Why I Don't Play 'Be a Player' Modes
 

I don’t like "Be a Player" modes. At least, not these Be a Player modes.

The first version I played was Road to the Show from MLB 07: The Show. I still remember thinking at the time that "boy, this was it." A mode I have dreamed about for years. The skinny kid who can barely throw a ball sixty feet, six inches in real life can finally be a fire baller, pitch for the hometown Jays and single-handedly lift them from the basement all the way to the World Series. I don’t know which required more suspension of disbelief: me being in the big leagues or the Jays winning anything.

But as I went further into the game, it became monotonous. I found myself going through season after season while hoping for more. The goals were cool, the games played fine, and it was neat that I could request a trade -- the Jays were awful. But was that it? I could not help but feel that a player's life was much more interesting than that -- even without the extracurricular, Dennis Rodman-like stuff.

To be fair, it was Sony San Diego's first foray into this mode, and I didn’t expect the studio to include many bells and whistles. But has the mode really changed substantially from that point on? You create your virtual self, sign with a team, improve your attributes, win some things (or languish in mediocrity) and maybe change teams a few times. So I would argue that, no, it has not changed that much.

Toiling as an aspiring screenwriter -- I know, my articles are good evidence as to why I am a perennially aspiring writer, as opposed to a working one -- make me take a particular interest in a game’s storytelling elements. Who is my character? What is the game world like? What is my player’s relationship with that world? Simply put, I can’t help but feel that this "world" is drastically underdeveloped in most games.

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I agree. I think a mode...or perhaps a whole game that lets you live the life of a star athlete would be great. I do think spending the money that your player earns is a must. Why care how much he makes if you can blow it? A game like this should allow you to blow your money on cars mansions, or to be charitable with it.

Great write up as always.

Well said. I'm really not a fan of the "Be a Player" modes either, as has been said I think for those modes to be successful it really needs to be something beyond just participating in the game. I almost think it would need to be a separate game, with RPG-like elements.

haha same here !

Good read, but now you are talking about a game completely different than a sports game. You are talking about a sports RPG and there is no company that is doing this. You are basically talking about SIms meets MLB The Show and I would guess more than less people would not like this game. IMO

Seriously? You think a Sports based RPG would be liked by the minority? A mode like that would be embraced by casual gamers and causual gamers is where the cash is. I myself, would love a 'be a player' mode with this level of depth and immersion, I find the current offerings lacking.

To answer your question "do we really want The Sims?" I offer a resounding YES! I would die for a game with the on-field stuff like The Show has and then having a life outside of the game like The Sims. That part in The Sims where you leave to go to work? That's when you'd go to your practice/game that day and play like you normally would. I'm probably in the minority but I think this would be awesome.

MLB Power Pros had something like this in the Life mode but it needs to be fleshed out.