Chat Story Based Careers - What's Your Take?

[mcandrew003]

Good afternoon everybody, hope you are well. 

I come to you today with a question I have struggled to work out as, quite frankly, I don't have the mind of thousands of people. Story careers on Vibe are quite hit and miss, so I was wondering, what do you look for in a story based career. I partly post this because I have a big one planned seeing as I've played about 12 seasons ahead in my International 1KC, and partly because I'm genuinely interested. What elements of a story of you enjoy? Please feel free to leave a comment, would love to get a discussion going here and maybe even give myself and other creative writers pointers for the future. Cheers!

[MasonT827]

I like semi regular updates, full of information about players, fixtures, transfers and everything. I don't need a full story and history on your character and make up fake interactions, but I do like a good amount of information to keep it entertaining and make it feel like I'm doing the career with you. 

[Brenty92]

Kinda agree with mason tbh, rather than the made up storyline conversations and bits and pieces, I prefer jam packed full of stats and players and stuff like that, however many people prefer the storyline so I suppose it's each to their own.

Not to say storylines stop me from keeping up to date with certain careers cause it doesn't, just me personal preference bud ??

[mcandrew003]

1 hour ago, MasonT827 said:

I like semi regular updates, full of information about players, fixtures, transfers and everything. I don't need a full story and history on your character and make up fake interactions, but I do like a good amount of information to keep it entertaining and make it feel like I'm doing the career with you. 

Excellent feedback that mate. Love updates packed full of info, but can be a drag if it's too bland, do you not agree? 

1 hour ago, Brenty92 said:

Kinda agree with mason tbh, rather than the made up storyline conversations and bits and pieces, I prefer jam packed full of stats and players and stuff like that, however many people prefer the storyline so I suppose it's each to their own.

Not to say storylines stop me from keeping up to date with certain careers cause it doesn't, just me personal preference bud ??

Completely understand that, player stats are important and, in the end, the main part of the career, 

I think a good bit of storytelling can be good for a career, adds an extra factor and thing for the reader to comment on. 

Whats all of your opinions if the story is supported by screenshots and still has info?

[Brenty92]

Only problem I would say is finding the right balance between storytelling and info, mess that up and people may get bored, get that right and you have perfection.

[veerus]

Don't care very much for made up interactions between imaginary chairmen and the such.  If you want to tell a story, tell one that is supported by screenshots.  Talk about the in-game excitement of last second wins or whatnot.  Talk about your decision making that led to key moments.  The game provides plenty of material - just elaborate on what happens when it happens.

[BatiGoal]

Agree. The info is what gets me hooked. The challenge, why we take it on, how we go about it re tactics, why we made the decision we made etc. so I much more prefer challenge-based careers.

Doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy a story-based career, but imo it should be "a lot of challenge and a little bit of story". Sometimes OPs get overexcited telling stories and the challenge gets buried underneath. 

As also mentioned above, I'm not particularly fond of made up stories, I prefer facts or real events such as careers evolving around "fallen giants". Intro on its downfall, ..or disaster (think Man Utd, Torino..) legends of the club, background story on the fans, new/old grounds of the club, the playingstyle and culture, some of the relevant club records, a side story on true events, call it a "history lesson", is much more appealing to me.

But as they say, there's an audience for everything, so hopefully we get more opinions in.

[Meow]

I don't really like careers with a huge made up story. That's just my personal taste.

However that is not to say storytelling in a career thread isn't a good thing.

Talk about you star player a lot, who forms up a great partnership with him, which player you notice assists his goals a lot or compare his in game stats to see if he broke any club records (including real life ones of course).

Maybe drop us a few updates on players that had a history with the club but has since moved on. Did the big money departures go on to be world beaters or flopped? Were there players you let go knowing they'd never break into your first team that forged themselves a respectable career in smaller clubs? Really adds a dimension of depth to your save.

[mcandrew003]

14 hours ago, veerus said:

Don't care very much for made up interactions between imaginary chairmen and the such.  If you want to tell a story, tell one that is supported by screenshots.  Talk about the in-game excitement of last second wins or whatnot.  Talk about your decision making that led to key moments.  The game provides plenty of material - just elaborate on what happens when it happens.

 

13 hours ago, BatiGoal said:

Agree. The info is what gets me hooked. The challenge, why we take it on, how we go about it re tactics, why we made the decision we made etc. so I much more prefer challenge-based careers.

Doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy a story-based career, but imo it should be "a lot of challenge and a little bit of story". Sometimes OPs get overexcited telling stories and the challenge gets buried underneath. 

As also mentioned above, I'm not particularly fond of made up stories, I prefer facts or real events such as careers evolving around "fallen giants". Intro on its downfall, ..or disaster (think Man Utd, Torino..) legends of the club, background story on the fans, new/old grounds of the club, the playingstyle and culture, some of the relevant club records, a side story on true events, call it a "history lesson", is much more appealing to me.

But as they say, there's an audience for everything, so hopefully we get more opinions in.

 

5 hours ago, Meow said:

I don't really like careers with a huge made up story. That's just my personal taste.

However that is not to say storytelling in a career thread isn't a good thing.

Talk about you star player a lot, who forms up a great partnership with him, which player you notice assists his goals a lot or compare his in game stats to see if he broke any club records (including real life ones of course).

Maybe drop us a few updates on players that had a history with the club but has since moved on. Did the big money departures go on to be world beaters or flopped? Were there players you let go knowing they'd never break into your first team that forged themselves a respectable career in smaller clubs? Really adds a dimension of depth to your save.

I see all of your points, but would you not agree that it adds and extra element?

@Meow that last point you made is very good, like th idea of looking at player stats like that. 

How would you all feel about a made-up scenario? Or something of the sort?

[veerus]

2 hours ago, mcandrew003 said:

I see all of your points, but would you not agree that it adds and extra element?

Personally, no, I would not agree.  What it adds is a wall of text that I skip over to get to the screenshots and game results.  While there is certainly an audience for that, the responses in this thread show that that's probably a minority.  Most people here seem to want read careers to learn about your (and your team's/players') journey, how and why you made the decisions you did, etc..  Like I said earlier, the game generates plenty of stories waiting to be told, especially if you are not a superman like Taff or BatiGoal and you actually struggle for a couple seasons during your journey.

[Jeroenvk94]

I love story based careers. It brings an extra dimension to the game and allows me to really plunge in and get involved.

[mcandrew003]

On 23/07/2017 at 18:15, veerus said:

Personally, no, I would not agree.  What it adds is a wall of text that I skip over to get to the screenshots and game results.  While there is certainly an audience for that, the responses in this thread show that that's probably a minority.  Most people here seem to want read careers to learn about your (and your team's/players') journey, how and why you made the decisions you did, etc..  Like I said earlier, the game generates plenty of stories waiting to be told, especially if you are not a superman like Taff or BatiGoal and you actually struggle for a couple seasons during your journey.

Love hearing all of your opinions. You are right, the game is a story in itself and can often spit out some interesting scenarios. I think creative writing is needed for certain careers though, maybe shorter challenges and thing s like that?

12 minutes ago, Jeroenvk94 said:

I love story based careers. It brings an extra dimension to the game and allows me to really plunge in and get involved.

Finally, somebody who is for story careers  Only kidding, I see your point mate and on many levels I agree, they offer a unique experience whilst if you are just watching the same 3 people play the same challenge, if 1 or 2 of them did it like a story I'm sure it would be a tad more interesting.

[Meow]

I'm not all against storytelling, I can tell why people like it. But I don't want an entire backdrop of story about what the board does or a manager backstory.

I don't mind if you spin 3 sentence story. Maybe a short write-up on a few interesting moves and players every season.

Say a transfer rumour story about an ex-Man U player moving to Man City. "After MU star XXX left for Real Madrid x years ago, he was never really given a chance. After intense speculation that he could once grace Old Trafford again, he has opted to move to the Etihad after being proposed a better deal."

<Insert stats page with wages>

<Insert his player history of his form at MU and RM, then the move to City>

OR

"32 y/o Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann decides to move to Championship side Cardiff. Surely a coup for the Bluebirds who hopes for a push for promotion back to the Premier League"

<Insert player history>

(Actually happened in my save btw, and that was 7 years ago. So much great stories from just following this move, from fighting relegation, relegation, promotion and financial meltdown)

 

Heck even

"RM breaks club record by spending 100m on xxx"

<Insert player stat>

<Insert player history>

OR

"A devastating injury blow to XXX after a big money move"

<Insert photo from the eligibility page saying "Broken leg (8 months)>

19 hours ago, mcandrew003 said:

Finally, somebody who is for story careers  Only kidding, I see your point mate and on many levels I agree, they offer a unique experience whilst if you are just watching the same 3 people play the same challenge, if 1 or 2 of them did it like a story I'm sure it would be a tad more interesting.

Honestly I think the most interesting saves are long term saves involving regens, especially regens we pick up not knowing who they are. At least my personal saves only get more interesting after the bulk of young new regens pop in. After all, everyone will get a Messi, a Ronaldo, a Donnarumma, etc when they start the save. But sure as heck no one will get that same left back you bought from some obscure nation, that legendary young english goalkeeper regen (when Hart hasn't retired) or that Spanish midfielder that popped out of a back-to-back relegated League One Watford Youth Academy which you only bought because foreign youth products are rare and it is fun buying players from imploding clubs in hopes they'd get back-to-back-to-back relegated into League Two (which they did XD).

BTW Ernesto Resino turned out pretty good with triple 20 physicals and has been a mainstay in my midfield for 8 years, and I'm certain he isn't Xavi or Iniesta either.

Probably a huge contrast to most of Vibe who love real players. A lot of them hate the over-powered Ronaldo and Messi regens, or how Zlatan regen always come cheap. As do I. Those regens honestly are the worst part of the game.

[mcandrew003]

5 hours ago, Meow said:

I'm not all against storytelling, I can tell why people like it. But I don't want an entire backdrop of story about what the board does or a manager backstory.

I don't mind if you spin 3 sentence story. Maybe a short write-up on a few interesting moves and players every season.

Say a transfer rumour story about an ex-Man U player moving to Man City. "After MU star XXX left for Real Madrid x years ago, he was never really given a chance. After intense speculation that he could once grace Old Trafford again, he has opted to move to the Etihad after being proposed a better deal."

<Insert stats page with wages>

<Insert his player history of his form at MU and RM, then the move to City>

OR

"32 y/o Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann decides to move to Championship side Cardiff. Surely a coup for the Bluebirds who hopes for a push for promotion back to the Premier League"

<Insert player history>

(Actually happened in my save btw, and that was 7 years ago. So much great stories from just following this move, from fighting relegation, relegation, promotion and financial meltdown)

 

Heck even

"RM breaks club record by spending 100m on xxx"

<Insert player stat>

<Insert player history>

OR

"A devastating injury blow to XXX after a big money move"

<Insert photo from the eligibility page saying "Broken leg (8 months)>

Honestly I think the most interesting saves are long term saves involving regens, especially regens we pick up not knowing who they are. At least my personal saves only get more interesting after the bulk of young new regens pop in. After all, everyone will get a Messi, a Ronaldo, a Donnarumma, etc when they start the save. But sure as heck no one will get that same left back you bought from some obscure nation, that legendary young english goalkeeper regen (when Hart hasn't retired) or that Spanish midfielder that popped out of a back-to-back relegated League One Watford Youth Academy which you only bought because foreign youth products are rare and it is fun buying players from imploding clubs in hopes they'd get back-to-back-to-back relegated into League Two (which they did XD).

BTW Ernesto Resino turned out pretty good with triple 20 physicals and has been a mainstay in my midfield for 8 years, and I'm certain he isn't Xavi or Iniesta either.

Probably a huge contrast to most of Vibe who love real players. A lot of them hate the over-powered Ronaldo and Messi regens, or how Zlatan regen always come cheap. As do I. Those regens honestly are the worst part of the game.

Wow. You make some fantastic points in there mate, and I can agree with a lot of what you are saying. I can see all the points you guys are making about the fluidity of the In game world, and agree it can make for some fantastic storytelling. 

added 0 minutes later

Me personally, I love regents as they offer a unique experience that, like you say, many other won't get as they aren't the same.

[Ashez]

We've spoke about this in private but I may as well make my views public. 

As a reader I have little interest in story driven careers (basic save, no added challenge etc) but the basic saves rarely interest me anyway, it's the challenges and aims that hook me. When a story and challenge are combined I usually find the story as fluff just getting in the way of why I entered the thread. The thing is with stories is they're extremely hard to keep them fresh, entertaining and from covering similar ground, especially as so many "football" stories get posted here. It can be done like I'm really enjoying @Jensand @samhardy Current one but that's more of a drug trip than a footballing story lol, it's so out there and odd it stands out as fresh while FMM is at the heart of it. If I see an OP and it's all story driven I'm rarely going to go back tbh. 

As a writer I do enjoy doing stories, I've had an itch to do one for a while but I see it as a waste of time tbh. Updates take time as it is and adding creative writing on top of that is something I can't be doing with, especially when the fan interaction isn't the best of late. Personally when I write stories I keep the focus on FMM while doing my best to incorporate the commenters into the narrative (I know you've read my old work so you know what I mean). You can casually introduce them based on a comment or do the press conference type update etc. I'm not sure if that makes it more interesting but it makes it more fun for me while also brings more interactions/options to the story. However keeping it fresh is hard work, that's why I'd only ever story a short career, trying to story anything over 5-10 seasons is just too much work IMO. 

Like the others have said I see why they're popular but they're just not for me. I enjoy writing one way more than I enjoy following one. With text heavy updates I'd much rather in depth planning and thoughts compared to made up fluff. 

[UKFootballScore]

Really interesting discussion indeed

I enjoy any kind of career that is written with the reader in mind

While I enjoy a good story based read it can take away from a challenge as more often than not the challenge itself is enough to get gripped to it.

Also uniqueness is HUGE if I see someone doing a 1kc using a player already used and a similar club I doubt that it will get the appreciation tbh

I quite like careers that take a lower league club up through the leagues and to the top as you get that journey aspect to it