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It has been brought to my attention that some people do not understand or appreciate the Championship manager Series of footy management games, and as a hard core champ addict I feel it is my duty to explain why we love this game.
Interest in Championship manager, is basically derived from an interest in football. I'm not saying that if you like football you'll like Champo, or that if you dislike football you won't like Champo but it is far less likely. I have no interest in American Football, and so NFL manager would have no appeal to me. Now that we have eliminated those who dislike football we are left with the "I like football, I don't like spreadsheets" group. The essence of Championship manager comes from the sense of creation and achievement you get as you play. You are gradually building a team and constantly trying to find ways of trying to better it and find new ways and formations to help you try to achieve. Much of the fun in Championship manager then comes from seeing what you have created, achieving.
This parallel can be likened to many different situations in life. For example gardening, now I don't imagine many people on here are keen horticulturists but the principle is still there to be seen. A gardener invests time, money and most of all effort into making his creation, they won't always get every thing right, however they will constantly strive for perfection and will only really be fully satisfied when their garden is in bloom. This can be compared to the time and effort spent crafting your team, and though often it won't be perfect you will continue trying in order to achieve.
Due to most Champo fans being keen football followers, the game allows you to delve into that fantasy realm were you can try and show how things should be done. How many times have you heard friends say something like "how on earth does Emile Heskey get in the England Squad?" or "If Man Utd had another good goal scorer they’d win the league by miles", Championship manager gives you that chance to actually implement this. OK, its hardly "proving Sven wrong", but it is still satisfying when James Beattie scores the winning goal in the world cup as the replacement striker in the Heskey-Free England team.
Although, (unlike some of the hard core) I can easily separate real life from Champo, the game still drags you in. Realistic Media attention or Player issues quickly draw you into a game which is both challenging and involving. It may look like a spreadsheet but those numbers actually mean something and with a bit of imagination you can compare players by their statistics. Those numbers build up a picture of something comparable to real life. You see a player with a twenty rating for crossing and your thoughts are of Beckhamesque balls gliding into the box. You see "tackling 4" and think back Phil Neville's 85th minute tackle against Portugal in Euro 2000. Those who follow football avidly can use this knowledge to help them achieve their goals. Seeing that player you signed two years ago on Champo because you thought he was a good youngster when you saw him on "eurosport" become an established international or a Man Utd transfer target is also quite satisfying.
Most people who enjoy playing Champo have several friends who enjoy it too. Experiences in Champo are easily comparable to those of your friends I took "Sunderland to Champions league Glory in the second season" is an impressive achievement. Comparable to being able to claim you could complete the Facility level of Goldeneye on 00 Agent in 1 minute 50 seconds. However advice can be swapped better, you can recommend tactics and promising youngsters to friends and can actually become quite involved in other peoples games by advising them how to solve problems you yourself have experienced.
Believe it or not non-Champo players, but the game also incorporates tension. "What form a spreadsheet?" is the expected response. Well, it does, and at several different levels. There is the low basic level of tension at which you are vying for the to clinch the signing of a player with several other clubs to the truly tense effort for a last minute equaliser in a critical match to avoid cup elimination. When you see the ridiculous amount of pressure you are applying on the other team and crazy amount of shots on target you have had you, can be on the edge of your seat in anticipation of that critical equaliser.
Although not a reason to get into it, a lot of championship manager players feel a lot of loyalty to a game which has kept them entertained and been with them all the time as they grew up. I've been buying them since the first one and must have spent an obscene amount of time on them over the years, this attachment to the games makes it easier for us to feel straight at home and over look any faults or little things a first timer player might scrutinise.
However, what makes Champo truly special is how unique it is. If you play Return to Castle Wolfenstein, you could just as well be playing Medal of Honour or Project IGI 2. Few games are as Unique as Champo, many have tried to compare to it, such as premier manager, Ultimate soccer manager, Fifa manager but none have been able to get anywhere near it in terms of class or addictiveness. There is no other game in any genre, in which its fanatics have amassed such a huge number of playing hours, no other game has been cited in as many divorce cases, or been blamed for as many failed exams, loving Champo is an addiction, and I am proud to be an addict.
Interest in Championship manager, is basically derived from an interest in football. I'm not saying that if you like football you'll like Champo, or that if you dislike football you won't like Champo but it is far less likely. I have no interest in American Football, and so NFL manager would have no appeal to me. Now that we have eliminated those who dislike football we are left with the "I like football, I don't like spreadsheets" group. The essence of Championship manager comes from the sense of creation and achievement you get as you play. You are gradually building a team and constantly trying to find ways of trying to better it and find new ways and formations to help you try to achieve. Much of the fun in Championship manager then comes from seeing what you have created, achieving.
This parallel can be likened to many different situations in life. For example gardening, now I don't imagine many people on here are keen horticulturists but the principle is still there to be seen. A gardener invests time, money and most of all effort into making his creation, they won't always get every thing right, however they will constantly strive for perfection and will only really be fully satisfied when their garden is in bloom. This can be compared to the time and effort spent crafting your team, and though often it won't be perfect you will continue trying in order to achieve.
Due to most Champo fans being keen football followers, the game allows you to delve into that fantasy realm were you can try and show how things should be done. How many times have you heard friends say something like "how on earth does Emile Heskey get in the England Squad?" or "If Man Utd had another good goal scorer they’d win the league by miles", Championship manager gives you that chance to actually implement this. OK, its hardly "proving Sven wrong", but it is still satisfying when James Beattie scores the winning goal in the world cup as the replacement striker in the Heskey-Free England team.
Although, (unlike some of the hard core) I can easily separate real life from Champo, the game still drags you in. Realistic Media attention or Player issues quickly draw you into a game which is both challenging and involving. It may look like a spreadsheet but those numbers actually mean something and with a bit of imagination you can compare players by their statistics. Those numbers build up a picture of something comparable to real life. You see a player with a twenty rating for crossing and your thoughts are of Beckhamesque balls gliding into the box. You see "tackling 4" and think back Phil Neville's 85th minute tackle against Portugal in Euro 2000. Those who follow football avidly can use this knowledge to help them achieve their goals. Seeing that player you signed two years ago on Champo because you thought he was a good youngster when you saw him on "eurosport" become an established international or a Man Utd transfer target is also quite satisfying.
Most people who enjoy playing Champo have several friends who enjoy it too. Experiences in Champo are easily comparable to those of your friends I took "Sunderland to Champions league Glory in the second season" is an impressive achievement. Comparable to being able to claim you could complete the Facility level of Goldeneye on 00 Agent in 1 minute 50 seconds. However advice can be swapped better, you can recommend tactics and promising youngsters to friends and can actually become quite involved in other peoples games by advising them how to solve problems you yourself have experienced.
Believe it or not non-Champo players, but the game also incorporates tension. "What form a spreadsheet?" is the expected response. Well, it does, and at several different levels. There is the low basic level of tension at which you are vying for the to clinch the signing of a player with several other clubs to the truly tense effort for a last minute equaliser in a critical match to avoid cup elimination. When you see the ridiculous amount of pressure you are applying on the other team and crazy amount of shots on target you have had you, can be on the edge of your seat in anticipation of that critical equaliser.
Although not a reason to get into it, a lot of championship manager players feel a lot of loyalty to a game which has kept them entertained and been with them all the time as they grew up. I've been buying them since the first one and must have spent an obscene amount of time on them over the years, this attachment to the games makes it easier for us to feel straight at home and over look any faults or little things a first timer player might scrutinise.
However, what makes Champo truly special is how unique it is. If you play Return to Castle Wolfenstein, you could just as well be playing Medal of Honour or Project IGI 2. Few games are as Unique as Champo, many have tried to compare to it, such as premier manager, Ultimate soccer manager, Fifa manager but none have been able to get anywhere near it in terms of class or addictiveness. There is no other game in any genre, in which its fanatics have amassed such a huge number of playing hours, no other game has been cited in as many divorce cases, or been blamed for as many failed exams, loving Champo is an addiction, and I am proud to be an addict.
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Would of been better with paragraphs.....
Haha.
Champo?! WTF
Champ I say. And it's like so better.
Champo?! WTF
Champ I say. And it's like so better.
er there is not a proper champ 5.
it will be called football manager 04/05.
Si games and eidos split but si have the stats and game engine so football manager will be the one to get.
Champ manager will be crap
it will be called football manager 04/05.
Si games and eidos split but si have the stats and game engine so football manager will be the one to get.
Champ manager will be crap
When does Champ manager 5 come out?
do not be afraid, this is a burning bush-esque post. one of such great magnitude it will inspire moses to free the israelites, look in to the yellow!
Ahhhhhhh!
The yellowness hurts my tame eyessss.....
The yellowness hurts my tame eyessss.....
Or†ega wrote:
> Ashley wrote:
> Thankfully though, i dont really like CM4 (shock horror) and havnt
> actually played it since May(when i had my first year exams, stopped
> playing it to revise but never got back into it). So i hopefully i
> may actually get a decent degree.
***reports ortega to the Champo police****
****Laughs as his computer is seized and he is forced to play pacman for the rest of his days in a former champo addicts asylum****
> Ashley wrote:
> Thankfully though, i dont really like CM4 (shock horror) and havnt
> actually played it since May(when i had my first year exams, stopped
> playing it to revise but never got back into it). So i hopefully i
> may actually get a decent degree.
***reports ortega to the Champo police****
****Laughs as his computer is seized and he is forced to play pacman for the rest of his days in a former champo addicts asylum****
Ashley wrote:
I've
> been buying them since the first one and must have spent an obscene
> amount of time on them over the years
Same here. Becasue of this i actually wish it was never invented. I got 3 B's 4 C's and 3D's for my GCSE's. And a C and two Es for my A levels.
I got these putting in minimum effort and minimum time. I'm sure i could have done much better if CM had never been released. I played about 80 seasons on one game for gods sake!
Thankfully though, i dont really like CM4 (shock horror) and havnt actually played it since May(when i had my first year exams, stopped playing it to revise but never got back into it). So i hopefully i may actually get a decent degree.
I've
> been buying them since the first one and must have spent an obscene
> amount of time on them over the years
Same here. Becasue of this i actually wish it was never invented. I got 3 B's 4 C's and 3D's for my GCSE's. And a C and two Es for my A levels.
I got these putting in minimum effort and minimum time. I'm sure i could have done much better if CM had never been released. I played about 80 seasons on one game for gods sake!
Thankfully though, i dont really like CM4 (shock horror) and havnt actually played it since May(when i had my first year exams, stopped playing it to revise but never got back into it). So i hopefully i may actually get a decent degree.
heh! thanks pip
*Ahem*
Pile of toss
The end.
Pile of toss
The end.
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