Monday Tip-Off: Press Steal to Foul is Lazy Design

[Andrew]

Monday Tip-Off

Monday Tip-Off is a weekly feature that comes out - as the name would imply - every Monday. Tip off your week with a column dedicated to opinions, commentary, and other fun stuff related to basketball video games! This is a central discussion thread for the feature, in which I invite you to post any feedback along with your responses to each column's topic. A link to the latest article can always be found here in the first post, along with a link to the complete archive.

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Monday Tip-Off: Press Steal to Foul is Lazy Design

IThere's a clear interest in and emphasis on skill-based mechanics in NBA 2K these days. From sweats in the online scene sneering "get good" to developer blogs touting a focus on representing the "skill gap", there's a belief that NBA 2K's gameplay must be a worthy test of one's reflexes and abilities on the sticks. Accessibility? Realism? Fun? Go play a mobile puzzle game if that's what you want, you filthy casual! That's the attitude that NBA 2K has been increasingly catering to, and gameplay has taken a dip in quality because of it. At least one game developer saw that coming.

The irony of course is that thanks to canned and animation-heavy sequences, to say nothing of artificial boosts, imbalance, and paying to skip the grind, it's laughable to suggest that NBA 2K is a pure test of stick skills! Moreover, when the mechanics are broken or poorly designed, it becomes a test of a gamer's patience and willingness to compensate for a flawed system, rather than their ability to be strategic and skilful. Like a carpenter with a dull saw and a headless hammer, we're impeded by the tools we have at our disposal. In short, we need a game's mechanics to work and be useful in order to expertly employ them. To that end, "press steal to foul" is lazy design.

[Andrew]

Debut article!

September 21st, 2015: How Much Does It Cost To Get Michael Jordan In A Video Game?

If you’re a basketball fan, you know who Michael Jordan is, even if you weren’t around in the 80s and 90s. Likewise, even if you were around in the 80s and 90s but weren’t a fan of basketball, you still knew of him, and at least a couple of noteworthy facts about His Airness. Such was his impact upon popular culture.

I was around during that era, and a basketball fan to boot. As many of you may already be aware, I was also a big fan of Michael Jordan, and he remains my all-time favourite player. I was therefore very excited when it was announced that MJ would grace the cover of NBA 2K11, a game which also included a celebration of his career in the form of the Jordan Challenge. Visual Concepts and 2K Sports were probably pretty happy about the arrangement too, as NBA 2K11 sold over five million copies, and was very well received by critics and the basketball gaming community alike.

Michael Jordan is still featured in NBA 2K, and indeed graces the cover of the Special Edition of NBA 2K16. 2K’s partnership with MJ has obviously been very beneficial to the visibility, sales, and reception of their game, but how much does that partnership cost them? While we don’t have any specific figures, some recent reports have given us fodder to speculate.

[ThePointForward]

Link goes to Friday Five.

[Andrew]

Now fixed, thanks!

[Andrew]

September 28th, 2015: Lost Forever – The Missing Trophies & Achievements

For some gamers, Trophies and Achievements in video games are of great importance. For the gamer who strives for 100% completion, there are few things as satisfying as the sight and sound of a notification informing them that a Trophy or Achievement has just been unlocked. It’s a concise representation that yes, you did indeed do just about everything you could with a game, and then some. And, if you’re the kind of gamer who likes to brag about such things, it’s right there in your public profile, for everyone to see.

For other gamers, Trophies and Achievements are nothing but a nuisance, a meaningless aspect of modern games that are only useful to people who want to brag about ultimately useless accomplishments. You play the games because you’re interested in them, not to get some virtual pat on the back for performing some mundane task. Simply put, Trophies and Achievements aren’t something that everyone is interested in, or obsesses over.

Personally, I find myself somewhere in the middle. I’m not obsessed with collecting every single Trophy or Achievement in every game I play, but I also find them to be fun goals to shoot for, when I’m looking to extend my gaming experience. Basketball video games have had some fun and interesting challenges in the form of their Trophies and Achievements, but in some cases, shooting for 100% completion becomes impossible sooner than you might expect. Servers are inevitably shut down at some point, at which point Achievements involving online play or timed content become lost forever.

[Andrew]

October 5th, 2015: Fanboys, Haters, and the Basketball Gaming Community

In last week’s Friday Five, I talked about aspects of online culture that I dislike. While I’d rather not spend too much time dwelling on the negative – incidentally, that would be another pet peeve of mine when it comes to online culture – I did touch on something that I’d like to talk a little bit more about today for Monday Tip-Off: fanboys and haters within the basketball gaming community.

I don’t want to make a sweeping, generalised, melodramatic statement such as “Fanboys and haters are ruining the basketball gaming community”, because that’s not exactly true. Unfortunately, such a statement isn’t completely without merit, either. At the very least, it’s reaching some incredibly silly levels, with severe tunnel vision and an almost complete lack of perspective. Granted, this is often the case in any fandom, but since this is our community we’re talking about, I’d like to see us do better.

[Andrew]

October 12th, 2015: Head in the Cloud – Basketball Video Games & Always-On

Always-on remains a controversial issue in video gaming, right up there with downloadable content, microtransactions, and third party developers producing platform exclusives. So strong is the backlash against it, Microsoft even had to change its approach with the Xbox One, and is arguably still feeling the effects of its initial stance as the console continues to be out-sold by the PlayStation 4. The message is clear: gamers do not like always-on.

As the online component of basketball video games has become a bigger part of the experience, our community has started to feel the sting of always-on and cloud saves. Key game modes require a constant connection to the Internet, and while a couple of them can also be played offline, issues can arise when there are temporary connection or server issues. But what happens when the server is shut down for good?

[Andrew]

October 19th, 2015: How MyCAREER Could Truly Let Us Be The Story

If you’ve tuned in to Episode #130 of the NLSC Podcast, you’ll know that I’m not the biggest fan of the story in this year’s MyCAREER. If you’ve been listening to the NLSC Podcast for a while now, you’ll know that that’s been a recurring complaint of mine since MyCAREER adopted the story-driven approach beginning with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One version of NBA 2K14. Reading some of the posts that have been made about MyCAREER since the release of NBA 2K16, it seems I’m not alone in my criticism.

Specific criticisms of the writing aside, my discontent with MyCAREER can be summed up as such: a story that’s too linear without branching options, choices that are largely cosmetic and inconsequential, and in NBA 2K16 in particular, a protagonist that’s intended to have very specific characteristics, which conflict with the RPG elements and “put yourself in the game” aspect of the mode. To that end, the tagline of “Be The Story” becomes a little ironic.

However, since I’m often advocating for constructive criticism – fans not fanboys, critics not haters, and all that – it seems only appropriate that I put my money where my mouth is, and offer up some suggestions as to how the mode could be improved. The story-driven approach to MyCAREER probably isn’t going anywhere, so how do I think Visual Concepts can best put it to use? Well, let’s take a look at how I feel that we can better “Be The Story” in NBA 2K17 and beyond.

[Andrew]

October 26th, 2015: Limited Locker Codes & Time Zones, An Odd Combination

The 2016 NBA season tips off in just a couple of days, so I’m expecting to see the official social media accounts for NBA 2K start dropping some goodies in the form of Locker Codes for NBA 2K16 very soon. While the random rewards aren’t always particularly generous, they do provide a good opportunity to stock up on Virtual Currency or MyTEAM points, snag a great MyTEAM card, or unlock an animation for your MyPLAYER. If you’ve got the game fired up when Locker Codes drop, it’s well worth punching them in.

However, there’s the rub: it’s very easy to miss out on redeeming a code, especially if you’re on the other side of the world. And even if you are in the same time zone as Visual Concepts, you have to be fast – sometimes, ridiculously so – in getting into the game, and punching in the codes. Otherwise, you’re not getting any freebies.

On one hand, this is fair enough. There’s only so much stuff that 2K can freely hand out, when grinding and microtransactions are both part of the game. However, with the size of the NBA 2K user base, and its distribution throughout the world, I do feel that 2K could stand to be a little more generous with the Locker Codes; both in giving gamers world-wide a chance to redeem them, and in the rewards that they yield.

[Andrew]

November 2nd, 2015: My Basketball Video Game Collection

So, for the first few weeks of Monday Tip-Off, I’ve been posting my opinions on a variety of subjects. There’ll be plenty more opinion pieces coming your way in the Mondays ahead, but for this week, I wanted to do something a little different. This week, I wanted to talk a little about my basketball video game collection.

When it comes to the hobby of game collecting, I can’t imagine a lot of people are stocking up on basketball titles; after all, basketball gaming is a niche demographic to begin with. Also, as I understand it, when it comes to sports games, a lot of people trade in the previous season’s release when they pick up the current title. For the most part, however, I’ve kept my older basketball games – at least on one platform, when I’ve double-dipped – and more recently, I’ve been expanding my collection with a few bargains on eBay.

As I’ve mentioned a few times on the NLSC Podcast, I’m intending to put them to use for features here on the NLSC in the coming weeks and months. Obviously, we’ve tipped off our 20th Anniversary of NBA Live content – incidentally, more of that stuff is on the way – but there have been quite a few basketball games over the years, good, bad, and just plain interesting. I’m looking forward to talking about them a little more, revealing a few old gems, as well as some not-so-fantastic releases you may have forgotten about.

For now, though, I wanted to give you all a current catalogue of my collection. I’ve been meaning to take a photo with all the boxes, discs, and cartridges, but for the moment, a simple list will have to suffice.

[[Q]]

My collection included:
Live 15 PS4
Live 10 PS3
NBA Jam OFE PS3
Live 09 PS3
Live 08 PS3
NBA 2K7 PS3
NBA 2K7 PS2
Live 06 PC
Live 06 PS2
Live 2005 PC
NBA Street Vol. 2!!! PS2
Live 2001 PC
Live 2000 PS1
Live 99 PS1
Live 98 PC
Live 95 PC
NBA Hangtime SNES
NBA Jam TE SNES
NBA All-Star Challenge SNES
Double Dribble NES

[Andrew]

How many do you still own?

[[Q]]

Not sure where a lot of thtem went or if I still actually have them. Pretty sure I have the NES & SNES ones in a box at my mom's somewhere. I think I still have the Street2 on PS2 and I know I got 2005 & 10 here. JAM OFE was digital so I got that, and I wound up selling Live 15 for $5 to Best Buy, anticipating getting 16 a couple months ago

[Andrew]

November 9th, 2015: Ego & The Modding Community

As you’re no doubt aware from our regular file additions bulletins, we have a very talented and enthusiastic modding community here at the NLSC. We’ve been able to do some great things throughout the years, not only keeping games up to date, but creating new experiences, and even fixing some annoying problems. We can be proud of what we’ve accomplished in our community in terms of modding, and I’m sure we can look forward to many more fantastic releases in the future.

However, while I’ll gladly sing the praises of our community, and I truly believe that we have a good thing going here, there is a darker, more unpleasant side to modding culture. There’s a lot of talent and creativity in our community, which is great, but unfortunately where there’s talent and creativity, there’s often ego. While there’s nothing wrong with having a healthy ego, there are some people who take it too far. That’s when it becomes a problem, and people become difficult to deal with.

Sometimes, the problem simply lies with the individual. Some people are arrogant, rude, and difficult. There’s not a whole lot that you can do about that. However, there are also ingrained aspects of the modding culture we’ve cultivated which contribute to the problem. Difficult individuals are unlikely to change their ways, but as a community, we can work together to develop new attitudes and fresh approaches that benefit the modding community. That’s what I’d like to talk about today.

[Andrew]

November 16th, 2015: The Gaming Rotation

As a gamer, I tend to stick with the genres and video game series that I'm interested in, and familiar with. I don't buy a lot of brand new releases every year, so my gaming rotation is usually comprised of the latest version of NBA Live and NBA 2K, the latest WWE game, a favourite that may be at least a few years old, and the occasional big release if it's one that I'm interested in (such as Grand Theft Auto V, a couple of years back). If I happen to pick up something cheap in a Steam/Green Man Gaming/GOG sale, it'll probably work its way into the rotation at some point, too.

To that end, 2015 has actually been a bigger year than normal for me, in terms of gaming purchases. In addition to NBA Live 16, NBA 2K16, and WWE 2K16 - the series I pick up annually - there's also been Mortal Kombat X and Fallout 4. On top of that, I picked up the PC version of Grand Theft Auto V, to give me something else to play on my new gaming rig. While MK X came out earlier this year, everything else was released (or in the case of GTA V PC, picked up) around the same time. The result is a handful of AAA games that you can potentially spend a lot of time with, all vying for time in my gaming rotation.

First world problems, right? I'm not complaining about it though, just stating a fact: I'm spoiled for choice at the moment. I'm obviously going to be spending time with the basketball games, given that I'm running a website dedicated to basketball gaming and am passionate about them, but beyond that, how do I fit everything in alongside producing content for the NLSC, working a day job, and socialising? Well, I do have a system...sort of...

[Kevin]

Fallout 4...if only my laptop could handle it.....

I'd recommend you to buy and try out State of Decay. Really really fun game and it gives me that "just one more mission" feeling every time I play it.

By the way, Fallout 3 or Fallout New Vegas?

[Andrew]

I don't think State of Decay is a game for me.

It's a tough choice between Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas. It depends on the day really, but the multiple paths in New Vegas probably does give it a slight edge.

[Andrew]

November 23rd, 2015: Moderation in Moderating

August 26th marked my fourteenth year running the NLSC; you may have seen my post celebrating the occasion in the Forum, or on our social media pages. I’d like to think that I’ve done a good job over the years – I’ve certainly tried my best – and improved in the role along the way. Creating content for the NLSC can be time consuming and at times arduous, but it’s something I do enjoy. I also enjoy taking part in the Forum, but that also involves a task that can be even tougher: moderating.

That is to stay, it’s the approach and philosophy of moderating that can be tough. Performing the actual functions of moderating is certainly straightforward enough. However, there’s a delicate balance to maintain, when the aim is to foster a welcoming and friendly community that is as drama-free as possible, while also allowing everyone to speak freely and not feel bullied by the moderators. So, to tip things off this week, I wanted to give everyone a bit of an insight into how we try to maintain that balance.

[Kevin]

Moderating a website this big can really be a handful. As someone who had his fair share of boneheaded moments here in this forums, I'm actually quite surprised I still am not banned. Appreciate the efforts you've put through to make the newbies feel welcome and for being one of the best moderators I've ever seen.

Also, is Larry Nance giving me the finger there? kidding.

[Andrew]

Thanks Kevin, appreciate the kind words! As I said, I like to think that overall I've done a good job, and gotten better over the years. As times change and new members sign up, I hope I can continue to get better. I certainly don't do it alone either, so credit to the rest of the guys for helping to keep things running smoothly.

[Andrew]

November 30th, 2015: My Greatest Basketball Gaming Weakness

“You run a basketball video game website. You must be pretty good at them!” I’ve heard that once or twice over the years, usually when people have invited me to play online. Uh, yeah, sure…I’m, like, the best at them. All those years playing basketball games, watching basketball, playing in the local league as a teenager…yeah, I’m amazing, definitely the best. Absolutely, no question at all…

Just in case my intended tone has been lost in writing…no, of course I don’t actually believe that. I do love basketball, and I’d like to think that I have a fairly good knowledge of the sport. I believe I have at least a basic understanding of all the ins and outs, and in turn, that makes me a little more than competent when it comes to playing basketball video games. I’m a lot better when it comes to playing against the CPU, as that’s mostly what I do. I’ve had some record-breaking seasons playing on harder difficulty levels, but when it comes to playing online, I’m probably just a little better than OK. As I’ve said many times before, online is not my mode of choice, so that shouldn’t come as a surprise.

Still, I’ve won online games before, and I’ve definitely won a lot of games offline. I am, at the very least, competent, capable, and have knowledge of what I’m doing on the virtual hardwood. However, there’s one area in particular where I’ve often struggled in basketball video games. One weakness, one Achilles Heel, one aspect of the game where I’ve never really excelled…

[Andrew]

December 7th, 2015: My Ultimate Fantasy Team for NBA Live & NBA 2K

As I’ve mentioned in previous editions of The Friday Five and on the NLSC Podcast, I’ve become a fan of Ultimate Team since it finally made its debut in the NBA Live series in NBA Live 14. With Dynasty Mode and Rising Star still needing to be fleshed out into deeper experiences, Ultimate Team has pretty much been my mode of choice in NBA Live these past few years. I’ve also taken an interest in MyTEAM in NBA 2K, but I do prefer EA’s approach to the concept, and 2K has a lot more to offer in its other modes. Of course, MyTEAM does have one distinct advantage over Ultimate Team, for me at least: Michael Jordan.

Needless to say, when I drew a Michael Jordan card in NBA 2K14’s MyTEAM, I was pretty happy. With my nostalgia for the players of the 1990s – the era I grew up watching – I also had a lot of fun putting together a 90s squad for my Ultimate Team in NBA Live 15. However, I’ve yet to construct my ultimate fantasy team in either game, though it would currently only be feasible in NBA 2K. I thought I’d tip things off this week by sharing that lineup with you all.

Before we get going…just in case it isn’t clear, this isn’t a squad of the players that I believe to be the greatest of all-time (though there certainly is some overlap with that list). This is simply a fantasy lineup that I’d love to be able to put together to play with in Ultimate Team or MyTEAM, assuming that every player was available in both games. Having said that, let’s begin with my starting five…

[Andrew]

December 14th, 2015: Cheating in Basketball Games

“If you cheat, you’re only cheating yourself.” It may sound like a trite and corny saying these days, but it still holds merit. There are times when it’s fun to use cheat codes or hack a game, and a lot of old school games all but require hint books and walkthroughs, but playing “legit” tends to be the more rewarding experience. Still, if you really want to cheat or cut corners in a single player experience, and you’re having fun doing so, so be it. Even if you do find that it gets boring after a while, you’ve only spoiled your own experience. No harm done, and you can just start all over again.

Of course, it’s a different story once you bring a second player into the mix. The connected experience is a big part of basketball games these days, and something that a lot of gamers really enjoy. However, more and more often, I’m seeing complaints from basketball gamers whose experience has been affected by people cheating online, generally through the use of hacked players in MyPARK. In turn, gamers with hacked players have defended the practice, and dismissed the complaints as petty whining. It’s a controversial practice and a divisive subject, so I thought it was definitely worth taking a look at.

[Andrew]

December 21st, 2015: My Ultimate NBA Video Game

‘Tis the season to make Wishlists…both in the sense that development is well under way for both NBA Live 17 and NBA 2K17, and the fact that for those who celebrate it, Christmas is almost upon us. For some of you, one or both of this year’s games might be in your stocking, but at this point, you probably know what to expect when you get a hold of them. The visions of the NBA video games that dance in our heads – not unlike the sugar-plums that Clement Clarke Moore wrote about – likely won’t be coming to fruition just yet.

In interviews with us and other websites, NBA Live Executive Producer Sean O’Brien has talked about wishing he could take the game he sees in his mind, and immediately give it to us. At the same time, I have to imagine that for Leftos and the rest of the guys at Visual Concepts, the gears in their heads are always turning, as they think of ways to make NBA 2K even bigger and better. And of course, we basketball gamers can come up with some creative ideas as well.

To that end, for this week’s Monday Tip-Off, I wanted to talk about my vision of the ultimate NBA video game. I want to keep things as practical as possible, but for the sake of fantasy and what-ifs, I’m also going to assume that the available technology can handle all of the concepts competently, and that licensing, likeness rights and so on would not be an issue. With that said, what would my ultimate NBA video game be like?

[Andrew]

January 4th, 2016: Why Modders Stop Modding

In my first Friday Five of 2016, I mentioned that one of the things I wanted to do this year was get back into modding (or patching, to use the term that was originally popular in our community). While I’ve shifted towards creating other types of content in recent years, the lure of modding as a creative outlet can be relatively strong at times. As I said in the Five, I don’t think I’ll ever be as prolific as I once was, or sometimes wish that I could be, but I’d like to try and get a little more involved with modding once again.

Of course, there are several reasons that I’ve stepped away from modding in recent years. They’re the same reasons that most modders come and go as the years pass in our community, though since I’m running the NLSC and have found other content that I enjoy producing, I’m obviously still around. With my intention of getting back into modding every now and again, I wanted to talk a little about some of those reasons why modders stop modding. Aside from answering a few questions about why I’m not making roster updates anymore, I’m hoping that it can facilitate a little more understanding in the community, and make the modding scene a friendlier place.

So…why do modders call it quits?