Sideline LegacyIf I could have been anything, I would have been a football player. That didn’t happen, but the game never left me. Building football games is the closest I get, and this is the one I’ve always wanted to play.
I’m a franchise mode guy, and what I remember most from all those seasons is the players.
One of my favorites was a rookie named Babineaux. It seemed like every time the ball went his way he made some incredible play, so we kept leaning on him. We made him a captain, paid him a huge contract and kept him on the team until he finally retired. He was never a real player. The game made him up as a rookie, and I still remember him.
That’s what I want Sideline Legacy to do. The big football games have great graphics, but their franchise modes leave a lot to be desired. The more realistic football sims have the depth, but they usually don’t have graphics at all, so you end up managing a list of names. I wanted a real sim where I could see my players, because seeing them is how you get attached.
So I built the football first, and the player portraits were the first lab I made after that. Once I could see the players, I wanted to see where they played, and then draft night, from the war room to the walk up on stage, and then the press room. It’s grown step by step from there, and the plans keep getting bigger.
The other thing I cared about from the start is that players shouldn’t all play the same way. Some running backs put their head down and go downhill, and others are always looking to bounce it outside. In Sideline Legacy each player has his own tendencies. You can see them on film and coach them in practice.
There’s no release date yet, and I’d rather show you something real than promise a date I can’t keep. Everything I’ve talked about here is going into the Steam release.
If you love franchise mode and want a real sim with players you can follow from the scouting report to the Hall of Fame, I think you’ll find this game and love it. Join the playtest list and you’ll hear from me when there’s something to play.