09-21-2020, 12:37 PM
(This post was last modified: 09-21-2020, 02:03 PM by AsylumParty.)
5) Write 800 words or more on something that interests you. It could be related to statistics, to a league issue you take seriously, or a niche part of history that doesn’t fit neatly into either of the above categories. This must be directly related to the league, so don’t wax 800 words about your team’s Werewolf server. Be warned that freedom comes with risk, and this category will be judged especially stringently for anyone trying to spew complete nonsense.
As I've written the past two seasons, there are different elements of the interpersonal nature of the league that fascinates me. That said, I think that I'll take a different approach this time around. I want to discuss the Draft Day Sports.
The first time that I ever saw the sim, I think I was like many others that did not know what it would look like - disappointed. The fantastic idea of the league that I had been presented - at least, what I had perceived - was represented in dots? Of course it was too good to be true. But by the end of the game, I'll admit, I was not quite hooked, but it had not taken long to grow on me. I was actually a bit invested in my dot, which familiarly enough, is a bit of a running joke among others as well. Since then, clearly, I have grown to harbor a love-hate relationship with Draft Day Sports. I want to begin with some of the negatives, or things that might be done better, as the vast majority of this consists of praise for Draft Day Sports. Every year I count on new, wonderful implementations and upgrades to the base that Wolverine Studios have established already. Alas, every year I seem to be let down by the minimal, un-asked-for features and, particularly, the lack of asked-for features. Wolverine could certainly stand to listen to feedback and implement that in their game more frequently. Of course, as I said, I want to clarify that I do, in fact, enjoy the sim as it is. I love the strict focus of an indie studio on accurate simulation, rather than a half-bit Madden game. I really appreciate that the game is as customizable as it currently is (though, it could certainly stand to add more user-customization).
I want to branch out at this point and elaborate further on the awesome user-customization and capabilities already available that adds to the immersion necessary to actually be invested in your little dot. I think that Draft Day Sports get a lot of flak for it's lack of such, but I think that is conflated with the lack of meaningful progress *from* this point, rather than what is available. Modifying formats, for me, is huge. Be it the format of the playoffs, or even overtime can allow us to experiment as a league that attempts to emulate the National Football League with a number of limitations. Some of the limitations are number of teams and funds. So having the ability to adapt to these limitations and still maintain our goal of professional football emulation is critical, in my opinion. Further, player creation, customization, trading, and editing is incredibly easy. Of course, having several hundred active members make this a chore no matter how you look at it, but it could be much more difficult than it is, and I think Wolverine Studious has done a tremendous job of maintaining an easy-to-use functionality that is a big help to our league, especially considering the limitations that I mentioned earlier. Additionally, being able to customize things that are graphical improvements in a game that clearly does not make graphics a focus is very much appreciated. What I'm referring to are things such as the endzones (that now feature Chika), the logos, midfield, and uniforms. These really help in making teams differentiate themselves from one another. The fact that we can discuss things like branding that are also relevant in professional leagues is thanks in big part to Draft Day Sports' capabilities. Something else that is hugely complimentary and critical to this league would be the historical aspect. Games like Madden that tout the claim simulation football, often enough, do not provide any historical, or few historical additions. These play well in more minor awards, like those that occur week to week, but are very crucial in awards that occur over a player's career, like the hall of fame, or even season-to-season, like seasonal awards. Breaking it down even further, measuring players based on week-to-week, or seasonal and career stats is very important for a league like ours, which is based entirely on the simulation aspect. So, of course each of us wants our player to be a hall-of-famer, but with our index provided by Draft Day Sports, we have the opportunity to watch that struggle, from our bad games to our best ones each and every week. I know that this sounds like a commercial or advert, but I think it is important to emphasize the capabilities already allotted to us before considering where we go from where we currently are. And it is even worth mentioning things that our league does not make particular use of, but can still be compelling for users. Something I enjoyed looking at when I first started was the newspaper that covers things like stand-out performances across the league, as well as trending teams, be it upward or down. It is just another aspect of Draft Day Sports that lends itself to an immersive experience.
As I've written the past two seasons, there are different elements of the interpersonal nature of the league that fascinates me. That said, I think that I'll take a different approach this time around. I want to discuss the Draft Day Sports.
The first time that I ever saw the sim, I think I was like many others that did not know what it would look like - disappointed. The fantastic idea of the league that I had been presented - at least, what I had perceived - was represented in dots? Of course it was too good to be true. But by the end of the game, I'll admit, I was not quite hooked, but it had not taken long to grow on me. I was actually a bit invested in my dot, which familiarly enough, is a bit of a running joke among others as well. Since then, clearly, I have grown to harbor a love-hate relationship with Draft Day Sports. I want to begin with some of the negatives, or things that might be done better, as the vast majority of this consists of praise for Draft Day Sports. Every year I count on new, wonderful implementations and upgrades to the base that Wolverine Studios have established already. Alas, every year I seem to be let down by the minimal, un-asked-for features and, particularly, the lack of asked-for features. Wolverine could certainly stand to listen to feedback and implement that in their game more frequently. Of course, as I said, I want to clarify that I do, in fact, enjoy the sim as it is. I love the strict focus of an indie studio on accurate simulation, rather than a half-bit Madden game. I really appreciate that the game is as customizable as it currently is (though, it could certainly stand to add more user-customization).
I want to branch out at this point and elaborate further on the awesome user-customization and capabilities already available that adds to the immersion necessary to actually be invested in your little dot. I think that Draft Day Sports get a lot of flak for it's lack of such, but I think that is conflated with the lack of meaningful progress *from* this point, rather than what is available. Modifying formats, for me, is huge. Be it the format of the playoffs, or even overtime can allow us to experiment as a league that attempts to emulate the National Football League with a number of limitations. Some of the limitations are number of teams and funds. So having the ability to adapt to these limitations and still maintain our goal of professional football emulation is critical, in my opinion. Further, player creation, customization, trading, and editing is incredibly easy. Of course, having several hundred active members make this a chore no matter how you look at it, but it could be much more difficult than it is, and I think Wolverine Studious has done a tremendous job of maintaining an easy-to-use functionality that is a big help to our league, especially considering the limitations that I mentioned earlier. Additionally, being able to customize things that are graphical improvements in a game that clearly does not make graphics a focus is very much appreciated. What I'm referring to are things such as the endzones (that now feature Chika), the logos, midfield, and uniforms. These really help in making teams differentiate themselves from one another. The fact that we can discuss things like branding that are also relevant in professional leagues is thanks in big part to Draft Day Sports' capabilities. Something else that is hugely complimentary and critical to this league would be the historical aspect. Games like Madden that tout the claim simulation football, often enough, do not provide any historical, or few historical additions. These play well in more minor awards, like those that occur week to week, but are very crucial in awards that occur over a player's career, like the hall of fame, or even season-to-season, like seasonal awards. Breaking it down even further, measuring players based on week-to-week, or seasonal and career stats is very important for a league like ours, which is based entirely on the simulation aspect. So, of course each of us wants our player to be a hall-of-famer, but with our index provided by Draft Day Sports, we have the opportunity to watch that struggle, from our bad games to our best ones each and every week. I know that this sounds like a commercial or advert, but I think it is important to emphasize the capabilities already allotted to us before considering where we go from where we currently are. And it is even worth mentioning things that our league does not make particular use of, but can still be compelling for users. Something I enjoyed looking at when I first started was the newspaper that covers things like stand-out performances across the league, as well as trending teams, be it upward or down. It is just another aspect of Draft Day Sports that lends itself to an immersive experience.