Monday Tip-Off: The Ups & Downs of Early MyCAREER
We’re at midcourt, and the ball is about to go up…it’s Monday Tip-Off! Join me as I begin the week here at the NLSC with my opinions and commentary on basketball gaming topics, as well as tales of the fun I’ve been having on the virtual hardwood. This week, I’m tipping things off with some thoughts on the ups and downs of the early stages of MyCAREER.
It’s been an interesting, but at times frustrating, journey for career modes in NBA 2K. As popular as franchise modes became after being introduced in the early 2000s, there was undeniable interest in a similar experience from the perspective of a single player. Being an RPG style of mode, as My Player evolved into MyCAREER, it began to incorporate cinematic stories. These days, many gamers see the traditional/NBA side of MyCAREER as a means to an end; a way to grind and level up their MyPLAYER avatar for the online scene. Of course, others still enjoy the NBA career experience.
Something that has remained fairly constant, however, is that it’s a long way to the top. Sure, the grind is worse now, in no small part because it encourages paying for quicker upgrades, and boosting Take-Two’s recurrent revenue. Even if you’re willing to pay to skip the grind, it costs more than before. I’ve talked about that many times, and that isn’t really what this article is about, but it does bear acknowledging. In any case, while there are issues with pushy microtransactions, and occasionally a story that doesn’t match up with our starting ratings, the early stages of MyCAREER are about a raw prospect’s journey to success. As tough as it is, it can also be quite fun.
I was reminded of this upon diving into NBA 2K15 MyCAREER in order to finally cover it for Wayback Wednesday. Additionally, while I’m focusing on the early stages of MyCAREER, I’ve noticed a similar feeling while levelling up in NBA Live 18’s The One, as well as playing through 24/7 mode in NBA 2K6. Even when you know it’s coming, it’s always a rude shock when you’re thrown back to square one in a brand new career mode game. When you’re accustomed to dominating with an overpowered avatar, starting over may leave you wondering if it’s the game that’s broken, or if your stick skills have seriously atrophied, or you’re not as good as you thought you were!
That contributes heavily to what I’ve previously dubbed the New Game Blues. I’d also suggest that it’s a key factor in MyCAREER gamers having negative first impressions of certain titles, because a terribly underpowered avatar isn’t terribly fun to play with! The early stages of MyCAREER are extremely challenging by design – which again, is an issue when you throw in recurrent revenue mechanics – but the muscle memory of months of playing with a levelled-up player make it even worse. This is why I’m a keen advocate of better starting ratings that at least make an avatar viable out of the gate, with a fair and overall enjoyable journey to maxed-out ratings and superstardom.
This is all well-known; I’ve certainly talked about it numerous times in articles and on our podcast! I believe the situation could be fairer to gamers, without compromising the integrity of the journey, or 2K’s profits (which I’d argue compromise the integrity of the journey to begin with, but hey, let’s not get into that right now). However, I’d be lying if I said that there wasn’t something special and oddly enjoyable about some of the struggles we face early on in MyCAREER. Yes, it’s somewhat contrived when our starting ratings are so low that it’s questionable as to how we’re even a professional basketball player, but there’s actually a really fun aspect to being such a raw prospect.
Look, there are many reasons that I’m enjoying playing through multiple seasons in NBA 2K14 MyCAREER. My player is maxed out with an established history, and each campaign is an engaging journey filled with opportunities to set single game and ultimately career records. I love being able to dominate on the court, and orchestrate the action so that Terry Hanson is also a star. At the same time, when your avatar is that powerful, the challenge isn’t always there. The games are less unpredictable, the results less in doubt. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I know I’m going to play my 41 minutes, put up big numbers, and generally wreak havoc on the virtual NBA.
In the early stages of MyCAREER, while you’re still upgrading from a dismal 60 Overall and fighting for minutes, there are no such guarantees. You’ll be on the bench for long stretches, during which leads will slip and deficits will grow without your intervention. As a rookie with much to prove, your teammates won’t feed you the ball as much, and your calls for passes will be ignored more frequently. It’ll be a struggle to put up numbers with such low ratings, and when you do have a good game, those stats will be more realistic. You’re not going to be as in control, which will only add to the frustration of losses, subpar performances, and an overall lack of domination.
Here’s the thing, though: while you’ll naturally want to advance past that stage of your virtual career as soon as possible, there’s something strangely enjoyable about it. It’s the only time in a career mode that you’ll be able to role-play as…well, a role player! Filling that underdog role and finding ways to contribute when you’re not calling the shots is challenging, but fun. There’s undoubtedly an appeal to all the uncertainty. A powerful MyPLAYER can turn what should be a borderline Playoff team on paper into a dynasty for the ages. When you’re not the star with far more control over the action, the depth of your team’s roster matters, and the results will absolutely reflect it.
Individually, you’ll have a tougher time pulling off cool moves, racking up stats, and basically doing whatever you please on the virtual hardwood. Even simple plays won’t come easy when your skills and athletic ratings are still low. Again, you’ll never want to be stuck at this stage of a virtual career for too long, but it’s rewarding to succeed as a low-rated player. You have to pick your spots and play smart, making the most of your minutes. There’ll be a smaller margin for error when you’re not the star, but you can feed off that pressure. There’s a window early on in MyCAREER where you’ll be competent but still far from OP, leading to realistic stats and a stimulating challenge.
Beyond the challenge that comes from lower ratings and fewer minutes, the early stages of MyCAREER are where most of the interesting scenarios and flavour content can be found. Throwing it back to the beginning with My Player in NBA 2K10, the first step in your journey involves the D-League. It’s an opportunity for more minutes and easier competition to begin with, but then you have to prove yourself at the NBA level as well. MyCAREER in NBA 2K21 took a similar approach, offering a choice between college and the G League. Both paths had their ups and downs, and that early stage of MyCAREER is also where a bulk of the mode’s cinematic story took place.
Generally speaking, that’s how it’s been since MyCAREER adopted that approach. As much fun as I’m having six years into NBA 2K14 MyCAREER, the most interesting cutscenes and story beats occurred during my rookie campaign. The same can be said for other stories that primarily take place during your first season, such as in NBA 2K17 and NBA 2K18. The “Prelude” approach of other stories has focused on the journey to the NBA, shifting the focus to gameplay and some off-court tasks once you’re in the league. Both approaches have merit, but the common theme is that most of the bells and whistles – the unique moments – take place early on in MyCAREER.
Playing through the Pro-Am Tour in NBA Live 18 was a similar experience. The starting ratings aren’t as low and it’s an offline mode to boot, but the later rounds in each Pro-Am tournament were a real battle while I was still levelling up. Once you’re maxed out, even the star-studded quintet in the Drew League’s championship game isn’t nearly as intimidating. Of course, it’s still fun to go back and play those games as a star player, especially with the objectives that unlock gear and other prizes. They don’t have the same tension, though; that white-knuckle, lean forward in your chair, “let’s take this seriously” gameplay that comes when the odds are stacked against you.
24/7: Road to the EBC in NBA 2K6 for Xbox 360 was like that as well. Although some of the challenges were tough despite a powerful avatar – I’m in no rush to replay those reversed controls games anytime soon – many of them aren’t nearly as difficult when you know you can break ankles, posterise defenders, and knock down threes with ease. The campaign did a good job of ramping up the competition in order to remain challenging as your skills increased, but they’re no longer as intimidating. Going 1-on-1 with LeBron James was tough, but by that point, it was actually less daunting than beating a sharpshooting role player in a long range shots-only game!
Needless to say, this isn’t unique to the virtual hardwood. Indeed, it’s an RPG trope in general, so it’s only natural that it affects the RPG-oriented career modes in basketball video games. I’m inclined to draw comparisons to Fallout 3 and New Vegas here. The late game can still be challenging if you’re playing recklessly, and some areas and quests – particularly those that were DLC – were designed to be super challenging, even for high level characters with top tier items and weapons. Conversely, even with scaling enemies, you’ll feel far more vulnerable while you’re still at a low level with basic equipment, especially on your first playthrough where everything is unknown.
Compare this to other genres, such as an old school platformer, action-adventure, or even an open world game such as Grand Theft Auto. The early game tends to be easier, as it’s all about learning the controls and various gameplay mechanics, and gathering items for the harder part of the journey yet to come. Bringing it back to basketball games, arcade titles such as NBA Jam match us up against weaker teams at the beginning of the tournament ladder, though rubber-banding can still make them more challenging than you might expect! Nevertheless, you still feel more powerful and equipped to face the challenge compared to the early stages of MyCAREER.
Another video game trope at play here is the decision to frontload the most interesting content so that it isn’t missed. Video games have a long history of underwhelming last levels and late stage gameplay, at least compared to the early game. This is of course because the early game needs to draw us in and keep us hooked, and not everyone makes it through to the end. I’d suggest that most gamers only play a year or two in MyCAREER, or if they’re more interested in the online scene, as long as it takes to help them level up. With that in mind, it makes sense that the story and some of the extracurricular activities wrap up long before your MyPLAYER calls it a career.
And of course, in the best case scenario, these unique moments and fun scenarios in the early stages of MyCAREER keep things interesting while we’re on the grind. As frustrating as it can be, there is something that I enjoy about being a low-rated player who isn’t dominating the league and leading a team to victory after victory. One of the drawbacks of the connected experiences and narrative-driven approach is the inability to role-play an entire career as a role player. To that end though, as my NBA 2K14 MyPLAYER ages, I’m considering removing or replacing some Signature Skills and Dunk Packages, to simulate a decline and make it tougher to dominate in every game.
Obviously, there is a downside to the early stages of MyCAREER, one that I’ve talked about at length and acknowledged here. The pursuit of profits has made it increasingly painful, and even before that was as big of an issue as it is now, the New Game Blues were absolutely a real problem. There’s undeniable satisfaction in leaving that stage behind! Still, it’s the part of the journey that features most of the flavour content, and the on-court experience is an underdog story that we can get invested in. As long as it doesn’t drag too much, it’s exciting to start from the bottom and work your way up. It’s a blast to dominate, but there’s a definite charm to the early stages of MyCAREER.
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