Monday Tip-Off: Never Say Never (But I Probably Will, Again)
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 why we should never say never when it comes to basketball games and modding, even though I probably will.
As a Millennial, Don Bluth movies were part of my childhood. Some of them I saw a bit later on because I was too young (or not yet born) when they first came out, but they certainly had an impact on me. That includes An American Tail, the story of a young mouse named Fievel who is separated from his family during their journey to the United States. It’s a classic children’s film with some memorable musical numbers, one of which is the uplifting “Never Say Never”. It’s one of those iconic scenes from a movie that I watched when I was very young that became embedded in my memory.
I’d like to say that the message also resonated with me. In a way it did, but I’ll admit that as much as I try to be optimistic, open-minded, and imaginative, there have been times when, like Fievel, I’ve resigned myself to the notion of “never”. To that point though, it’s refreshing when your pessimism is proven wrong, and a lesson that we should never say never…well, to some things, anyway! When it comes to basketball video games and modding, I’ve been prone to writing off possibilities out of hand. This has led to some incorrect predictions and reminders to think outside the box! So, while I’d like to pledge that I’ll never say never again, I’m sure that it will happen.
That’s not because I prize cynicism and pessimism; quite the opposite. It’s just that I prefer to temper my expectations and be delighted, rather than get hooked on an idea that’s highly unlikely and be let down. I’ve seen the latter happen many times in our community over the years. Someone will throw out a fun idea that they’d love to see in an upcoming game, and start to anticipate it. Someone else will agree that it’s cool, but caution that nothing like that has been announced, so maybe don’t expect it. The first person will get their hopes up anyway, and then get upset at the developers for not delivering something that was never even promised, which is hardly fair criticism.
Of course, the unlikely and unexpected do happen. As I said, declaring “never” has led me to make some incorrect predictions. I disagreed with the speculation that the Charlotte Bobcats would be in NBA Live 2004 a year earlier than they needed to be. History was on my side – the Toronto Raptors and Vancouver Grizzlies weren’t added to video games before 1996 season releases – but lo and behold, there they were as a bonus team! I also predicted that historical challenge modes would never return, yet since then we’ve had the Jordan Challenge 2.0 and Mamba Moments. I stand by my rationale when I made those predictions, but the point is that my “never” was wrong.
When it comes to modding, I’ll admit that I’m guilty of saying “that’s impossible”, only for someone to discover that it can indeed be done. Again, I’ll defend that stance in so much as the idea in question wasn’t possible by any known means at that time, but a definitive “never” can (unintentionally) shut down attempts to experiment. Mind you, when someone asks about a modding idea that’s far-fetched, it’s rather difficult to concisely explain that it’s not possible as far as we know, and there probably isn’t a way of doing it, but let’s not close the door on it just in case, but let’s also not get our hopes up because the chances are slim. It’s easier to just say that it can’t be done!
Again, it’s actually great to be proven wrong when a previously unthinkable idea is proven to be viable, because now there’s a cool new thing that the community can do. The downside is that it looks like you’re trying to pour cold water on any ambitious modding ideas, and indeed may have inadvertently done so, when the aim was simply to answer honestly. This is a discussion that came up in our Discord, when Murat – who has been releasing some fantastic fixes for NBA Live – mentioned that there are many old topics where possibilities were abruptly shut down. As vetmin pointed out though, if there’s no known method, then “it’s not possible” is a reasonable statement.
Still, when JKD32332 posted a topic asking if it was possible to import jumpshots from NBA 2K12 into NBA 2K11, I kept both Murat’s and vetmin’s words in mind as I responded to the query. I wanted to be clear that no one has shared any such mods or methods of accomplishing that, and thus it isn’t possible as far as I’m aware, while also adhering to the principle of “never say never” and leaving it open for anyone with knowledge to try it. It’s easier said than done, because the definitive answer comes across as discouraging, but to paraphrase vetmin, saying that an idea may be possible, but who knows how and good luck figuring it out, isn’t very helpful to anyone either!
Also, when someone’s keen on an idea, a propensity to never say never means that they’ll be reluctant to let it go, even when they’re told it’s not feasible. Sometimes you have to be blunt, as some people will re-word a question or make a similar request, either because they don’t understand the reason, or they’re hoping the answer will somehow change. “Can you put the dunk contest from NBA Live 2005 into NBA 2K14?” “No, you can’t just copy and paste modes into different games like that.” “Oh, OK…how about the three-point shootout?” “No, for the exact same reason!” These are conversations that we’ve had, and admittedly, it can make us curt in future responses.
That’s not to justify it, though. The aim is to be a friendly and helpful community, and that does require both patience and a willingness to explain. It’s fair to say “nope, no one’s found a way to do that, and it seems unlikely”, but in a way that makes it clear that anyone with knowledge and a knack for reverse-engineering is certainly welcome to try. I can’t promise that I won’t drop a “never” ever again when it comes to a crazy idea for modding, especially when it’s something like putting a mode from NBA Live into NBA 2K. With that being said, I’d prefer to keep a more positive or encouraging tone in mind while still providing a definitive answer, as per what we currently know.
The same goes for games. After seeing the expansion Charlotte Bobcats included, the return of historical challenge modes despite their lack of microtransactions, and the implementation of MyNBA Eras, “never say never” seems like a good philosophy! At the same time, there is wisdom in keeping your expectations low, and not counting on certain ambitious and difficult-to-implement ideas until they’re announced. Also, I’d suggest that we can pretty much write off some possibilities barring sweeping changes to video games as a whole, such as the removal of Season Passes, loot boxes, Virtual Currency, and all of the predatory mechanics in both MyTEAM and MyCAREER.
However, while it’s sensible to keep things real, it’s also important to let ourselves dream. We should be enthusiastic about our favourite games, and be imaginative in our suggestions for future releases. Granted, we’ll avoid disappointment if we keep in mind that some ideas are unlikely and the reasons for that, but otherwise, it doesn’t hurt to throw out wild ideas and let the developers be the ones to say “no, that’s not happening”. Look, I’m not expecting Take-Two to “CTC” and get Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Rasheed Wallace in the game, but we should still ask for it! We just have to be prepared that it’s not going to happen, and be ready to mod them in.
As for modding, the “never say never” philosophy is one that I’d like to adopt for my own projects as well. There are exceptions, of course. While it’s possible that I might make a current roster for NBA Live 07 PC, it’s highly unlikely to the point where I can say that I almost certainly won’t! I don’t like the game, and there’s basically no demand from retro basketball gamers to update it. Still, I want to keep an open mind about trying different projects for various games, and see if I’m able to work out some things that have stumped me, or always seemed impossible. Murat’s work with NBA Live 2005 through 08 has definitely inspired me to take another look at a few ideas.
Furthermore, keeping an open mind about old games and giving them a second chance has been so fulfilling; not just for content creation, but in discovering some new favourites and adding them to the rotation. I can’t even say that I’ll never play a terrible game like NBA Live 07 for Xbox 360 again, because if nothing else, morbid curiosity and having a laugh with Dee on Parsec are reason enough to revisit the duds! I’m more confident about saying that I’ll never have a lengthy playthrough of a season or franchise in a game like NBA Live 07, because it simply isn’t good enough on the sticks for me to want to play it that often. Still, I won’t say I’ll never revisit it again.
The ironic part of “never say never” is that you are still saying never to something, so in a literal sense, it’s an impossible philosophy to follow! Figuratively though, it’s about keeping an open mind, being optimistic, and not dismissing a challenging idea before giving it a proper try; or for that matter, discouraging anyone else from doing so. I will say that it’s sensible to remain realistic, ideally without being jaded. To that end, I can’t promise that I’ll never utter “never” in regards to basketball gaming and modding ever again, if only so that I avoid disappointment and seemingly fruitless endeavours. I’d rather be realistic in my expectations, and honest about feasibility.
Once again though, whenever it’s good news, you don’t mind being proven wrong! I’d prefer to avoid giving myself and others false hope, rather than entertaining wild ideas without caution. A Mark Twain quote comes to mind: “There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist, except an old optimist.” Since I’m neither very young nor very old just yet, I suppose that it’s only appropriate that I strive for the middle ground here! To me, that doesn’t mean never ever saying never again, but never being too quick to declare it so. And so, it’s likely that I will say nope, never, and that’s impossible in the future, but sometimes at least, I’ll be wrong. Thankfully, that’s not always a bad thing.
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