Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

[GisherJohn24]

NBA 2k14 was a great game. But where did it struggle in? The modes. They were a little buggy. What if those modes were just removed completely? Where would the gameplay be? What about removing game modes all together and do one year where you just focus on the gameplay and NOTHING else. Harsh reality for some, but in the end, what is more important to you?


I look back at sports games of the past. Sometimes when modes were removed, they played better on the field (or court). Live 10 was pretty much gutted of modes, yet, as most of you know, it was probably the best NBA Live ever.


NBA 2K had lots of modes over the years, but we can agree, they're modes were kind of fussy at times, not to mention the problems with online. All sports games seem to suffer in similar ways when you ADD too much.


Me personally? I would rather have gameplay be the focus. Remove everything, till the gameplay is exactly how it should be. Somewhat what EA did for NHL 15 on Next gen. It's gutted, but like the article says on Operation sports, the new engine is a blast to play with and the game itself plays brilliantly.


I don't mind when developers take this route.


Gutted game with better gameplay > More modes and quesitonable gameplay

[Equinox831]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

You brought up NHL 15 as an example. Everyone hates it and EA is being condemned for putting out a half finished product. The answer isn't to go back a decade and it's not a good business choice to release an inferior product.

Nobody likes to give 2K credit for anything in 2K14 besides the graphics, but honestly it was one of the best playing games they've put out. Sure, online was pretty bad, but I've had an absolute blast playing MyGM recently to scratch my basketball itch.

I for one am not interested in a game where it plays great, but all I can do is basic quick matches. That leads to no replay value and just a boring game. If 2K did decide to just go barebones and focus on strictly gameplay the only way I can see it doing well is if they release it at a massive discount. Nobody's paying $60 for that, just like nobody wanted to drop the $60 on NHL this year.

[mqtcelticsfan]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

I'd legitimately not purchase 2K for that year if they gutted it. I know a lot of people would agree with you, but I personally find more enjoyment from a full franchise mode than just great gameplay.

[The 24th Letter]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

2k11 was arguably the best 2k ever and wasn't lacking in modes.

I don't think there's a correlation between the two TBH.

People are off base with the the logic that "2k is working too much on X, so X is being completely ignored", while we should know by now that different teams work on different aspects of the game.

[jeremym480]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

I'm not sure I understand the point of this thread...
Why would they gut the modes that they just spent an entire cycle (or more) working on again? What's the purpose of gutting everything to improve one facet (albeit the most important) of the game? Plus, I'm pretty sure that there are different devs who work on game play versus modes...

Personally, for me it's about a 50/50 split. A game could have the best game play ever and if I could only play Play Now games I wouldn't be playing it very long (see EA UFC). Also if gameplay isn't exactly perfect I would be willing to look past a few flaws if the game has a fun and engaging franchise mode and vice versa.

Ultimately though I just don't see what one really has to do with the other, as the both need to be worked on and improved year in and year out. No more gutting unless it's for a new system (which should be almost a decade away). Have a plan and build on that.

[Pokes404]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

I'm actually OK with this when it's the first game on a new generation of consoles. I can understand having to build a new engine and understand if the devs need to focus their attention towards establishing a solid foundation from which to build on for the rest of the generation. After all, you can't build a new engine within a one year development cycle, so you really only have that one chance to get it right. Take a look at Madden on the PS3/360. If you don't get the gameplay foundation solid at the start, you end up spending the whole generation trying to put bandaids on a gunshot wound.

That being said, once you've "set the bar," so to speak, with that first game, you can't go back and start gutting modes without suffering major backlash from the fans.

[GisherJohn24]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

I'm not sure I understand the point of this thread...
Why would they gut the modes that they just spent an entire cycle (or more) working on again? What's the purpose of gutting everything to improve one facet (albeit the most important) of the game? Plus, I'm pretty sure that there are different devs who work on game play versus modes...

Personally, for me it's about a 50/50 split. A game could have the best game play ever and if I could only play Play Now games I wouldn't be playing it very long (see EA UFC). Also if gameplay isn't exactly perfect I would be willing to look past a few flaws if the game has a fun and engaging franchise mode and vice versa.

Ultimately though I just don't see what one really has to do with the other, as the both need to be worked on and improved year in and year out. No more gutting unless it's for a new system (which should be almost a decade away). Have a plan and build on that.

Focus basically. the more you add, the more problems you have with the additions correct? Case in point. Titan fall. No single player whatsoever, but what did you have left? An amazing multiplayer game with not too many bugs. Again, look at Live 10. Best effort yet on the court, gutted modes for the most part. NBA 2K11 and even 12 were towards the end of the last gen technology, and they obviously had everything in place. But I'm talking now for next gen. You have a new system, new engine, new everything, I think it's smart to start off small, focus on the game on the court, worry about modes later. That's just me. Replay value is important, but doesnt' mean a hill of beans if you're getting everything to work the way it supposed to and the engine itself is only "just okay". Again, read that NHL 15 article and you'll see this is exactly what EA did. Live and Madden also started like that on ps2 and 360. Totally gutted games with a new system. It makes sense to me.

[Equinox831]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

Focus basically. the more you add, the more problems you have with the additions correct? Case in point. Titan fall. No single player whatsoever, but what did you have left? An amazing multiplayer game with not too many bugs. Again, look at Live 10. Best effort yet on the court, gutted modes for the most part. NBA 2K11 and even 12 were towards the end of the last gen technology, and they obviously had everything in place. But I'm talking now for next gen. You have a new system, new engine, new everything, I think it's smart to start off small, focus on the game on the court, worry about modes later. That's just me. Replay value is important, but doesnt' mean a hill of beans if you're getting everything to work the way it supposed to and the engine itself is only "just okay". Again, read that NHL 15 article and you'll see this is exactly what EA did. Live and Madden also started like that on ps2 and 360. Totally gutted games with a new system. It makes sense to me.

Okay, but 2K is in year 2 on next-gen and 2K15 looks way better than 2K14. If you made this thread last year more people would be with you, but that's not the way to go now. The gameplay is already good too.. I don't see why you're suggesting this for 2K.

[jadert]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

NBA 2k14 was a great game. But where did it struggle in? The modes. They were a little buggy. What if those modes were just removed completely? Where would the gameplay be? What about removing game modes all together and do one year where you just focus on the gameplay and NOTHING else. Harsh reality for some, but in the end, what is more important to you?


I look back at sports games of the past. Sometimes when modes were removed, they played better on the field (or court). Live 10 was pretty much gutted of modes, yet, as most of you know, it was probably the best NBA Live ever.


NBA 2K had lots of modes over the years, but we can agree, they're modes were kind of fussy at times, not to mention the problems with online. All sports games seem to suffer in similar ways when you ADD too much.


Me personally? I would rather have gameplay be the focus. Remove everything, till the gameplay is exactly how it should be. Somewhat what EA did for NHL 15 on Next gen. It's gutted, but like the article says on Operation sports, the new engine is a blast to play with and the game itself plays brilliantly.


I don't mind when developers take this route.


Gutted game with better gameplay > More modes and quesitonable gameplay

Sorry, but I don't think 2K should look at EA as any sort of model of how to develop and market games. 2K14's gameplay was just fine. There were issues, no doubt; but not enough to strip all gamemodes to work on gameplay.

Looking at the big picture, 2K has been wildly successful at basketball in the gameplay, game modes, and marketing department. EA may have to borrow a couple of pages from them instead of vice versa. The masses have spoken

[HowDareI]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

Completely the opposite actually. 2K has added modes and improved gameplay, while Live focused on gameplay and still struggled.

2K is at a point where they can focus on refining the game instead of starting over. They'd lose a lot of sales dropping modes.

[GisherJohn24]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

Completely the opposite actually. 2K has added modes and improved gameplay, while Live focused on gameplay and still struggled.

2K is at a point where they can focus on refining the game instead of starting over. They'd lose a lot of sales dropping modes.

hypothetical, if new modes are added and full of bugs that might be a gamebreaker correct? Nobody likes buggy modes when they don't work like they're supposed to. But I do agree though, as long as the bugs are not gamebreaking, (like crashing etc)

[ksuttonjr76]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

hypothetical, if new modes are added and full of bugs that might be a gamebreaker correct? Nobody likes buggy modes when they don't work like they're supposed to. But I do agree though, as long as the bugs are not gamebreaking, (like crashing etc)

It's a gamebreaker if that's the ONLY mode you play. I would never pay full price for a gutted game unless it's the first game on a new gen console. Besides, that's what patches are for.

[etched Chaos]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

Gutting the game modes is the last thing anyone should be doing, there's a reason why there are so many modes, it's because different people want to play different things. By gutting the game modes you're sacrificing sales to appease a niche part of the market. Not to mention the battering they'd take if they spent all that time and focus on gameplay only and then botched it.

Games companies have dev teams to cover different facets of the game, by gutting game modes and going gameplay only they'd basically have to layoff 66% of the workforce then replace them with a bunch of gameplay specialists. Chances are the end result will not be indicative of a singular focus on gameplay.

Also, there's more to enjoying a game than how it plays on the court, it's also about the presentation, the audio and the depth of the modes involved. For me, quick matches are an endless bore, after a few games with nothing else to break up the monotony I'd move on to something else.

So, with your grand 'gameplay only' plan Gisherjohn, you've not only obliterated the quality of the final product, you've alienated 95% of the fanbase and on top of that, the remaining 5% will probably find issues with your gameplay too. Oh and you'll probably have bugs, as you fired all your testers to accommodate the gameplay drive. On the positive side, it'd still be considered a better game than NBA Elite.

[HowDareI]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

hypothetical, if new modes are added and full of bugs that might be a gamebreaker correct? Nobody likes buggy modes when they don't work like they're supposed to. But I do agree though, as long as the bugs are not gamebreaking, (like crashing etc)

People, including me, loved Crew & that was broken.

I think if the foundation is there and with a vision, people will buy into it.

Gameplay is the entire foundation of the game [obviously] & it's solid, so just focus on solid modes.

[dpower15]

Re: Gutting game modes to make gameplay better for NBA 2k series.

Sorry, I have to disagree pretty big time with this whole gutting game modes philosophy.

Would a new engine potentially take the game to a new level? I suppose so. But can you imagine the absolute outrage if there wasn't any sort of franchise mode?

I remember a couple years ago when Madden removed the ability just to edit players in franchise mode and how much of a revolt there was. I literally can't imagine the rage if modes were completely stripped.