I have been learning a lot about the history of football in all its forms as I design and develop my game. The history of the forward pass in the development of football is fascinating. This is one of the distinctions from Rugby (an ancestor of American Football) where a forward pass is illegal. Forward passes are also legal in Soccer, but they implemented the offside rule to help prevent long shots back and forth. Way to spoil the party!
The excitement of lobbing the ball down the field to an open receiver for a touchdown is a feeling I wanted in my game. I have referenced before, this project started as a literal interpretation of American Football, except using turn-based mechanics. It worked, but wasn’t capturing the fun I had in mind. It was too tedious to set everything up just right.
A common theme as I bring up these old designs is that I was going to have to bend the rules to create fun. I started pulling more inspiration from Soccer to create free flowing play (i.e. no more line of scrimmage/first downs). Then I allowed anyone to throw the ball forward, not just the quarterback. Suddenly the forward pass fun I was looking for was easy! Maybe too easy…
That was when the fantasy component of my game joined the chat. I began to formalize the 8 positions or “classes” of characters that each player could be, some inspired by football, and others inspired by fantasy lore and RPGs. While bringing in healers and mages, I transformed the lowly Quarterback into something I call a Thrower. All players can pitch the ball sideways or backwards, but Throwers are the only players with special abilities that allow them to perform forward passes. Even more fun, you can build a team with as many Throwers as you like!
What once was outlawed has become the Thrower's specialty: The Forward Pass. Now seen as a centerpiece of a great offense, Throwers are natural leaders of their teams and are experts in lobbing the ball down the field.
The first special ability a Thrower can learn is called Bullet. It is a low and fast throw that can go either straight or along two diagonals towards your goal zone. It has decent but not infinite range, and requires line of sight to your receiver. This means if a defender is on a line between the Thrower and target, you can’t throw them the ball.
A demo is worth several thousands words, so here is what it looks like in action. As always please leave any feedback you have below!
Really excited about the team composition possibilities knowing that we're not beholden to the same rules as NFL. Can't wait to try 10 blockers and a direct snap to an RB in full plate 😅
I definitely want to see a team of all throwers. Keep up the good work!