Realism In Football Replays

Not what you think

Realism In Football Replays

I came across this thread the other day — and it got me thinking about what “realism” means in these football replays.

Look at the first post:

This was followed by a series of answers that varied in approach. Some blamed the poster for not understanding the system or for not being as good at play calling as the computer. Others blamed the game for not hitting the average number of yards per carry that the player put up in real life.

I think, however, that this is all based in a misunderstanding of how the game engine actually works.

Action PC Football is not a game designed to reproduce the exact stats that happened in real life. In fact, there’s really no way it could possibly do this.

This is because of all the variables involved. Unlike baseball, football is a sport hampered by small sample sizes and constant substitutions. The statistical record is notoriously incomplete, certain combinations of offensive and defensive plays are so rare that full analysis is impossible, and it’s difficult to separate the performance of a good ball handler from his blockers.

It’s a game designed to be played based on player ratings — not on exact player statistics.

So is it possible to get something realistic? Or should we change our expectations?

What do you think?