Your Opinion on MyCAREER/MyGM Stories

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Stories in MyCAREER/MyGM: Yes or No?

Yes!
0
No votes
No!
1
17%
Yes, but they could stand to be better
4
67%
No, but they're not all bad
1
17%
 
Total votes : 6

Your Opinion on MyCAREER/MyGM Stories

Postby Andrew on Tue Jun 25, 2019 8:42 pm

So, as we head towards the end of an entire generation where MyCAREER (and now MyGM) is built around a story-driven approach...what does everyone think of the stories?

I'll admit that my perspective has softened a little thanks to some of the better efforts in MyCAREER. The stories in NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K19 have had great production values without interfering with the overall experience too much, and featured a few genuinely entertaining and amusing moments. I can certainly give credit where it's due for the amount of effort that goes into them.

However, I still have many of the same gripes as I did when the concept was unveiled in NBA 2K14 on PS4/X1. The story is rigid, without many meaningful decisions and branching options. The character you're given isn't necessarily one that you can relate to, and the way they act in cutscenes on rails can easily differ from the character you roleplay as when you can choose dialogue options and so forth. They drop fictional players into the league, which is a mixed bag as far as what it means for the gameplay experience.

I do like what they've done with MyGM in NBA 2K19, offering both the traditional take on the mode (as well as the MyLEAGUE alternative) and the story-driven version. I really believe they should do the same with MyCAREER, without having to play through the story once. I'd suggest offering incentives to play through the story (additional experience and opportunities to earn VC being obvious examples), but allow the story to be skipped from the start if gamers want a more streamlined career mode experience.

If I had to rank the MyCAREER stories from best to worst, just based on the quality of the tales themselves, I'd say NBA 2K17, NBA 2K19, NBA 2K16 (though I don't like how it cuts down your rookie season), NBA 2K14, NBA 2K15, and NBA 2K18 distantly in last place (though it's at least doesn't interfere with gameplay as much as the stories in NBA 2K14-16). Accounting for how they affect gameplay: NBA 2K17, NBA 2K19, NBA 2K18, NBA 2K16, NBA 2K14, NBA 2K15.
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Re: Your Opinion on MyCAREER/MyGM Stories

Postby bluejaybrandon on Wed Jun 26, 2019 3:33 am

I think it needs to be way less fictional and way more realistic. I don’t want Hollywood actors as coaches and agents and friends. I don’t want to have my path set out for me. I want to be able to play the experience how I want. Whether that’s start in the G-League or Overseas and work my way into the NBA. Or go to the combine and compete. I want to be able to hire and fire my agent. Get real endorsements that matter. Make free agency an actual bidding war. Make salaries relevant. Hell I can think of so many great ideas.

They used to do MyCareer’s so much better back in the day. In 2k10 you could play in the G-League which had an actual schedule and work your way up to the pros. Or like Madden 07 where you could pick your parents, compete in mini games at the combine, and take a wonderlic test. I want those aspects but 2k will never do that because it appeals to the minority. It’s so much easier to make players dump VC into the game and sign off a bunch of actors to play roles in a “on-rails” story.

I think the biggest thing I don’t like about the story is that it’s no longer “My”Career. It’s their career with my character model.
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Re: Your Opinion on MyCAREER/MyGM Stories

Postby Andrew on Wed Jun 26, 2019 1:29 pm

On the NLSC Podcast, we've often joked about the line from the intro to NBA 2K14's story: "No one's going to tell my story but me". It implies a lot more control over the narrative than we actually have!

Something that I've suggested in some of my articles is to have multiple starting points; more than one back story that determines how you career starts and progresses. If you choose to be a highly touted prospect, you'd start with better ratings and get more minutes sooner, but increasing your ratings would be difficult. Starting out as a long shot/G-League player would allow for quicker upgrades, but you'd have much lower starting ratings. Maybe you could be a player who has had a lot of experience overseas and is finally getting a shot at the NBA, or former lottery pick who missed their rookie season due to an injury you're trying to come back from. In addition to different stories - which would ideally have some branching arcs and meaningful choices - it'd emphasise the RPG element, as there'd be advantages and disadvantages to each starting point, on top of the Archetype you select.
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