OS Chat: Do Franchise Modes Need To Be More Accessible To Get New Users?

[Steve_OS]

Sometimes in the OS Slack channel we have some really good discussions that are completely organic...

Written By: Operation Sports

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[spursup]

In trying to satisfy both the casual and more hardcore(for lack of a better term) gamers, you lose both. There were allusions in the article to creating different experiences for people that want more or less realism. I say take it further and create different game modes that cater to each. This way developers stop trying to find a middle ground that doesn't exist.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Not a fan of Chris Sanner's position here as imo this thinking is pretty much everything that's wrong with franchise modes right now. Pitch it to the lowest common denominator. Make everything so easy and basic that it's not even interesting anymore. Divert tons of resources away from innovation and into hand-holding, marketing, and making the package 15% shinier. Only focus on the things that amp up microtransaction revenue...

And why? To get someone's attention span on a new game or mode for 5 solid minutes before they drop out of it and do something else anyway? Never mind the guy who's been buying the title for 10 years and plays it year round--let's not worry about what that guy is looking for. Why are we always so concerned with new users at the expense of existing customers?

Alienating your "loyalists" should be a major concern for development studios. Maybe not this year or next year--imo people are really ingrained in their purchase habits and slow to change--but at some point these people will just jump ship like I did with The Show this year and Madden 5 years before that.

The 30-year-old male sports fan that hates video games is the exception, not the rule. You both basically have unicorns for brothers. And certainly "my brother won't play this game" is not really a sturdy argument for basing an entire "franchise mode is too hostile to newbs" position on. There is already automation out the yang in these games and frankly it's not even hard to learn how to use; it's just that most people who are unwilling to grasp the nuances of a sport/game are also unwilling to read a manual or participate in a tutorial or do anything really...and why should they? This is not the target demographic and no amount of coddling will change that.

[tril]

just rename season mode to* multiple season mode.* make it bare bones.* include a draft,* and allow trades.** all the financial contracts and resigning* of players could be handled* by updates.*

the article is correct when they say most gamers dont want to spend the time doing the in depth things in sports games.** OSer's are the exception not the rule.* we want depth.*

as a person who likes the in depth franchise experience.* I say those modes can always get deeper into Ai logic.** Bad contracts, poor fits on rosters, poor performance should all mean something when trying to move and sign players.*
In addition salaries demanded by free agents also need to be reflective on what is happening in "said" franchises universe.*** a year where there arent* quality 5 star athletes available, a 3 star athlete should command and get 5 star money.*** things like that goes a long way in bringing out realism in franchise modes.*

[TheWarmWind]

This article boggles my mind.

Forget the whole hardcore player vs casual argument for a second, I'm not even going to get into that.

What boggles my mind is that you successfully identified a demand to ease access to new players without realizing that the OS community exists for this reason. We are a community resource that is constantly helping new players acclimate to the systems of these games.

The question you should be asking is what can we do to ensure we get and keep the attention of new players in order to fill the demand of learning these systems in an easy digest way?

Can we outreach to developers to ask about putting links to our community resources in their front end?

Is there a way we can improve our own front end to make things more appealing to the new player?

Instead you guys are sitting around yakking about how you want game developers to take all of this potential revenue away from you.

[goalieump413]

This conversation is confusing accessibility with approachability. Accessibility is a discussion where a game or game mode(s) is reconfigured to be playable and enjoyable by people who would not otherwise be able to play the game/mode. Whether it's through a disability, language barrier, or other element of the game, accessibility opens the game to a broader potential audience.

Approachability is different. Here, the game is reconfigured to meet the expectations of an ever-changing demographic or audience. It's not a conversation about whether the game/mode can be played be a larger audience, but rather, if that audience is willing to invest their resources in the game/mode.

These two definitions are very different conversations.

I love franchise/career modes. I'm willing to invest my resources into them. But they do get stale after a couple/few seasons. Instead of making a choice between arcade, season, or franchise modes, I think there's an untapped middle ground out there....

Just like a rent-to-own contract, why can't game developers build their titles so that a player can switch their mode on the fly? Why not start simple, maybe just for the action, then if things work out, switch the game mode to a 'career' style mode? Keep all the history, stats, etc in the background until the player chooses to commit. Maybe this option could attract a larger franchise audience through an 'inverse attrition' process, allowing players to start playing in whatever form they prefer.

After all, how many people commit first, then start dating?

[frostbyt]

Companies should not dumb down Franchise modes to appease new players. Give the new comers other modes to play around with and if interests peaks them enough to try Franchise then maybe add in some on screen menus/guidance that veterans can turn off and let the new person learn that way.

Sometimes the best way to learn is to fail. Making a franchise bare bones would ruin the whole experience.

And in all honesty CASUAL sports gamers probably do not care for Franchise because they just want to get into the action....which is fine for them...but why change Franchise modes for someone who isn't really even going to play it....

[jeremym480]

I'm the opposite of Chris's brother. In my 30's, love sports, love sports games but only play 2K because (as much as I love football) Madden just doesn't have the depth that I want. I would say that Madden for 10-12 years ago had more depth than it does today. I need a game to me more than just playing the game on the field. I want interesting and realistic things to do off the field as well. And losing things like player morale, positions battles, realistic coaches, etc. etc. and lack of franchise innovation is the biggest reasons why I don't buy Madden anymore.

You can always make things more simplistic by using automation, but outside of using our own imagination, we can't make games deeper ourselves. If the choice is over simplifying the game for potential news sales and risking alienating your base or making the best deepest game possible to keep your base happy and maybe adding more tools and tips for noob's to learn, then I know which one I would choose.