Many sports gamers imagine backstories and outside-the-lines interactions for their created players. NBA 2K11's servicing that this year with "My Career," a narrative hub for the game's singleplayer career mode that offers a chance to create a public persona.
2K Sports today put up that video demonstrating how these types of interactions affect how you and your team perform. For example, how you answer questions in postgame news conferences will affect three qualities: Your team chemistry, league-wide popularity, and local fan popularity. You get to answer questions in four different tones: professionalism, arrogance, team-player and indifference. Interesting that "arrogance," the most perjorative option, provides a boost to all three qualities in this example video posted today by 2K Sports.
That's not to say "arrogance" is always called for. Trade rumors are just one scenario that "My Career" will serve up.
The video stitches together some more of the concept behind the enhanced, off-court role-playing in NBA 2K11's "My Player" mode. Says NBA 2K11 producer Erick Boenisch:
Following games, you will participate in Press Conferences where members of the media will grill you on pressing events happening around you and the team. Did the game come down to a last second shot, but you didn't take the shot? The media are going to want to know how you feel about not taking that last shot. The team's on a 5 game losing streak? They'll be asking you what you think about your teammates. Have you recently requested a trade? They'll ask you why.
Other details offered up in a 2K Sports developer diary on the game: NBA Draft Combine, a pre-release, paid DLC package last year, is fully integrated into this year's game. It'll begin with your player working out at Attack Athletics, a real gym in Chicago.
From there, you move to the NBA Draft at Madison Square Garden with new cinematics there. After the draft comes a four-game summer circuit and a trip to the NBA Developmental League, consistent with last year's version of Combine.
One note: The blurred faces in the video above are for this video only, for some reason. In the game you'll see who's accompanying your player on the dais.
My Career [2K Sports]