Welcome to another edition of The Friday Five! Every Friday I cover a topic related to basketball gaming, either as a list of five items, or a Top 5 countdown. The topics for these lists and countdowns include everything from fun facts and recollections to commentary and critique. This week’s Five is a list of five suggestions for avoiding burnout with basketball video games.

No matter how much we love a hobby or activity, we will get tired of it eventually. Obviously we’re passionate about basketball video games (and the real sport) around these parts, but there are times when the virtual hardwood brings us more frustration than joy. That’s usually when burnout has set in, and suffice to say, it’s not a good feeling. You want to keep playing as you definitely haven’t lost your interest in virtual basketball, but it’s hard to fire up a game and hit the court with the same enthusiasm. Somehow, an enjoyable pastime has become work; a chore.

Fortunately, there are ways to avoid virtual hardwood burnout! I’m speaking from experience here, as I’ve felt that burnout in recent years. Changing up my habits has allowed me to really enjoy basketball gaming again, and not just sink a lot of time into it. There is a difference, and it’s something that you really notice when you realise how addictive grinding can be. It’s all too easy to get stuck in a comfortable rut, so it helps to have a few methods of breaking out of one. These suggestions may seem obvious, but when you’re deep in that rut, you can easily overlook your options. If you’re feeling burnout with your basketball gaming right now, consider these tips!

1. Alternate With Other Genres

I don’t want to get too deep or venture too far beyond the virtual hardwood, but in life in general, it’s good to have a variety of interests and passions. There’s nothing wrong with having one or two in particular that stand above the rest – I wouldn’t still be running the NLSC if I didn’t have a particular keenness for basketball and video games – but you never want to be the person that only talks about one thing. It’s also putting a lot of pressure on that single interest to constantly be entertaining and a source of joy. That’s neither realistic, nor healthy. Don’t make your entire identity and personality about one hobby or interest. Even if you don’t get tired of it, others will!

What I’m getting at here is: play other video games! I love basketball games, I play them often, but it’s not the only genre I like. I got into professional wresting in the late 90s when it was huge, so I’ll play wrestling games, new and old. Mentioning Fallout became a running gag for me on the NLSC Podcast for a while, because I’m a fan of that series. I’ll replay old adventures games, challenge myself to complete old school platformers, and take to the high seas in Sid Meier’s Pirates games. My video game collection extends beyond the virtual hardwood, so when I’m feeling burnout, I’ll take a break. If video game hoops are getting stale, it may be time to visit another genre.

2. Avoid Any Modes/Games With Heavy Grinding

There is obviously immense satisfaction in starting from scratch in a video game, and then sitting atop a pile of riches – whatever that may entail – when you’re done. Once you’ve reached that point, there’s fun in starting over again with a fresh challenge. It’s why we generally don’t want games to be too short, and why we appreciate a journey where we can level up and earn rewards. Grinding needn’t be a dirty word. However, it becomes one when the journey is artificially long, usually to push microtransactions upon us. It’s deflating when you realise that everything resets in a year’s time, and that you won’t even be able to revisit MyTEAM or MyCAREER after a server shutdown.

Now, I have gone against my own advice here by picking up where I left off in an offline MyCAREER file in NBA 2K14. The difference here is that it doesn’t feel like grinding. The progression is fair, and I’m not worrying about whether my player is good enough to be viable online. My point is to avoid modes that feel more like a tedious chore than a grand adventure. If you’re no longer enjoying collecting cards in MyTEAM, maxing out a player in MyCAREER, or levelling up for rewards in either mode…just don’t do it! Don’t play the game within a game that’s all about working (or paying) to have fun. When a hobby feels like a job, it’s time to hand in your notice.

3. Dust Off An Old Favourite

This goes hand-in-hand with avoiding a tedious grind, since new games are designed with recurrent revenue and engagement numbers in mind. The time you must commit to levelling up and unlocking content in order to get the most out of grindy modes leaves little time to play anything else. If you want your MyPLAYER in NBA 2K22 to be strong enough to play with online, you can’t be splitting time with that old MyLEAGUE save in NBA 2K17. That’s fine if you don’t want to do that, but if you are feeling a sense of burnout and want a change of pace, you need to decide between quicker progress in a new game, or continuing the fun you were having in an old one.

That’s why I’d suggest strongly considering putting the grindy modes aside, because it’s been so refreshing for me to go back to my favourites, and give other old games a second look. It’s not just about grinding, either. If you’re just not enjoying the newest game – not everything gets better over time, and missteps are made with annual sports titles – play an older one that you did like! Naturally, this is difficult if your favourite parts of a previous title had online components, which is increasingly the case. If you do enjoy offline play, or can use Parsec to set up online head-to-head, it just might be the break you need. Even a quick trip down memory lane can recharge your batteries.

4. Play With Mods & Custom Rosters

Whether a game is current or surpassed, new or ancient, mods and custom rosters go a long way in keeping it fresh. It may be easier said than done as not every game has a plethora of new releases, but if you haven’t yet checked out a retro roster or an NCAA total conversion mod, then that might be the cure for your virtual hardwood burnout. Furthermore, if you have the skills and knowledge to create your own mods, taking yourself out of the game and picking up tools for a while may be more satisfying. It’ll also provide you with something new to play with when you’re done, so it needn’t just be a project that’s for the community’s benefit (although that is always a noble goal).

I’ll also once again recommend minimalist modding here. While detailed mods that completely transform the game are tremendous, you can still change things up and have fun with the assets that are already in the game. Move some players around on the retro teams to roll them back or forward a year or two, and play some different historical match-ups. Re-create some infamous “What If” scenarios, or devise some of your own. In a game that features custom teams, assemble some themed squads such as virtual hardwood legends, and other crazy lineups. In-game customisation has its limits, but it can still be used to create fun new scenarios in relatively short order.

5. Overhaul Your Approach to Basketball Gaming

Obviously this is a running theme with all of the suggestions I’ve made so far, but I’m talking about everything from trying a new mode, to wild and imaginative changes. Never played MyCAREER or MyTEAM before? Give one of them a try! Want to see if you can role-play as the worst player in NBA history in MyCAREER? Have some fun messing around with that! If you usually hold fantasy drafts in franchise modes, try playing with real rosters. If you’ve always taken real rosters into franchise modes, try a fantasy draft. A different MyPLAYER build, a team you normally wouldn’t use, a mode you’ve always ignored…in short, do something that breaks your usual habits!

Your style of play on the virtual hardwood itself is something else to change up. If you like a realistic style, play a bit looser. If you usually don’t care about realism, challenge yourself to play more of that style. Nominate some self-imposed challenges, or perhaps aim for Trophies/Achievements if you don’t normally care about them. If you mostly play single player, find a way to have fun playing with or against other basketball gamers; again, Parsec has been very useful here. Virtual hardwood burnout arises when we’re bored with what we’re doing in basketball games. That’s when it’s time for a change. The exact change that will alleviate your burnout is up to you.

How do you avoid virtual hardwood burnout? Has there been a time when you’ve become fed up with basketball video games? Let me know in the comments, and as always, feel free to take the discussion to the NLSC Forum! That’s all for this week, so thanks for checking in, have a great weekend, and please join me again next Friday for another Five.

The post The Friday Five: 5 Ways to Avoid Virtual Hardwood Burnout appeared first on NLSC.