This Is Me Talking Briefly about Sports Games
Is a turn-based, tactical sports game a contradiction in terms? I like arcadey sports games (and racing games) that are all about momentum; I remember loving the energy of NBA Jam in the arcades or on my old Genesis. When it got to trying to parse all the technical stuff of Madden, I have to admit I couldn't hack it. But I think it was THAT GAME that taught me just how much strategy was going o...
Is a turn-based, tactical sports game a contradiction in terms?
I like arcadey sports games (and racing games) that are all about momentum; I remember loving the energy of NBA Jam in the arcades or on my old Genesis. When it got to trying to parse all the technical stuff of Madden, I have to admit I couldn't hack it. But I think it was THAT GAME that taught me just how much strategy was going on behind the surface of those formations in [American] football.
What I'd want is something that focused on the tactics so heavily that it would have to be simultaneous turn-based. I'm just thinking AI right now, not multiplayer, but I imagine there's a football field with your players, all with semi-hidden stats and abilities. You plan your moves, plan contingencies, and then hit play and watch things unfold. Maybe you get a limited amount of interrupts that you can use to change the direction of things at crucial moments, but mainly it'd be like the board game Robo Rally, where you are sending a plan into a machine and hoping it succeeds. [There's a tactical turn-based shooter thing that had a Quick Look recently; I forget what it was called, but I guess it'd be similar to that, too]
I don't think this should be limited to sports, but I think something like this could be a bit easier for me to get into. There are plenty of ways to make a sports game; they don't all have to be the same thing every year (although, of course, those can be there too). Granted, a formula like this would remove a lot of what makes sports interesting: the constant pace, thinking on your feet, gambits under the clock. But I do think if you emphasize action too much you miss out on the crunch of the details. After all, when we play a football video game we're controlling a whole bunch of people, when in real life we'd either be spectators or just one person. Baseball does diverge a bit from that, since it's down to a single batter, pitcher, or catcher to make a difference, which I like, but sports tend to be collaborative, so the games are already a step removed from most sports anyway.
And here's the surprise twist: I'm going to talk about actual sports for a second. I like ice hockey, but I think fights break up the flow of the game. I like it when it's fast, when people ram into each other but then keep playing, I like skillful shots and quick turn-arounds. Fights feel like a half-time show that can happen AT ANY TIME. I know fights are considered to be integral by many fans, and that there is strategy involved, but as much as I enjoy hockey I never cared for it. This is from someone that can watch boxing, sumo, and martial arts competitions that stick to a single style (though I have to admit I think fighters in a lot of these competitions are treated like shit).
Why the prior paragraph is pertinent: I like it when sports emphasize a single art and stick with it. So when a game has you trying to do everything at once, be a receiver, a quarterback, and a coach all at the same time, while it may be fun, it doesn't feel like you're approaching a fuller simulation. The turn-based tactics, or even something like an RTS (which would bring back some of the pressure of decisionmaking), would feel closer to coaching, which is, I guess, what I really want to experience.
It's funny, but mentioning the RTS option just now makes me realize why Starcraft can totally be a spectator sport for some people. I enjoy watching matches. Maybe it's not everyone's thing but I dig it, especially with color commentary from people who know the game better than I do, like those promotional movies they put out before the release. It's actually similar to being a coach, although you get more control over the "players" than you do in real life.
Any sports games out there that focus a bit more on this tactical side of things, by any chance?