WRITTEN BY

SEAN MARTIN

ootball, soccer, kicky-

net-goal, whatever you

want to call it: whether

you enjoy the sport or

not, it’s impossible to

deny the impact it has had

on gaming culture. Since the

launch of Atari Football and

NASL Soccer in the 70s/80s,

football games have grown to

become a huge market, with

both FIFA and PES consistently

selling in the millions. Inevitably,

they owe a huge debt to the

sport they’re based on.

It often seems like the

popularity of these games is

based on consistency, sticking

to the rules, and channelling an

authentic sporting experience.

F

So it’s important to ask: when

creating a representation of a

popular sport, which abides by

a set of rules, is there room for

innovation? Is there room for

different perspectives within

the football genre – whether

objective, political, or even

satirical? All of the following

games have achieved this.

They’ve found their own

success, while also proving the

genre might not be as heavily

defined as it seems.

BREAKING THE RULES

For those who don’t enjoy

football, derision has become

an art form of its own, turning

the language of the sport

THE STUDIOS

REDEFINING FOOTBALL

We meet the developers intent on changing the rules of the football video game

against itself. I can’t help but

be reminded of Mitchell and

Webb’s ‘Watch the Football!’

sketch, with its talk of “Constant!

Dizzying! 24-hour! Year-long!

Endless football! Every kick

of it massively mattering to

someone, presumably!” So it

wouldn’t be unusual to think

this perspective had no place

within football games, but you’d

be wrong.

“I can’t stand football. Not

interested in the slightest,

and I’ve always been slightly

annoyed at how pervasive it

is in our society,” says Dan

Marshall, creator of Behold the

Kickmen. “I dislike nice pub chats

being ruined by people howling

THE

BEAUTIFUL

GAME

18 / wfmag.cc

The beautiful game: the studios redefining football

Interface