As a friend of lots of guys who like playing sports games on their gaming consoles, particulary the playstation 2, I have stared (nearly) mindlessly at the television screen and pondered what can be done to make a sports game more fun for a guy who isn't into sports.
Creators should allow adjustable gravity, such that the football can be thrown miles into the air, and players can jump equally as high to retreive it.
Increase the physical strength of the players in a way that when you tackle, ram, whatever another player she or he blows up into a fabulous splattering of guts. I haven't found evidence of rain or snow affecting football fields in games, so what about blood and guts on the field?
The ball should be altered as well, maybe instead it should be square. Put spikes on the ball, so if you catch it wrong, your players have serious bodily damage. Maybe the ball could be replaced with something a bit more interesting, like the head of a goat.
Some players in the game should be a different type of species. For example, why not have a basketball game in which donkeys vs. panda bears are put against each other. The donkey is sturdy, and has great kicking power. Panda bears are relatively fast, and massive, a well defended animal. That's a sports game I would watch. Imagine a hockey game in which the fans are packed in the arena to see the armadillos defeat the wombats!
More tactical strategy ought to be implemented as well. Maybe during half time a player could sneak beneath the stage championing the latest musical sensation in order to dig a twenty foot hole, cover it with brush and wait for an opposing team mate to fall into it.
Also, I don't beleive sports games have ever included disabled people. Imagine a basketball game where all the players are bound by wheelchair. Implement some previously mentioned topics, wheelchair bound athletes in less than Earth gravity rolling around a court trying to get a goat head into a goal! Amputees playing without the wheelchair would be fine too, if the gravity were sufficiently adjusted in order to compensate for their disability. Animals could also be in wheelchairs, I see no reason why not. Our physically challenged animals have the same rights to play a game of soccer.
There is a fine line in this idea that must be observed though. Players should not be given guns, grenades or any other type of serious damage inflicting weapon (knives, swords, flame throwers). Then the game becomes Quake-esque. It should still be focused on sports, just a little bit more interesting. Tolerable weapons may include cannons or trebuchets, if it's medieval it's ok, in my opinion. We must be careful not to turn our sports games into first person shooters.
I think is attainable though, look at the quality on sports games these days. Obviously game creators have nearly perfected their work, and I think it's time to take it in a new direction.
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