I’ve been thinking about ways to make Become Legendary (or whatever is going to called) interesting or at least different than My Player, obviously I’m not expecting any of these ideas to be included in Live 14 since it’s already late but perhaps in future games in the next gen consoles some could be implemented or at least considerated.
At the beginning of the mode, besides creating your player and customizing the face (hopefully the Game Face app is implemented), accessories, etc there could be options about the type of player he is.
Maybe there could be a primary strength tab where the user could choose the best quality their player’s going to have like volume scorer, shooter, defensive stopper, paint protector, passer, dribbler, all around etc. Only one could be chosen but one should select carefully since each has their strengths and weakness (like when choosing a fighter style in EA MMA), for instance a volume scorer would have the ability to score in many ways but hasn’t one which is better than the rest.
Then there could be a secondary strength that could be like the ability of getting hot quickly, blue collar guy who brings hustle and energy to the game, team player who affects other players, good offensive or defensive awareness, etc. Users should find the way to define the player by combining both strengths for what they want like if you match passer with team player then he’d be a good distributor who can give his teammates better shots but would be more turnover prone than if his secondary strength is good offensive awareness who can see a better passing option but wouldn’t give an easier shot to his teammates as the previous combination.
Besides those two there could be a third tab but only with physical strengths like high vertical, long arms, extra quickness, explosiveness, body strength, etc. For example a perimeter defensive specialist could benefit greatly by long arms because he could protect better the passing lanes, a dribbler with explosiveness would mean that he can have a great first step that will leave his defender behind with easiness.
Then I believe that selecting college should have a bigger importance. If, for instance, you select a big school with a tracking record of having good NBA players then teams would prefer having you than someone from a smaller team. Also if you choose that your player comes from Europe then teams would have more doubts about selecting you since they couldn’t scout you well.
Maybe also selecting how many years you were in college affect your draft stock, if you stayed more than a couple years scouts could see you more of a NBA-ready player than one who chose a one and done.
After making those selections you would go to the NBA Draft Combine (if EA can have that). The player would have an interview about general things like how does he believe he did in college, if he believes he should be a top 5 or lottery pick, if he prefers to become the focal point of an up-and-coming team or play a smaller role in a contender, if he prefers to play in a big city, which player does he think his game is similar to, favorite team from childhood, etc. Then he would have an IQ test related to basketball (or not like in previous Madden games) in which if he does well his awareness ratings could get a boost.
Later the player could have the option to choose to participate in physical drills like measuring vertical, bench press, running drills, etc; if he declines his stats would remain but if he participates his stats could get better or worse depending on how he did.
Then he has the shooting drills and a five on five game against another prospects of his value. If he performs well he gets a ratings boost and an increase in his draft stock, if not his ratings decline a bit besides his stock.
To end the combine, before the draft, he could get private interviews with NBA teams (like NBA 2K) for GMs to be sure about drafting him or not.
Then it comes Draft night. Before the draft itself there could be an analysis and mock draft about you if you’re good enough (maybe with ESPN people like they do in actual drafts). When they actually select you, besides watching how you get the team hat and shake hands with Stern, there could be a small video package with commentary about your strengths and weakness and show some highlights from the combine (and if possible with your school).
Besides those things I haven’t thought much about the mode but I’m sure there are many stuff that could be implemented.
For instance if your player doesn’t have a shoe deal he could use any shoes he want but he would have to buy them with their NBA salary, you could buy as many shoes you want as long as you buy them and change constantly if you want which are your home and away shoes.
Another idea was that during the offseason you could select what you want to do or improve during those months. Maybe you’re a big but not strong enough to battle in the paint so you could select to gain weight and muscle (like in old NBA Live franchise modes) which would result in an increase in your strength rating; perhaps you could learn a go to move which would be more effective; maybe develop post moves while you go to a Hakeem-like camp; improve some ratings with drills, etc. Offseason has to play a big part in this game mode since it’s the time of the year players put effort to improve their games to have a better impact in their teams for the following season.
Those ideas are what I've in mind now, maybe everyone could begin putting their Become Legendary or whatever's going to be called mode so they could be implemented in Live 15 or future games since I don't believe it's possible to be implemented in Live 14.