Video Games and the World of Tomorrow

So which is it? Winning Eleven or Fifa? I used to play Bases Loaded II for Nintendo. I used to pretend that the players on my team were the players from the Major League movie. The Nintendo game didn't have enough space to keep track of season stats so I was forced to do so, on my stomach, on the floor, tallying singles, doubles, etc with a pencil and paper. Around the 100 game mark of the season I finally grew sick of the game because a couple of my players were batting over .400 and I had the game on the hardest level. I realized the game was unrealistic. Right then, I had my motivation to be a video game programmer. But maybe my ideas would never have sold. Most people play video games for fun, not to simulate reality. Most people I know get frustrated when they get shutout in a baseball game or a soccer match. They want to hit homeruns and score goals. Most people enjoy having constant success in video games. This is all backed by the fact that any baseball game I've ever played skews the offensive categories in the same way they did back in the old Nintendo games. What I thought was lack of necessary technology was actually video game programmers' winning strategy. Sure, now his name is really Jack Wilson, and damn if that doesn't look just like his batting stance, but ho! wait a sec, where'd he get this new homerun power? Is the game simulating the future of baseball, already injecting it's players with steroids? Obviously this is what fans want. Few (Lou) enjoy the thrill of having their no-hitter broken upi n the ninth by a bloop dropping in over the first baseman's head. MLB2K1. That was a video game. Every moment was nerve-wracking. Make one mistake with a high changeup and you can kiss the game goodbye. It's poker or chess at it's greatest. He came low with that fastball last time, will he try it again? Will he dare a high curve, hoping i'll think it's a ball? But the game has evolved since. Most people don't seem to enjoy the second by second tension of the quick passing and checking of a hockey game. Instead they just remember the goals, the touchdowns. It's like they're barely present for the game. I think this because I used to be the same way. I used to play Bases Loaded II completely fueled by imagination. A guy goes of for his last twelve and I feel like he's in a slump. He pulls off a clutch hit in the 7th and I feel good for him and a smile comes to my face and I might pump my fist and shout him encouragement using his imaginary name. Now, however, I see the game more as its programming. Or I realize that it was my fault that he struck out swinging. It comes down to your will to win the game. The more you wish to win the less imagination you can utilize. This usually means also the less fun you have. But then comes the new breed of gaming systems and with these comes the most important aspect that a game can now have - physics. Now, you can use your imagination to your advantage. Whip a grenade off the wall jutting out in front of you so that it bounces off and over your shoulder and right into your enemy's path. Begin dragging the ball one way until the defender over-commits and then slam it out in front of you diagonally before you fake a shot and then flick a through ball down the wing, all just to get your crafty winger into position for a high-lofted cross. There can be nearly unlimited creativity in a game with fantastic physics, but it takes a certain kind of gamer to appreciate it, one who has evolved to take advantage of it. Or you can just mash buttons and hoot and holler and shout out the real-life name of your star player after he hits a homerun, as if it was he that just won the game and not you.