Writing Game Stories...

Texashawk · 03-15-2007, 04:28 PM

OK, I have a question. I know that OOTP 2007 is going to support saved game stories, which will be great (for me). But how many of you actually write full-blown recaps for each one of your simmed games. I am playing in a RL MLB 2007 universe, and my team (the Astros) aren't doing so well, and I thought it would be fun to write recaps of each game as they try to climb out of their hole (they're 11-20 right now, but they've won 7 of 10). I keep a binder with each box score and game story. Am I crazy? It just makes the experience more immersive for me.

In case you're wondering, this is a sample story:

May 7<SUP>th</SUP>, 2007ffice

ffice" /><O

></O

>
Astros 6, Dodgers 2<O

></O

>
<O

></O

>
No shutout, but no matter: Astros bomb Dodgers 6-2<O

></O

>
<O

></O

>
By Steve Hawkins<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
LOS ANGELES – The Dodger fans, all 35,826 of them, couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They had been led to believe that their team’s opponent, the last-place Astros, were all hit and no throw. They were no doubt salivating at the chance to improve their own team’s meager record at the expense of some of the lousiest pitching since last year’s office softball game.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
Twenty-one scoreless innings later, the Dodgers wondered who these imposters throwing the ball in Astros uniforms were.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
By the time the Dodgers managed to reintroduce one of their own to the pay station in the fifth inning, the Astros had already made the trip five times and the game was already out of reach.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
Walter Young started the fun with a blast to right field, but he was shortly upstaged by the rapidly-heating up <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com

<st1:address w:st=" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Jason Lane</st1:address></st1:Street>, who pushed the ball 362 feet to left and scored a suddenly resurgent Craig Biggio.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
Perhaps upset at being left out, Lance Berkman followed up last night’s heroics with a nearly 400 foot 2-run moon shot that soared into the upper right field stands, scoring Biggio.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
Carlos Lee didn’t want to miss the fun either. Saving the best for last, he smashed his own 448-foot shot to left-center that left the yard entirely.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

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Dodgers starter Brad Penny was chased after 4 innings of work, having been tagged with 3 runs and 4 hits, 2 of them homers. Penny was not pleased at his outing.<O

></O

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<O

> </O

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“Well, I mean, after yesterday(‘s 15-inning game where 4 relievers were used) we needed me to stay in there a while,” Penny said, “and I just didn’t deliver. They’ve got a tough team over there. Their record is misleading. Don’t kid yourselves, they’re going to have their say in the end.”<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
While the Astros were imitating the Bronx Bombers, Brandon Backe was quietly settling into a good groove. Aside from the two runs he allowed in the fifth, off a triple by Martin and a double from batting average league-leader Garciaparra, Backe was sharp throughout. He mixed his fastball and his change well, striking out 4 in 6 innings.<O

></O

>
<O

></O

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The bullpen, depleted from yesterday’s marathon, finished the job. D.J. Carrasco made his debut with a scoreless third of an inning, though he did put two men on base. Closer Brad Lidge, slowly rounding back into his 2005 form, was ‘Lights Out’ once more as he slammed the door with a game-ending strikeout. After the game, Lidge was philosophical.<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

>
“It just seems like we’re finally getting into a good groove as a team,” Lidge said. “I think after our start, we kind of came together and realized that we couldn’t fall any farther back if we wanted to make the playoffs. And I think we’ve been playing looser.”<O

></O

>
<O

> </O

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Manager Phil Garner agreed.<O

></O

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<O

> </O

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“I just think they’ve stopped thinking about the record and just are out there hitting and pitching and throwing,” Garner said. “This is too hard a game to think too hard about how to play it. Hopefully we can keep our pitching strong, because our offense is really starting to break out.”<O

></O

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<O

> </O

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The Dodgers, and their fans, can only hope the Astros start hurting their brains again before their next visit.

Anyway, just wondering if I'm a lone nut in a barrel of grapes...

THawk

Curtis · 03-15-2007, 06:43 PM

I'm glad to see Garciaparra is doing so well.

Anyway, there's guy doing "Your 2021 Oakland Athletics" in a thread in the Dynasties section of this forum. He's the only other guy I can think of who was anywhere near your level of detail, and he seems to've gone on hiatus after half a season. If you like what you're doing, keep it up. If you like it alot, post it in Dynasties. More power to ya.

Tyke · 03-16-2007, 03:43 AM

That's a nice write-up, Texashawk. We're all looking for ways of making our experience more immersive and more personal. As Curtis said, if you enjoy it, keep doing it - they can't arrest you for it [yet

]!

ctorg · 03-16-2007, 04:58 PM

I've heard of a number of people who do this. I would do it if I had the time and patience. As it is, I have little time to play and I usually get too impatient to make it through a whole season without simming here and there, never mind stopping to write stuff out. I think it's great, though.

03-15-2007, 04:28 PM	#1
Texashawk Bat Boy Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 4	Writing Game Stories... OK, I have a question. I know that OOTP 2007 is going to support saved game stories, which will be great (for me). But how many of you actually write full-blown recaps for each one of your simmed games. I am playing in a RL MLB 2007 universe, and my team (the Astros) aren't doing so well, and I thought it would be fun to write recaps of each game as they try to climb out of their hole (they're 11-20 right now, but they've won 7 of 10). I keep a binder with each box score and game story. Am I crazy? It just makes the experience more immersive for me. In case you're wondering, this is a sample story: May 7<SUP>th</SUP>, 2007fficeffice" /><O></O> Astros 6, Dodgers 2<O></O> <O></O> No shutout, but no matter: Astros bomb Dodgers 6-2<O></O> <O></O> By Steve Hawkins<O></O> <O> </O> LOS ANGELES – The Dodger fans, all 35,826 of them, couldn’t believe what they were seeing. They had been led to believe that their team’s opponent, the last-place Astros, were all hit and no throw. They were no doubt salivating at the chance to improve their own team’s meager record at the expense of some of the lousiest pitching since last year’s office softball game.<O></O> <O> </O> Twenty-one scoreless innings later, the Dodgers wondered who these imposters throwing the ball in Astros uniforms were.<O></O> <O> </O> By the time the Dodgers managed to reintroduce one of their own to the pay station in the fifth inning, the Astros had already made the trip five times and the game was already out of reach.<O></O> <O> </O> Walter Young started the fun with a blast to right field, but he was shortly upstaged by the rapidly-heating up <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com<st1:address w:st=" /><st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Jason Lane</st1:address></st1:Street>, who pushed the ball 362 feet to left and scored a suddenly resurgent Craig Biggio.<O></O> <O> </O> Perhaps upset at being left out, Lance Berkman followed up last night’s heroics with a nearly 400 foot 2-run moon shot that soared into the upper right field stands, scoring Biggio.<O></O> <O> </O> Carlos Lee didn’t want to miss the fun either. Saving the best for last, he smashed his own 448-foot shot to left-center that left the yard entirely.<O></O> <O> </O> Dodgers starter Brad Penny was chased after 4 innings of work, having been tagged with 3 runs and 4 hits, 2 of them homers. Penny was not pleased at his outing.<O></O> <O> </O> “Well, I mean, after yesterday(‘s 15-inning game where 4 relievers were used) we needed me to stay in there a while,” Penny said, “and I just didn’t deliver. They’ve got a tough team over there. Their record is misleading. Don’t kid yourselves, they’re going to have their say in the end.”<O></O> <O> </O> While the Astros were imitating the Bronx Bombers, Brandon Backe was quietly settling into a good groove. Aside from the two runs he allowed in the fifth, off a triple by Martin and a double from batting average league-leader Garciaparra, Backe was sharp throughout. He mixed his fastball and his change well, striking out 4 in 6 innings.<O></O> <O></O> The bullpen, depleted from yesterday’s marathon, finished the job. D.J. Carrasco made his debut with a scoreless third of an inning, though he did put two men on base. Closer Brad Lidge, slowly rounding back into his 2005 form, was ‘Lights Out’ once more as he slammed the door with a game-ending strikeout. After the game, Lidge was philosophical.<O></O> <O> </O> “It just seems like we’re finally getting into a good groove as a team,” Lidge said. “I think after our start, we kind of came together and realized that we couldn’t fall any farther back if we wanted to make the playoffs. And I think we’ve been playing looser.”<O></O> <O> </O> Manager Phil Garner agreed.<O></O> <O> </O> “I just think they’ve stopped thinking about the record and just are out there hitting and pitching and throwing,” Garner said. “This is too hard a game to think too hard about how to play it. Hopefully we can keep our pitching strong, because our offense is really starting to break out.”<O></O> <O> </O> The Dodgers, and their fans, can only hope the Astros start hurting their brains again before their next visit. Anyway, just wondering if I'm a lone nut in a barrel of grapes... THawk

03-16-2007, 04:58 PM	#4
ctorg Global Moderator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Queens, NY Posts: 9,848	I've heard of a number of people who do this. I would do it if I had the time and patience. As it is, I have little time to play and I usually get too impatient to make it through a whole season without simming here and there, never mind stopping to write stuff out. I think it's great, though. __________________ My music "When the trees blow back and forth, that's what makes the wind." - Steven Wright Fjord emena pancreas thorax fornicate marmalade morpheme proteolysis smaxa cabana offal srue vitriol grope hallelujah lentils

03-15-2007, 06:43 PM	#2
Curtis Hall Of Famer Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Watertown, New York Posts: 4,567	I'm glad to see Garciaparra is doing so well. Anyway, there's guy doing "Your 2021 Oakland Athletics" in a thread in the Dynasties section of this forum. He's the only other guy I can think of who was anywhere near your level of detail, and he seems to've gone on hiatus after half a season. If you like what you're doing, keep it up. If you like it alot, post it in Dynasties. More power to ya.

03-16-2007, 03:43 AM	#3
Tyke All Star Starter Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Cleckheaton, West Yorkshire, U.K. Posts: 1,142	That's a nice write-up, Texashawk. We're all looking for ways of making our experience more immersive and more personal. As Curtis said, if you enjoy it, keep doing it - they can't arrest you for it [yet ]!