Sports in video games: invented and not very ..

Sports simulators are undoubtedly the main conveyor of the gaming industry. The next version of FIFA, NBA or NHL has always been and will be more profitable than a bold experiment, like fresh Football Tactics & Glory. But not everything obeys the market requirements, and then truly unusual sports projects are born, which I will talk about later.

It’s no secret that video games have long have an integral competitive component. For 20 years, the industry has come a long way from local fights of enthusiasts to professional tournaments.

The drama and the intensity of passions in such competitions sometimes make you experience the same feelings and emotions as real matches on real fields, venues, courts or tracks. This makes us understand that the place of video games in the world of sports is now undeniable. A lot of events are held everywhere and regularly in many disciplines, from Dota 2 to Football Manager.

What if you look at these two concepts from the other side? And what is the role of sports in the world of video games? Yes, thanks to modern sports, several companies now have a stable income from football, basketball, hockey or formula 1 races. But all these series for the most part, although whom I am deceiving, are absolutely all conveyors due to low competition in this field.

But the fantasy of a person is endless. Why create another football simulator when there is already FIFA and PES? Why not come up with something of your own or add color to what has already been invented? And what if you weave a sports component into your invented world, and make it the basis of its existence?

Most likely, the developers arose such questions when creating the games that we will talk about today.

Every year, thousands of gamers solve the children’s problem “Find 10 differences”

Underfective journey

Let’s start with one of the relatively fresh examples. Pyre – Creation of unique Supergiant Games, creators of Transistor and The Banner Saga. It is logical that it would be just stupid to expect a simple sports game from them. And really: before us is not only the newest, but also the most non -standard project from the list.

Sports here, this is not entertainment for the crowd and not competition in some discipline, this is an important part of the device of the local universe. This is not even a sports game, but the ritual conducted to reduce his sins. The participants of this action are asocial elements sent from a civilized outside world to a not very civilized lower world, where they have to cleanse.

The rite is a rugby with magic and special effects. 2 teams of three people strive to take possession of the luminous sphere in the center and drag it to the enemy base until the fire of this base goes out. Victory in the ritual brings the team freedom.
Of course, the mechanics have a cloud of nuances that allows you to develop various tactics.

Non -trivial setting, bewitching visual and magical music: not bad for the game about magic rugby

At the same time, the world is unusual in itself, and even filled with colorful characters, which are interesting to observe not only in battle, but also outside of it.

And, of course, in Pyre, in the case of the importance of rituals, everything is the main thing in history, in the interaction of the characters and the influence of the player on them. Read here sometimes it has to be almost more than fighting in the arena. And victories in the ritual are not an end in itself. The player has the right to lose, but then he will have to face the consequences.

Pyre is not a game at https://slots-bonus.co.uk/ all about “unusual rugby”. This is a scrupulously built exotic story in the best traditions of The Banner Saga and Transistor, but in a completely different role.

More Tachdaunov, to the god Tachdaunov!

Let’s move from a magic rugby, to his direct heir to American football. This contact sport is the most popular in the state.

Hard game with an abundance of clashes, struggle, high risk of injury to any part of the body, as well as the likelihood of death – yes such a sport would perfectly fit into the uncompromising world of war, pain and violence … as, for example, Warhammer fantasy. Unless, add commands of different races and more injuries and deaths. And as a result, we will get Blood Bowl.

Blood Bowl, like his progenitor Warhammer Fantasy Batts, came to the world of computer games from board fun, inheriting a step -by -step system. Two players act as coaches of their “Blade” teams. Each of them has 11 players on the field and 5 on the bench. The field can be called any even surface with the marked test area. And no yards, otherwise the orcs will not understand the rules.

Yes, this is a desktop wargam about American football in the world Warhammer. And what is it?

Also on the field there is a ball-yield, which must be pulled into the test area many times. This must be done within 2 half of 8 moves. Formally the rule of the invented game ends. Of course, reasonable races tried to establish standards of struggle and honest game, but a little sense. Orcs, chaosites, dark elves, gnomes, goblins shorter than everyone on these norms.

Therefore, faces can only be beaten up by standing, only if the referee does not see or does not want to see. Yes, the bribery of the judge, the dirty game, the fire balls on the field and, the horse, the doping here is in the order of things. Only Meldonium is prohibited.

Such “Spartak – Dynamo” would collect entire arenas … in ancient Rome

And, it would seem, everything is wonderful: the carriage of races, the bloody massacre on the field, unobtrusive rules, good fans, ready to tear the player sent to the stands. And all this in a parody ironic wrapper as part of an incredibly epic universe. But remember that I said the moments earlier?

Blood Bowl has desktop roots.
That is, every at least some important action lies on the verge of a cube. And I assure you that on your course he will definitely give out a proud unit.

And this means that the player should be ready for the fact that in the first matches his team on the field will be a crooked collective farm (there was to be a joke about the Russian national team), regardless of the race, the level of complexity and the degree of preparedness.

For the players of your team it will be just
-Drop the ball when trying to pick it up
-Drop it when transmitting
-Slip out of the blue after sprint
-Crawl into an exhibited fist of the enemy
-When trying to cut the opponent, die yourself. And so on

And after any such jamb, the move immediately goes to the opponent.

And only having repeatedly suffered the bullying of the random, the player understands that each damn movement, each damn idea needs to be checked and double -check for execution. Each move must be carefully thought out, because artificial intelligence or an experienced opponent instantly punishes for a mistake.

And the dynamics of bloody American football evaporates. Yes, the limit in 16 moves for 4 minutes hesitates to act actively, but this does not very much save the situation.
Is it bad or not, everyone decides. Those who prefer a carbon monoxide, active struggle and crush, pass by, and fans of tactics who are not afraid of anger of a cube, and prefer a step -by -step gameplay, this project can catch.

Wheels instead of legs

Well, fans of fuckers and fun are a direct road to a game originally based on European football. True, from football there is only a ball, gate and stands full of fans. The field is closed, and the players here are super -fast toy machines that can jump, drive along the walls and even fly a little. This, of course, is about the sensational Rocket League.

You can’t say much about this game. The authors took the well-forgotten Supersonic Acrobatic Rocket-Powered Battle-Cars, reduced the name, added effects and a delicious picture, focused on multiplayer and hit 2015 ready.

Further, the developers actively filled their creation with content: new cars, new cards,
New modes, such as hockey and basketball, and also added microtransactions – in short developed as they could.

At the moment, Rocket League is one of the e -sports disciplines. The prize fund of the main tournament is $ 250,000.

For an accident, neither a fine nor a red card.

Cards, money two swords

Well, the latter would like to remember one precedent in the history of video games. The fact that the Witcher 3 will become a legendary game, everyone knew even before its exit to the shelves. The ambitious Polish project was supposed to become either a masterpiece or a powerful failure. But no one could have thought that the cult status in addition to the project itself would receive additional activity in the form of a card game.

Gwint since the release of wild hunting has already acquired a separate game and fanbase. But there is one moment here. Guint – gambling collectible card game, a sort of mixture of Magic the Gathering and poker. And the question arises whether Gwint can be considered a sport in the Witcher universe?

On the one hand, in reality, only one card game is officially sports. This is a bridge. Sports poker also existed, but in 2009 he was deleted from the All -Russian sports registry. And finally, Hearthstone – a virtual collection card game – is officially considered e -sports discipline.

You can say Hearthstone father

On the other hand, what, to unveil my cholera, reality? This is the devil’s Devil, in the damn Middle Ages. What is the sport? Yes, and from alternatives Gwintu can be brought, except for jumps, knightly tournaments and fights with drunks in taverns.
But, given that the real championships of enthusiasts are held in the framework of the universe, you can make a concern.

In any case, there are enough original sports in the world of video games. I did not mention many of them, such as, for example, a computer adaptation of Quiddich from the Harry Potter universe or recently released Laser League. And the most pleasant thing is that even those games that I talked about are completely different. And from the point of view of gameplay, and from the point of view of the idea, and even from the point of view of the audience.

And I could now spread in the discussions about the diversity of our society and the unifying power of our hobby, but it is better to leave this right to think for you. For Sim, allow me to leave.