5. Personalised Player Animations
Adam Davy/EMPICS SportAdmittedly, this is a minor quibble. But still, the devil is in the details, and let it never be said that FM is nothing short of forensic in every other aspect of capturing a player's likeness. So with this in mind, why not go the extra yard and capture some of their physical likeness too? Ever since the 3D Match Engine's introduction, it's had its critics. That's fair enough you can't please all of the people all of the time, and most of the time you shouldn't even try. But even with its vociferous opposition, there's still plenty out there who welcomed the chance to see our squad in more detail than before. The eagle-eye 2D dots approach will always have its plus points, but seeing an added dimension hammers the realism nail further home. But still, there's something missing. Nobody's really distinct enough, and it's very clear that past a certain point all the players are automatons. There's a very clear sense of going through the motions, and hard as you try, you find it hard to think of these figures as real, personality-driven players. Yes, we know it's a game, but damn it all to hell if we're not allowed to dream. There's clearly only so much they can do here the key to FM's success is simplicity and the fact it can be played on most PCs, so obviously FIFA-style graphics are out the question. Yet it wouldn't be demanding the moon to ask for a larger repertoire of player animations. When they score, let them have a personalised celebration instead of simply running about. It would lift many users' hearts to see a virtual Danny Sturridge do his pop-and-lock dance, or Tim Cahill beat the living daylights out of the corner flag. Better yet, If it's a last minute cup-final goal, why not have the player run into the crowd? If you've got an aggressive player, why shouldn't he attempt to pump up the fans. The possibilities are endless all it would require is a half-decent animator, and it would do a world of good.