Andrew wrote:Monday Tip-Off: The Joys of Exhibition GamesIf you're familiar with my stance on the importance of deep modes in basketball games, then this week's topic might be understandably confusing. After all, I'm on record saying that a game cannot sustain interest if it doesn't have at least one mode that can keep its audience hooked. I do stand by that, and one only needs to look at how NBA Live's shallow modes over the past generation have failed to maintain the same engagement and enthusiasm as the experiences on offer in NBA 2K. In 2021, a basketball game needs to have both variety and depth in its modes.
However, there's obviously still a use for exhibition play, or Play Now as it's usually called in NBA Live and NBA 2K alike. More than that though, there's a lot of fun to be had in exhibition games. The irony here is that while I advocate for deep modes because of their longevity, goals, and consequences, it's the lack of stakes and long-term ramifications that I find so appealing about jumping into Play Now. As much as I enjoy progressing through a mode and achieving some sense of completion, I can also find great satisfaction in playing a game that doesn't count towards anything. In fact, it could be argued that exhibition games are where we can be the most creative.
What I enjoy about playing exhibition games is the freedom to play with whoever team I want, current or retro teams, all-star or even ones created by mods, without feeling restricted.
One of the reasons I haven't played franchise, MyPlayer or team collecting modes is because of the need to play with the same team over and over again, I get bored after a while. Sure, I can make trades or sign players in franchise, or sell and buy players/packs but it isn't the same. Sometimes I like playing a game with top-tier teams, other times I enjoy being the underdog against one of the best in the league, and sometimes with two mediocre or bad clubs just to take advantage of their best player and see how he can impact the game.
As you said, the lack of "stress" of having to win because it impacts go gives me an ease that I've been wanting lately, one has enough things to deal with in their day-to-day life to get worked up if my team loses or deal with negativity during online play. I sure don't have enough time as before to invest heavily with modes, I tried lately but ended up quitting after a few days/weeks. Perhaps I could try again and try to take the same approach so I could take it lightly instead of burning out soon.