One of my favorite games growing up was NBA 2K. Although I’d play it every single day, it took me several years to really understand why I gravitated towards this game. For one, the game has relatively simple mechanics: there is a basketball one can dribble, pass with, shoot, block, or steal based on a players particular skill level (i.e., stamina, shooting accuracy, mass). There are of course the real-life representations of the rules of basketball including the shot clock, certain basketball fouls (i.e., blocking fouls, charges, 3-second violations), what’s considered “in” versus “out” of bounds, specific offensive and defensive plays, and substitutions. When playing with my friends, these mechanics make for really interesting gameplay dynamics: there is a fierce sense of competition tied to personal conviction and victories, there are teams with lower difficulty levels that may mask one’s true skill level at gameplay, there are hyper-realistic movements and representations of actual gameplay which make the game entertaining to watch purely as a virtual sport, and there’s the ability to randomly match and build fellowship/community with a person from the other side of the world. To me, the level of personalization the game offers is beyond incredible and is what truly had me coming back. For example, the entire “My NBA 2K” version of the game creates a cohesive narrative where you’re the star of the show, enabling you to not only create your own player, but play with them, draft them, request trades, and more. There is an element of personalization via the mechanics of gameplay that made this game highly addictive, as it played on my own aspirations to become a basketball player.
