More of the classic UT trophies.

To make the most of its name, Unreal Tournament has to embrace its sports roots.  Sports games can be great things.  Any sports gamer knows that they are one of the best ways to create your own story in a game environment.  Create your own player, craft your own team, play the game the way you want to play.  Building a team through trading and drafting players over several seasons creates a unique history of success and failure that is often more meaningful than a scripted story.  I’m not saying that there aren’t great game stories, but that creating your own is something else completely.

So what needs to be added to Unreal Tournament?  Seasons.  Division trophies.  More complicated team rosters.  Home arenas.  Lots of statistics!

Lets consider just the single player game.  You create your player and then proceed to draft the rest of your teammates.  You have a home arena (so that you get to play your favourite map most often) and travel to challenge opposing teams in their respective locations.  You can create team lineups for each game type, choosing players based on their skills and previous performances.  Trade players, manage contracts, and win those division titles!  I think the only thing that wouldn’t transfer well from sport to Unreal Tournament would be the injuries considering the frequent decapitations and nuclear explosions.

What a UT calendar might look like, but with less Swedish hockey teams. (NHL10)

Now take all of those ideas and transfer them to online multiplayer.  A league, or leagues of players are organized, drafted, and traded to teams which compete on a regular basis.  It may seem absurd and overly complicated, but this has already been happening for years,  organized through third party websites and set up by dedicated gamers.  Schedules, databases of statistics, rankings, just like you would find on any major league’s website.  Having this type of organization in a game that is essentially a sport game seems like a pretty good idea.

Over the years I’ve seen the series grow further and further from what I loved about the original.  Even though they are still good games, sales and review scores are also decreasing.  I think if the next Unreal Tournament really wants to stand out from the crowd, it has to embrace its sports heritage and the competitive online community.  Plus, that is what I have always wanted to play.

1. A Brief History of the Tournament 2. Making it a Sports Game