After everything I’ve covered on NBA 2K11, it’s only right that I do a more extensive post on the mode I’m most interested in: My Player.
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I spend 99% of my time on 2K10 playing My Player. A mode where you control one guy on the court in a basketball game is one I’ve dreamed of for years. 2K10 finally implemented it, but it was buggy and fairly limited. This year, a lot of focus went into My Player. Even though all I wanted was trades and contracts, this week a lot was revealed about my favourite mode.
Monday: Press Conferences
Following games in 2K11, your player will be asked pertinent questions by the media. You will be given an option of answers to choose from, categorised as Professional, Arrogant, Loyal, and Indifferent. Sadly, 2K will not be giving us a Ron Artest option. But they did reveal that your answers will have an impact on how your teammates and organisation see you, your league-wide popularity and local fan base. All of these, of course, having an impact on the mode as a whole. Local fan base will result in different crowd reactions in games, from MVP chants to trade calls. If your teammates and organisation love you, they’ll be more willing to include you in plays and the roster management of the team. Make them hate you, and they’ll start freezing you out on the court and look for trade avenues. Up your league-wide hype and…
Tuesday & Wednesday: Sponsorships
…big companies will want you on their roster. Company names thrown around early have been Gatorade, Sprite, 2K Sports and, of course, Jordan. I want to be the cover athlete for NBA Elite. This is less exciting than press conferences, because that has a tangible impact on the basketball side of the game. It’s unclear whether sponsorships is much more than a gimmick. A noticeable benefit, like being paid in skill points or cash which can buy gear/skill points, would make this mean something and would get me more excited.
But it’s not all pointless. Get yourself some superstar hype and you’ll gain access to a really cool feature: your own custom kicks. I don’t know how extensive the customisation on these shoes will be, but you’ll have your own signature shoe, a shoe you can name yourself and at least colour yourself. You’ll even start seeing other players wearing your own shoes in games. Mine will be called the Jordan Clutch series shoes. As for the individual shoe, I’ll wait to design it first.
Now *this* is one cool gimmick.
Thursday: The Insight
The developer insight was the big daddy of the My Player news. It was officially announced that the Draft Combine, a feature that served like a demo to US only gamers last year, is incorporated in this year’s game for everyone. This means more games to boost your player’s attributes before he hits the NBA and an actual draft. It’s a small thing which makes the whole experience more authentic, rather than having teams invite you to training camp and everyone playing for the Lakers or the Heat or their hometown team.
Remember that teammate grade? The grade that measured how smart you played and let you rack up skill points without ever having to score? Remember how occasionally it would infuriate you by penalising you with stuff that isn’t your fault? Well, it’s been improved. The foundation was there last year, but all sports are circumstantial. That’s just a fact. Last year’s system was a very absolute system. Your man is your man, and if he scores you get blamed regardless of who’s actually guarding him. That sort of thing. 2K11 will host a much more relative system, able to keep up with the nuances of a game. You’ll probably still get penalised occasionally when you weren’t at fault, but it’s great to see such an important feature get some love. Other small features have been added to make the game a richer experience. Attribute caps to prevent 7 foot 5 centres who juke like CP3 and run like Usain Bolt, skill point buyback, and the ability to sim to the end of games. Small features, but these things can make or break games sometimes.
Trades will be available too. Trades! The ability to demand a trade adds a lot more flexibility than last years game. But you don’t get to control who you go to, of course. And you might not get traded at all, leaving a lot of bad blood. But I’m very glad it’s in there. Sadly, however, there was no mention of contracts. Last years system gave you a choice of 3 teams to go to at the end of every year, and even that boasted glitches. Sometimes you’re asked if you want to stay with a team you’ve never played for or, as happened with me, you get the option to move and play for ” “, which is hardly helpful. The insight made it no clearer how free agency will work. And given the recent summers free agent madness, you’d think 2K would see the value in letting players wreak havoc and play the free agent market.
Friday: Magazine Covers
Sorry if this seems dismissive of me 2K but, meh. Call me old school, but I’m only really interested in stuff that has an impact on the game of basketball. Unless there’s some effect being on billboards and magazine covers have on what goes on on the court, I’m dismissing them as gimmicks. Showing your guy is famous might appeal to some, but I bought a basketball game. I just want to play ball.
Saturday: Teammate Chemistry
Nothing new here. Another announcement that how we deal with the media and teammates will impact what they think of us. If you become a disruption to your team, they’ll freeze you out on offense. This was announced in the insight, but it’s a good feature so I don’t begrudge it getting pushed. Thinking about it again did make me wonder: how severe will the freezing out be if you’re the starting point guard? It could change how the whole team plays.
What does it all mean?
Overall, I’m excited about My Player in 2K11. It’s taken some big steps forward from last year’s experiment. But it’s also gotten closer to that teetering edge. Adding elements like trade demands, relations with teammates and management, etc. add a level of depth to your player’s career that really lets you immerse yourself in his basketball career. The whole championship chase will be more thrilling, engaging and memorable with this level of depth.
Avoiding this should be more than enough motivation for 2K.
But a lot of what I’ve seen is gimmicky, pointless. I know today’s players live the high life, and I know endorsements and sponsorships are a part of their life, but you have to be careful with this. Water it down. Give us only the really cool features, like signature shoes, and we’ll like it. Give us everything you can think of, and one day you might have a game that sees more of you talking to businessmen and pimping your crib than actually playing basketball. And some gamers have already been asking for this in comments. It’s a slippery slope fallacy, I know, but warnings never hurt. I don’t want The Sims, or even NBA Ballers. Buy NBA 09. They gambled on story over gameplay and lost. All that bling-before-ball is something I hate when I see it in today’s players. I certainly don’t want to see it in My Player.
Related Articles
- Answering Questions About NBA 2K11′s Postgame Q&As [Clips] (kotaku.com)
- NBA 2K11 Has A Shoe Fetish [Sports] (kotaku.com)
- NBA 2K11 to feature post-game press conferences (gonintendo.com)
