H2H play in Gaming in general is difficult. In its purest form PVP depends on a paper, rock, scissors model that offers Variety, Counters, Balance and focuses on rewarding Timing but simultaneously punishing Spam. At the same time it has to properly implement Risk and Reward gameplay and avoid Single and Neutral Outcomes....you got all that?
Single and Neutral Outcomes destroy H2H gameplay. But what exactly are they anyway? Easy--a single outcome is when a user can trigger an animation or result where they know what the conclusion will be...or if that one outcome happens in the vast majority of instances. Madden 2004 had jet-packing, where you could jump with tall receivers and come down with the ball almost at will. You often see it in 2K19 with this shooting animation, since it results in a block, as soon as it starts savvy users will quickly pass out of it. 2K17 had a mechanic where if you did hands up and someone pump faked you'd do an auto-jump. Needless to say dunks were aplenty as a result. 2K17 also gave us sideline cheese where dribblers ran along the sideline and drew fouls at will if they got bumped out of bounds. Double Teaming is a legacy issue because it results in the offensive player being tied up almost as a rule and all the outcomes heavily favor the defense. I spammed steal at end of this game in 2K17 to prove a point, because I knew the Single Outcome (a steal--the game rarely called reaching fouls) favored me and a foul wasn't a real possibility.
Neutral Outcomes are when users take an action and aren't successful, but there's no negative result. Its the reason spam is a thing. Users hit steal or block over and over and while their timing or position isn't good enough for success, there's no downside for attempting the action repeatedly. Its literally the Anti-Risk/Reward. The worst part? Gameplay forgives all their bad timing but rewards them the instant their timing is good. Its commonly referred to as Accuracy By Volume. The clip below has countless steal and block attempts that aren't successful but only one foul is called--this has to change. Every interaction must have a positive or negative outcome or the experience lacks Accountability.
Countering the other user is the basis for H2H play. One person goes zone and the other guy brings in his shooters, catching DeAndre Jordan on the perimeter with Wall means you break him down off the dribble, Wall caught in the paint means Jordan backs him down, If you have a center who can shoot versus a shot-blocker you go pick and pop, the list goes on and on. In a game last week I had Simmons in the open court with only Kyrie back on defense. To be sure I was licking my chops, it was showtime...then THIS what happened:
Beautiful right? Thats what makes H2H so intriguing. How lame would it have been if the game called a blocking foul or Simmons ran over him for a dunk? When the other user has counters there's strategy involved, its a chess game...when he uses them well? Its the highest level of Gaming. Now sure, he could have tried to block the shot but his rating is 42 so that probably ends with him in a highlight. Strip the ball? Definitely in his skill-set but also very foul-prone. He elected to draw a charge and I was sprinting right at him so it worked--and it should have. Checkmate. The ability to counter and out-maneuver other users is the core of H2H gaming and gameplay that doesn't reward this is not only lacking, its violating the core rules of Peer vs Peer. So you can imagine our dismay when another user falls for pump-fakes, mistimes blocks and steals and gameplay doesn't punish them. Its as big a let-down as you have in gaming. Imagine coming in first in Fortnite and getting server kicked before you get crowned the top dog. UGH.
In H2H play Intent is important. As a matter of fact it might be the most important aspect of user accountability and translating user actions into the game. You get to decide what happens...its your show. Success or failure depends solely on you. But that power comes with a measure of responsibility. If a user gets the rebound and hits shoot instead of pass the game obeys him regardless. If you're "late" on a backdoor pass its probably a steal. This has to be the standard in all areas of gameplay. Ask yourself...what the intent was in the clip below?
I'll tell you (since it was me after all) I thought Green was shooting and was trying to contest with the block button (Contesting Shots should be R-stick towards the shooter, but more on that later) so why would the game reward me with a deflection? If I want to deflect the ball its square--and lets be clear:
I DID NOT DO THAT.
That this play results in a turnover just adds insult to injury. He fooled me and was dropping the ball off to Valanciunas. This violates another of the core aspects of H2H play, you reward Player 1 when he outmaneuvers Player 2, if not, what exactly is the friggin' point? The bigger issue is drop off passes are a staple in the NBA, but they depend on giving the defense the impression you're shooting...and if we can't be rewarded for fooling the other user there's literally no reason to play.
Here are more instances of these "Block/Deflects" so you know how routinely they happen.
Here's a drop-off pass. Isnt it glorious? It works because the defender anticipates a shot...watch Horford get fooled into thinking Fultz is shooting. And it should work 100% of the time when the user does a block command instead of trying to deflect a pass--which is square.
Another of the key tenets of H2H gaming is that you demand the same level of skill from each user. Shooting requires proper timing of the shot meter, passing requires timing and vision regarding when players are open, even rebounding requires blocking out/timing your leap. You wouldn't allow one user to play on superstar while another plays on rookie, so stop requiring offensive players to exhibit a high level of skill while defensive users spam with no regard for Timing and Accountability is unbalanced.
Keep in mind bad gameplay robs us of a genuine hoops experience--even when its to our benefit. Consider me playing this Celtics user in as great a game as i've ever had online. I was chasing and got fooled on a pump fake and landed on him and there's no call? COME ON. I can't tell you how cheap the whole thing felt. Thats just flat-out horrible gameplay.
Later in the same game he's fooled on a pump fake after great timing on his initial challenge. Notice how he times the first block attempt and even uses hands up after. He did really well, but we have to be penalized 100% of the time when we're fooled. Being wrong has to have consequences. EVERY TIME.
For the 100th time: Skilled users don't need or want block timing that ignores our mistakes. Gameplay that holds us accountable and holds us to a hardcore standard has always been the goal. The only purpose of gameplay loopholes is to be manipulated and abused 24/7 by cheesers or when the game gets tight. Hold us to a hardcore standard when it comes to Blocks (and Steals too for that matter) the only reason users pogo-stick around and spam on defense timing-be-damned is because thats what the standard has always been. They've literally never had to do more than that. Establish a smaller window for success and punish bad timing--users will adjust.
Want proof it can work? Here's me playing great position defense with no spam. You'll notice I don't leave my feet unless i'm going for a block and only after the ball is released. This is the standard. Reward good timing, just like in every other area of gameplay--bad timing has to have consequences. On the flip-side you'll see him fall for a fake (with no penalty) and lets be clear, there has to be a Total Paradigm Shift regarding how we reward the defense for making good plays. Its a legacy issue at this stage. Far too many blocks, deflections and other loose balls go right back to the offense (there's an instance at the end of this clip) and its one of the main culprits for offensive/defensive imbalance and user frustration. If there has to be a "stunned" animation from the offensive player after a defensive play, so be it. Defenders should recover 80-90% of their good defensive plays.
Its past time for bad timing with no downside to end. And it doesn't always have to result in a foul, but the days of missing blocks and steals but keeping good defensive position have to end. Risk/Reward gameplay is the standard. At the very least missing has to result in the defender's momentum taking them out of the play like you see with Adams and Horford below.
For the record here's what a good shot block looks like, notice how the user meets the ball at its apex.
One of the other things Accountability also has to do? Stop allowing triangle to contest shots. AGAIN: INTENT. Trying to block jump-shots is Bad Basketball 101. NBA 2K needs to do away with it once and for all. It should have foul-heavy outcomes when we use it. NOTE: Shot contest would be much more intuitive and dynamic if it were R-stick in the direction of the player shooting. In the heat of battle its natural to point at the stick at the offensive player and it just feels more natural. Most of all, its an effective but balanced way to defend whether you're stopping a drive to the basket or trying to close out on a shot from deep.
Well thats all for now, I hope you guys enjoyed it, thanks for listening. In part 2 we'll discuss countering User Contests, Long Passes, Wrong Personnel and making Steals skill based. Until next week, have a great weekend.
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