The effect of adrenaline on players

[The_Knight]

Dear Konami,

Pro Evo Soccer / Winning Eleven has always been a simulation, to which it owed a lot of the excitement it generated. I believe with the next-gen computational boost, you can take the game to the next level in realism. As a physician, it's easy to identify the one reason of player fluctuation during a game. It's the same reason why small teams play better against big teams. It's the same reason why coaches don't like to try inexperienced players in big games. It's the same reason why losing teams are able to catch up. It's the same reason why a team with 10-men could still hold its ground: It's adrenaline.

Humans have many variables governing their movements, reactions, accuracy... etc. Soccer is a game played by humans, with all their unpredictability and fluctuations. Humans can be energized, and can be demoralized. Each player reacts differently to loss. Experienced players would maintain their calm play, and focus more on every move. Whereas inexperienced players may appear to have clumsier animations, the wider the losing margin is.

When you start watching a game 30-min into it, you can see from how the players of both teams are moving and reacting, who's winning, and who's losing.

Over here, I'd like to mention a number of variables that affect the level of adrenaline in players. Adrenaline causes players to have more jerky animations, sharp gestures and acute reactions. When raised to healthy levels, it increases concentration, making players pass better, shoot with more accuracy, and make defenders less forgiving. The external affect of adrenaline is evident the most among young inexperienced players, who appear more nervous and disoriented, even though their play maybe improved. On the other hand, experienced players who be able to conceal this nervousness, while still upping their game.

In addition to affecting animations, optimal levels of adrenaline positively affects the player's mentality. It causes a performance boost. This is why UEFA finals are classy games. Everyone's playing his A game, as opposed to a league game between 2 teams in the middle of the table. However, too much adrenaline in an excited young player could lead to hastiness, and loss of concentration. Which is why coaches don't like to try new young players in big games.

Adrenaline levels aren't only affected by big changes in a game (like playing a UEFA final as opposed to a friendly match, or losing a game as opposed to winning), it's also affected by minor ingame situations. For instance, a defender's adrenaline levels would soar higher if he's being approached by Ronaldo, as opposed to a mid-tier attacker. A midfielder would have higher levels of adrenaline (evident by a protective posture hunching over the ball) when surrounded by many players from the opposing team, in comparison to a defender handling the ball with relatively no pressure. This all leads to an additive affect on adrenaline levels.

This should apply to all humans in the match, including the crowds. For instance, the crowds would be more agitated in a UEFA final, than they would in a friendly game. The crowds make more noise when an attacker misses an equalizing goal, as opposed to an attacker missing a 5th goal in a 4-0 lead....etc.

Here is a brief compilation of variables that should affect adrenaline levels on all humans in the game. It affects animations and attributes variably according to each player's experience and contribution to the game:

Long-lasting variables involving game conditions:
("Game mood" setters)

I) Long-lasting pre-game variables


1) Level 1 variables (affecting all humans [players, coaches, reserves, crowd, referee, and commentator]; have an additive/subtractive effect):

a) Nature of tournament:
- Knockout
- League
- Friendly

b) Nature of group:
- Group competitiveness
- Order of group (e.g. 1st vs 2nd qualification round)

c) Time/Climate:
- Time of the year
- Beginning/midterm/beginning 2nd term/end season


2) Level 2 variables (for each team; affects respective players, reserves and coaches only)

a) Safety:
- Disqualified anyway
- Qualified anyway
- #1 anyway
- Position could change
- Position in middle anyway
- Any win qualifies
- Need comfortable win to qualify
- Any loss disqualifies
- Marginal loss disqualifies

b) Position in group (need for win):
- In the top
- Close to top/bottom
- Middle
- In the bottom

c) Nature of match
- 3 matches before
- 1 match before

d) Result of other Home/Away match
- Heavy defeat
- Marginal defeat
- Comfortable win
- Marginal victory


II) Long-lasting in-game variables


1) Level 1 variables (affecting all humans (players, coaches, reserves, crowd, referee, and commentator; have an additive/subtractive effect):

a) Time/Climate:
- Weather
- Time of the Day

b) Stadium/Pitch condition

2) Level 2 variables (for each team; affects respective players, reserves and coaches only)

a) Crowd Attendance (absolute value + in relation to home/away status [adds/subtracts percentage to absolute value])

c) Winning/Losing
-Winning by 1 goal
-Winning by 2 goals
-Winning by 3 goals
-Winning by 4 or more than 4 goals
-Losing by 1 goal
-Losing by 2 goals
-Losing by 3 goals
-Losing by 4 or more than 4 goals

b) Qualifying/Disqualifiying (without ongoing result)
- Marginal qualifying
- Comfortable qualifying
- Marginal disqualifying
- Disqualifying by wide margin

d) Possession (confidence)
- Overall so far
- In last 15 mins

e) Overall chances on goal (so far) --> opposing team gets more tense

f) Overall threats on goal (so far) ---> opposing team gets more excited

3) Level 3 variables (for each player; affects individual player and players within a range of 50-20-10-5 meters around ball holder/receiver)

a) Proximity to ball holder
- 50 meters away
- 20 meters away
- 10 meters away
- 5 meters away

b) Fixed (known) attributes of ball holder
c) Ball holder's impact on game (so far)
d) Ball holder's current ball control
e) Number of teammates vs other team players (depends on "f")
f) Region in the field (players are less tense playing in the backline than those upfront)

So in a nutshell:

1) Each player should have a selectable personality profile (cool, leader, excitable, aggressive,...etc) This will affect how his animations/gestures/reactions will change with fluctuations in adrenaline levels. Also, for instance, a "leader" is seen gesturing instructions to teammates, and calming them down after fouls...etc.
2) An "experience" attribute must be added. Age, and minutes of play (all data available through FIFA) add up to this. Experience affects the impact of adrenaline on a player's mentality. Also, in BaL, you would clearly witness your player becoming more "mature" from one game to another.
3) Adrenaline levels should change universally and individually according to the aforementioned variables.

I really believe this would add a whole new authentic 'human' dimension to both gameplay and animations, taking PES to a higher fidelity soccer simulation, sure to generate in players reactions similar to those experienced when watching real games. It would bring back the unpredictability and passion of real soccer to PES.

Thank you.

 

[proevofan88]

That could be a little hard to integrate.

For now: I just want that old PES back that can keep you going until the next. That way, we wont be waiting all year long for a new PES but rather a month or so before it comes out.

p.s. Arent you the guy who got BANNED from WENB by ADAM?

He banned me too ( vatreni-88 ) for speaking out about his ways on the forum... strange guy

 

[Dale C.]

What an absolutely brilliant post. I can see you spent a lot of time writing this, so i'd just like to say, well done for coming up such a great explanation of it.

It really would be a great idea, but as proevofan said, it would be very hard to get working well in the game. I think you sort of have 'momentum shifts' in Fifa, but I can't see that in pro. So having this Adrenaline factor, would certainly improve the game, and make it more realistic.

Great post.

 

[The_Knight]

Thanks guys...
Yeah Adam, not only banned me for disagreeing with him on WENB, but also lied on the forum about me sending abusive PM's to him away from people's eyes, when I haven't even contacted him at all. A huge, immature baby, if you ask me.

Anyway, Konami have successfully introduced many variables to the gameplay over the years... it's up to them to figure out a way of bringing this new variable into the system. But yeah that's going to be one hell of a code change.

 

[proevofan88]

Yeh...he thinks too highly of himself...

Uhmm I just hope KONAMI created that PES feeling again for PES2010 and then we can continue to try to evolve and improve...

I dont think you can use PES2009 as your base...too many flaws.

We need a game thats fun to play and packed with features ( like the old PES5 and PES6 ) and then se PES2010 as the base to evolve... and add all these different features

 

[liverpoolsco]

This is one crazy idea that you have posted here. I have commentated on this when you posted on pesfan. Now, I think what your talking about really does boil down to mentality. This has been already been in the game but perhaps what goes into this would be good to review. I think that adrenaline wouldn't really add much to the game. In real life it is a short term boost but the mentality of the player and how he reacts to a big occasion and different match situations like the ones you have mentioned has more of an influence on the game than something that last maybe 5 minutes at most. I think that mentality could have more of an effect on the player during the match so that you could see how different players react to difficult situations. I think that an overhall of that aspect would be great instead of introducing this adrenaline...

 

[The_Knight]

Thanks liverpoolsco. But mentality should be one of the variables that is changed by adrenaline, among many other variables. Adrenaline affects animations, gestures, intensity of reactions...etc. It makes players go that extra mile. It's how you notice that a team is losing or winning just by watching them play for a few minutes.

 

[liverpoolsco]

Thanks liverpoolsco. But mentality should be one of the variables that is changed by adrenaline, among many other variables. Adrenaline affects animations, gestures, intensity of reactions...etc. It makes players go that extra mile. It's how you notice that a team is losing or winning just by watching them play for a few minutes.

I really dissagree with you here. Sometimes during a match teams can be up and dominating possesion and creating many chances but still be behind on the score board. How a player reacts to a scoreline or what sort of occasion it is, ie. european match or final of a cup or eupean cup final. Even international matches against a big opponent or a games in the later stages of a big tournament such european championships or world cups. These things are all effected by how a player can handle and manage the pressure and expectation which such an occasion brings. This is why the best players play so well on the big occasion since they handle the pressure the best. They are able to put that extra effort in and push themselves as hard as possible. This really has nothing to do adrenaline. Adrenaline acts for perhaps the first few minutes of a match but the mentality of the player last the full 90-120 mintues! That is what really effects a players performance. Every player has adrenaline in them, even the players with less ability and inexperience but it doesn't make them world beaters!

 

[The_Knight]

This is why the best players play so well on the big occasion since they handle the pressure the best. They are able to put that extra effort in and push themselves as hard as possible. This really has nothing to do adrenaline. Adrenaline acts for perhaps the first few minutes of a match but the mentality of the player last the full 90-120 mintues! That is what really effects a players performance. Every player has adrenaline in them, even the players with less ability and inexperience but it doesn't make them world beaters!

No you don't get it. Adrenaline affects mentality. It's not just a physical change. When at optimum levels, it makes passes sharper and shooting more accurate. It's why Messi playing in the UEFA final is slightly different from Messi playing in a friendly match.

Every player has adrenaline in them,

Every player has adrenaline, but it's levels fluctuate by the minute and the second according to the situation they're in.

it doesn't make them world beaters!

No it won't. But it enhances their attributes to a level proportionate to their original attributes (i.e. by adding a slight percentage, not a fixed value). This slight enhancement gives an overall performance boost when given to all players on a team.

This is why the best players play so well on the big occasion since they handle the pressure the best.

Exactly, which is why the suggestion includes an "experience" attribute, which dictates how players respond to adrenaline, and how they keep them within optimal levels. Too much adrenaline could reverse the effect, and cause hastiness and missed chances.

In addition to the change in mentality i.e. attributes, adrenaline affects animations and players' gestures and reactions. Missing a chance in the last minute of a UEFA final would result in a much more severe reaction than the same player missing a chance when his team is leading 4-0 in a friendly game. This is all dictated by fluctuations in adrenaline levels between both games. (e.g. laying on the ground with hands covering the player's face with the chest breath pounding, as opposed to just smiling in disbelief and going on with the game). Even with that, experience would affect the reaction. So no matter how big the game is, you won't be seeing Zidane rolling on the floor crying in disbelief at a missed chance...etc.

 

[liverpoolsco]

OK I will keep this brief. You sound pritty determined that what your saying is right and you don't really want to take on board what I am saying here. You sound like you think you know what your talking about... have you actually done research on these things for real? Are you a doctor or something? If not then your just making yourself sound foolish in my view. I am not gonna argue with you anymore cause it sounds like your not gonna listen.

 

[The_Knight]

OK I will keep this brief. You sound pritty determined that what your saying is right and you don't really want to take on board what I am saying here. You sound like you think you know what your talking about... have you actually done research on these things for real? Are you a doctor or something? If not then your just making yourself sound foolish in my view. I am not gonna argue with you anymore cause it sounds like your not gonna listen.

Yes buddy relax I'm an MD (medical doctor)...

I guess I wrote it in the first post (read the third line). I'm positive that this change I'm talking about would bring unparalleled realism to PES... with a whole new dimension of tactical depth and player behavior that would make it indistinguishable from the real game you see in stadiums and watch on TV.