Whether involved in sports or not, many students at Aragon play sports related video games, such as 2K, Madden and FIFA. For many students, the indirect approach to playing sports is the main appeal of the games.
“It lets you pretend to be a coach making a team,” said junior Ryan Li. “You can sign players. You could try to make the next Warriors super team with all the star players.”
Although they may play from a coach’s perspective, players utilize their experience with the respective sport to gain an edge.
“Fantasy sports, regardless of what sport, is really about following it, knowing the players and having a general sense of the game itself,” said junior Anthony Remedios, founder of sports club. “Athletes generally have better knowledge of the game, especially if they played at the higher level.”
However, many students at Aragon find that the games tend to turn out unrealistic.
“It’s still pretty different because [in video games], everyone has and does this move. [Gaming companies] like to exploit the game to make [game characters play] in ways that normal people don’t really move,“ Li said.
However, the seemingly impossible tricks done in video games are still attempted in real life.
“I think the sports games like Madden [and] 2K give me some more moves to try out in real sports,” said varsity basketball player junior Matthew Mukai.
Aside from basketball based video games, some students also play FIFA, a soccer based game with users controlling the players directly. Despite a more interactive experience, students still believe that the game misses the mark when it comes to being realistic.
“In FIFA there’s limited controls on what you can make the players do … It’s difficult to use,” said junior soccer player Abigail Chang.
Although these games are unrealistic, Remedios still believes that, similar to actual sports, sport related video games require some level of practice and work to succeed.
“I’ve learned that the best fantasy players are the ones who pay attention all year,” Remedios said. “The simplest task of that is setting lineups. That will put them in a good position for the league playoffs, which always take place in the last few weeks of the regular season.”
“I think the sports games like Madden [and] 2K give me some more moves to try out in real sports”
Remedios believes that virtual sports are similar to real sports in that players are able to bond with people who share the same interests. Another similarity he notes is that virtual athletes are subject to injury, much like actual athletes.
“I frequently see people who don’t have a fully active starting lineup, meaning guys in their lineup are either not playing that day or injured for more than a couple days,” Remedios said. “That makes a difference to their matchup that week.”
Like most coaches, in order to improve, gamers often delve into close analysis of games and pick out specific issues to improve on.
“Another thing that benefits fantasy team owners is knowing the scoring system of the league they are joining so they know what categories to direct extra attention to and to prioritize,” Remedios said.
Regardless of the realism of sport related games, gamers and athletes alike can bond with peers whether on the court, or on the screen.
