A lazy Sunday afternoon. Me on the couch enjoying the couple days of free time that I am given each week. After getting my gym routine out of the way, I spent some time deliberating what video game to fire up. I started with the Elder Scrolls Online and could only stomach about 15 minutes. ESO is just too darn daunting; I cannot even begin to consider how much time I would need to devote to make progress. Not only that, I heard a bunch of people on the microphone yelling at each other, which reminded me of why I stopped playing MMOs in the first place. So I decided to play my “comfort food” of video games, Rocket League. Rocket League is simple, mindless fun that does not require anything other than some passion and five minutes. Unfortunately, I find that after playing for so long, Rocket League can become a bit repetitive. Here are four suggestions for the good people at Psyonix to consider:
1) Make cars unique. While combing through the “Garage” feature of the game, I found a lot of really unique and attractive cars available to use. Some cars are giant trucks, others are tiny cars. Why not create some unique specifications for these cars? If you enjoy playing defense, a truck should provide more power when smashing into another car but move a little slower. For those who like flying around the course can choose a fast car but at a cost; the car won’t provide as much striking power as other models.
2) Add variety to the arenas. Currently, every arena is identical. How about offering some arenas which are more narrow and less wide? Or an arena that is shaped like a circle? Many pros have mastered the angles of the arena. Throwing some new shapes in the game would create a lot more strategy.
3) Boost should be at a premium. Take away a couple of the boost pits. Make the refresh between consumption a little longer. Maybe this will slow things down a bit, but you will really have to be smart about when to use the boost.
4) Drop the ball at the start from a unique spot. The “kickoff” of each round would be a lot more exciting if the ball was dropped from a different area at each starting whistle.
Rocket League is already a great game. These changes would make it just a bit better.