelchair bound athletes in less than Earth gravity rolling around a court trying to get a
goat head into a goal!
Amputees playing without the wheelchair would be fine too, if the
gravity were sufficiently adjusted in order to compensate for their disability. Animals could also be in
wheelchairs, I see no reason why not. Our
physically challenged animals have the same rights to play a game of soccer.
There is a fine line in this idea that must be observed though. Players should not be given guns, grenades or any other type of serious damage inflicting weapon (knives, swords, flame throwers). Then the game becomes
Quake-esque. It should still be focused on sports, just a little bit more interesting. Tolerable weapons may include
cannons or
trebuchets, if it's
medieval it's ok,
in my opinion. We must be careful not to turn our sports games into
first person shooters.
I think is attainable though, look at the quality on sports games these days. Obviously game creators have nearly perfected their work, and I think it's time to take it in a new
direction.