DDS: Pro Football Manifesto
Posted : Wednesday, 3/26/2008
My biggest sports joy comes from pro football and with Gary Gorski I look forward to creating the next generation of football sim. I watch all the games weekly, track the stats and transactions, play in multiple fantasy leagues… basically I live and breathe the stuff just ask my wife and kids. Gary presents me with an opportunity to fulfill a dream and that is to make a pro football game that I will play. A tall order as I've played board and computer games from the 1980s to now and never quite found the game that gives me the complete experience. From the 2d display, play-calling, play creation and deep stat record keeping, I know this is the game I've always hoped for and the best part is I get to make it with Gary and the fans of his games. Join us for another great Wolverine creation.
-Tim Plum
Assoc. Developer - Draft Day Sports: Pro Football
Me taking on football? What's that about? Believe it or not, I am a football fan and a fan of football games - two in particular that really shaped my gaming interests and will give you an idea on what you can expect from me with this one. The first is an old, old game called XOR Challenge. This was a revolutionary game for its time. You had hotseat head to head play and the action played out right in front of you in 2D form as your "Os" tried to march down the field and score while avoiding the eleven "Xs" lining up across from you. You called your play and saw the result - much like with our current basketball games. I guess that's one reason why I have always included the 2D display in my games - I felt it really got me into the game in XOR and you can expect that to be part of Draft Day Sports: Pro Football as well.
But no game has ever taken more of my time than Front Page Sports Football. I remember coming home from high school (yes I was in high school at the time and yes this does make me a geek) and racing to the computer to lead the Cowboys to the championship. I don't know why I chose the Cowboys but I still remember my favorite money passing play that I created to this day: Darryl "Moose" Johnston on a little curl right from the backfield to the middle of the field. Oh how many third downs I escaped with that play. But I soon learned that solo play wasn't even enough so what do you think I did when I got to college? Spend endless nights passed out drunk? No of course not. I formed a FPS: Football Pro 97 multiplayer league. The league was called the UFFL and to this day it is still in existence. I chose my new favorite team, the New England Patriots and began my way towards multiplayer football gaming glory. What a team I had - Drew Bledsoe, Curtis Martin, Terry Glenn, Ben Coates, Willie McGinest… they were monsters in FPS '97. I handed control of the league to a good friend who still does a great job keeping it going and I am but a mere owner trying to get my team back to the championship. I think about how groundbreaking that game was. That game made me a sports sim fanatic. It ruined all future versions of sports console and PC arcade games because nothing could match the realism.
The thing is no football game - in fact no sports game period - has been able to match that game. I think about all the extra work needed to run a multiplayer league. Running program after program written by guys like Shaun Sullivan, Lorne Sundby, E.A. Gelat and others to have a league website with all of the stats, to have salaries and a free agent process, to be able to edit rookie classes, to have a historical record book. Even with all of the add-ons needed there was no better gaming experience for me. I remember Front Page Sports Football '99. It was the game that would end all sports games. Finally the best sports simulation ever would take its career mode to the level it needed to go with the financial side of the game. I remember the dismay at realizing the game was flawed, the crushing feeling of hearing that it was so bad it was beyond repair and finally the dreaded word that killed the best sports sim ever: "recall". There have been countless attempts at football games since then. Both arcade and simulation; some good, some bad, some awful, some that never saw the light of day - but much like Tim, I haven't found THE football game yet that could match that experience so that's what we're aiming to do. My goal is to make the football game I was waiting for when Front Page Sports Football died its quick and sudden death. This is going to be the game that bridges the gap that Front Page Sports Football fans have been waiting almost a decade for. It won't have a NFL license - but it will be fully customizable as all of our games are. It won't have flashy 3D graphics - but it will have the 2D display that our games do. Most of all, it will be fun. It's going to be a football simulation that produces accurate stats (that's Tim's specialty) and really sucks you in with a beautiful interface (from the extremely talented Paul Yuan) and gives you deep, interesting game play complete with player personalities, realistic financial models and most importantly the ability to sit down, not be overwhelmed and have fun - just like in the good old days.
We'll have more details as time goes on. Right now we've opened up a forum to discuss what YOU would like to see in the game. Maybe even discuss some of the things you've loved about simulation football through the years and what you've always felt was lacking. We know what we think is missing but we want you to be a part of this too. So come be a part of this - we'll be there to interact with you in our forums, answer questions (that we can) and listen to what you want. One thing that made the Front Page Sports series so special was the community that was built around it. We're taking the opposite approach - we want to build the game around our community and we're looking forward to seeing you in our forums. Let's get ready for some football!
-Gary Gorski
Lead Developer - Draft Day Sports: Pro Football
