Football RPG: what a football role-playing game really is

What makes it a role-playing game?

In an ordinary football game you control a whole team for a single match. In a football RPG you control one player whose development persists: every point you spend, every boot you buy and every injury you take follows you into the next match.

Attributes, not just buttons

• •Physique — energy, shot power and stamina that decide how long you last.
• •Game sense — vision and tackles that break attacks and open counters.
• •Match intelligence — work ethic, instinct, captaincy and mind games.
• •Foot skills — right and left foot set the precision of your finishing.

A career that can end

Players age, injuries land them in hospital and severe enough injuries retire the player permanently. That is what separates a role-playing game from a match simulator: there is a real cost, and a real reward for keeping your player alive.

Humans, not the computer

After level 4 every opponent is a real player. Challenges, random matches, team games and tournaments are fought against other people's builds — not a script. Your career is measured against theirs.