Career Mode!

[Prime!]

I was reading an Official Xbox Magazine article on E3 games and NBA Live 2003 was there. They have after a short 1 paragraph preview of NBA Live:

WATCH FOR: A player career mode that lets you create a hoops star and build his skills over time.

Woot! Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Plz comment.

[Jonesy]

Sounds promising.

[Scary Hedo]

WATCH FOR: A player career mode that lets you create a hoops star and build his skills over time.

hopefully, been waiting for this a long time...

[Andrew]

I was reading an Official Xbox Magazine article on E3 games and NBA Live 2003 was there.

NBA Live 2003 or NBA Live 2004? Are you sure the article wasn't talking about a feature that was slated to be in NBA Live 2003, but then dropped?

With all the attention that has been given to developing Dynasty Mode, improving the gameplay and so forth, I'd be very surprised if there was a mode where you controlled just one player (I still think it wouldn't work as well as the traditional multi-season mode) in NBA Live 2004.

Also, it's strange that all the other previews seem to have missed this feature, while only one magazine noticed it. Such an addition would surely get more recognition - that alone makes me skeptical.

[Prime!]

Bah, stupid me, I meant to say 2004... Im so used to sayin 2003

[Andrew]

Yeah, I'm familiar with the whole automatically typing an incorrect name situation. Probably a by-product of touch-typing without correct form.

Nevertheless, I'm skeptical about the chances of this mode being in NBA Live 2004.

[Metsis]

This whole player career mode... Well, it would be sweet, but alas I think that we are not going to see it in Live 2004. They have revamped the whole franchise thing and hopefully fixed all the bugs in it too, so there really isn't too much room for this on the schedule. Unless it is very simple in which case it would be best if it were never done.

And the thing that only one magazine bothered to mention about this trivial addition, well that tells a lot too...

[Power And Proud]

A career mode would be awesome. I would be doing that instead of running a whole team. And with the mode of using only one player, we (the player you are controlling) can choose where to sign as a FA, but have no say in being involved in a trade.

[nmje2k1]

i think it's just the old create a player thing
in madden 2003 there are several screens shown while youre loading a game. they're meant to tell you what's in the game and on one it says create your own star player player and see if you can take him to the hall of fame and stuff like that. Maybe in Live they just gave the players more of a character or whatever you might be able to review the awards and nominations a player has won over the years
but even it's just that it would be cool since I'm a stat freak

[Tuomas]

but what about if your overall is 69 and your sitting on the bench?

[Metsis]

but what about if your overall is 69 and your sitting on the bench?

This is the first problem that pops into mind... And it would be quite bad for the whole career mode. You should then have to be able to increase your stats somehow to make it work. Or maybe adding CBA teams and go play there for a while.

But still I say that this propably will not be in the game. And I'll believe it when I see an official EA listing about it. Don't get too hyped about this and you will not be that dissappointed...

[nmje2k1]

i wouldn't believe it even if ea said it was in the game

[Andrew]

This is the first problem that pops into mind... And it would be quite bad for the whole career mode. You should then have to be able to increase your stats somehow to make it work. Or maybe adding CBA teams and go play there for a while.

I too question the feasibility of the single player mode. If you only control one player, and you do not get playing time, does that mean you have to sit and watch until the coach puts you in the game? Will there be some games where you watch 48 minutes of action while recording a DNP-CD?

To me, it doesn't seem like a great idea, for that very reason. Most people lament that they don't have enough time to play 48 minute games with the current features, let alone having to sit there waiting for an opportunity to actually do something.

I doubt we'll see it in the game for some time, since it really only makes sense to have one career/multi-season mode. Franchise/Dynasty Mode appeals to a wider audience, and is much deeper. You can take on many roles - coach, GM, all the players. The idea is to give the user the ability to run an NBA team and also be any player on the roster. It's a concept that works - controlling a single player (without controlling playing time or anything else) would, in my humble opinion, not work out as well.

Don't get me wrong, it's an interesting idea to throw around. But realistically speaking, there's problems here and there that would make this mode difficult to sell to a wide audience. Limiting your control and duties might make for a more personalised and challenging scenario. But less tasks could easily lead to boredom, and a lot of sitting around, watching.

[Jonesy]

If you only control one player, and you do not get playing time, does that mean you have to sit and watch until the coach puts you in the game? Will there be some games where you watch 48 minutes of action while recording a DNP-CD?

The only way that could work is if there was an option to simulate to the next time you are actually on court. For example if you are only a scrub you might only get into a game if you team is absolutley flogging the other team. Just a thought.

Still won't happen though, if history has shown us anything it is that ea are just as likely to take stuff out as they are to put extra stuff in.

[Colin]

Also if you want this you could use player lock in normal "dynasty" mode, and turn the controller off for your team while your player wasn't on the floor.

[Andrew]

The only way that could work is if there was an option to simulate to the next time you are actually on court. For example if you are only a scrub you might only get into a game if you team is absolutley flogging the other team. Just a thought.

A similar thought did occur to me, but it seems like a waste of gameplay to have a mode where you might play two minutes every five games. There's just more appeal, at the very least more gameplay, to being able to control all the players on the court.

[SiLk]

lol,that wuz my idea.hey i'm just glad that it is possible that the idea i said is gonna b in the game(although they didnt get it from me),who cares???i could see it now(dreams )

[Andrew]

Given that it's only been mentioned in one preview, and in a fairly vague kind of way (as nmje2k1 said, it could simply be a fancy way of saying you can create a player and watch him develop in Dynasty Mode), I doubt it will be in NBA Live 2004.

[Power And Proud]

But the thing is, if you do play the Player Career Mode, you ain't gonna choose a player who spends most of his time sitting on the bench. You are gonna choose a big star, or a young player who is getting good minutes to develope, and his minutes just keep growing.

[Andrew]

But unless you play 48 minutes, you're going to spend some time just sitting and watching the action - especially if you get into foul trouble. And yes, this time could be simulated, but that really wouldn't be the same game - it wouldn't be much of a game at all.

I really don't think the idea would work as well as hoped, or sell the game as Dynasty Mode can. It works in a game where controlling one character (like a pro wrestling game) can fit in with the gameplay, but it just seems a little impractical for a basketball game.

[sixerfan03]

I agree. It won't work in reality. However, for online play you should be able to play 5 on 5 pick up games with all 10 players being manually controlled.


Would that work? I'm just thinking off the top of my head.

[Andrew]

Assuming that all 10 people could use a controller (that would probably require an adaption for additional gamepads), it would be possible. But for most people, 4 human, 1 CPU player would probably be the maximum (2 USB gamepads, 1 on the game port, keyboard).

[Prime!]

This preview was from Official Xbox Magazine @ E3 2003 where they played the game. It's still a 50/50 chance of it being the real deal, because it might be an Xbox only feature.. Oooh, maybe!

[Andrew]

It just seems strange that no one else has mentioned it. Surely it would be receiving more attention, even if it is an Xbox only feature.

[Shadow]

This talk about a career mode is in other previews like the one at Gamespy.