Si

" FIFA FALL "

A SOCIAL COMMENTARY BY NOAH CAMPBELL

gn
Written by

Christopher Templeton
ifi
(A WGA Registered Script)

THIS SCRIPT IS FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL USE

ca
DO NOT COPY OR ELECTRONICALLY DISTRIBUTE
THIS SCRIPT TO A 3RD PARTY
nt
VO
ID

16th December 2020

SIGNIFICANT VOID
www.significantvoid.co.uk
+ 44(0)7901 918042 (UK)
1 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 1

PRESENTER
You shouldn’t stand in the way of
progress. Right? Wrong!
Si
The video game industry today is
‘pocket-book’ talking and companies
like Electronic Arts are unique in
the world for the depth of their
pockets.
gn
You might say: ‘a billion dollars
here, a billion dollars there’, but
the unfortunate fact is – and I’ll
argue the point now, there is a
direct link between the quality of
the games EA produce and we play,
ifi
and the way that the FIFA game has
become so heavily monetized.

2 EXT. ELECTRONIC ARTS HQ. REDWOOD CITY. DAY 2

ca
PRESENTER
FIFA is my focus today - the
franchise that first conceived the
method. The new game mode called
Ultimate Team was added just over a
decade ago now, that was FIFA 11.
nt
Previously of course it was a paid
expansion.

3 CLOSE ASPECT. FIFA 11 BRANDED BOX OR ADVERTISING 3

PRESENTER
On the surface, FIFA 11 offered an
VO
innocent card collecting feature
BUT under the bonnet, sat a hyper -
competitive online game mode,
exclusively used for eSports and
tournaments where players regularly
spend a thousand dollars to build a
half decent football team.
ID

4 ARCHIVE. HARD CORE FIFA GAME PLAYING 4

(MORE)

1.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Even hard core players of the game
today who want to compete, end up
paying thousands more simply to
have an even playing field with up
to 99 players, including at least a
Si
Ronaldo or Messi card.

5 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 5

PRESENTER
gn
Since that new game mode was
conceived, there’s been a gold rush
to create monetized training cards
and with FIFA 21, it’s now the
monetized game modes that are
driving the game at the expense of
game play.
ifi
Yes, I don’t think there’s any
doubt that most of the FIFA fan
base realize that FIFA 21 is barely
25% of where we ought to be - and
unless we decide to limit the
ca
onslaught of monetized game modes,
things are not going to get any
better.

6 GRAPHIC TEXT CARD 6

nt
Full frame graphic text with the line: ‘What is my loyalty
worth?’

PRESENTER
So, we’ve reached a paradigm and
the challenge now is to ask the
hardest question that any FIFA fan
VO
can ask:

‘What is my loyalty worth?

If you think that paying

increasingly through the nose for
card packs is OK, then fine. But
just think about it.
ID

2.
7 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 7

PRESENTER
If you aggregated that money as
population data, you are talking
Si
about a cash flow of billions of
dollars flowing through EA’s
coffers – so I ask you again: Are
we getting the value out of the
FIFA game like we used to?
gn
Or perhaps, to pose the question in
straight forward business terms:

‘What’s the return on our

investment for loyalty to this
game?’
ifi
If you think about this, in its
narrowest sense, a company like
Electronic Arts is looking at its
consumers as little more than
gamblers.
ca
But when you get down to the
specifics, what are they going to
do with that kind of frame of mind?
Does this sound like a frame of
mind that invests in ‘top of its
class’ game play? Are they now
nt
going to market to people, who only
exhibit the ‘characteristics’ of
gamblers like ‘Bet Now’?

And don’t you think this all sounds

just a little bit problematic?

Absolutely. The answer is ‘yes’.

VO
And the implications are bad. We’re
reaching 2021 with the latest
rendering of FIFA 21, playing a
game that we all agree is no better
than FIFA 11 to 15, a stretch that
was golden in comparison. Even with
half an eye open.
ID

8 GRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE 8

Tongue and cheek image of a ten year boy playing an online

game, could be dated to add humour, perhaps playing an early
‘Intellivision’ game or Commodore console.

3.
 PRESENTER
Raise your hands if you have any
kid brothers playing FIFA 20.

(Short dramatic Pause).

Si
Well, I bet even he can tell you
that there’s something’s wrong
here. So what do we do? Vote with
our feet? Opt out of the loyalty?
What is the solution?
gn
9 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 9

PRESENTER
Online gaming today has become a
‘winner takes all’ market where the
ifi
big boys are going to get all the
attention, securing a quasi-
monopoly power over young emerging
minds new to the game.

Like your kid brother.

ca
I know of what I speak because I’ve
been following this new generation
of ‘compelled game play’ for quite
a while now, at least since it was
first introduced by EA with FIFA
nt
11.

Don’t get me wrong. I still believe

that there can be a wonderful
intersection between the gamer and
the video game producer but if you
are a fan like me, there’s a lot of
work and appreciation that goes
VO
into supporting each generation of
FIFA. And there is an insidious
pattern emerging.

In fact, we’ve all detected the

pattern, haven’t we?
ID

10 GRAPHIC OF THE FIFA PLAYING CYCLE 10

PRESENTER
You know. You’re attracted to the
sparkling promo. You start saving
new cards. New players. You play a
game.
(MORE)

4.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Then punch the air in frustration
remembering the game play is ‘shit’
and the servers ‘unbearable’. You
exercise your last democratic right
and turn off the game.
Si
11 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 11

PRESENTER
At this point, as a fan, you’ve got
gn
to ask yourself:

‘Where do I want to be in the end

with this game? Start the cycle all
over again?’

Some fans start this discussion by

ifi
trying to keep the status quo but
listen, if we do nothing, the
problems with EA and the FIFA
franchise will only get worse. For
many, it’s already unbearable.
ca
I know where I’d begin.

Number one: EA has to fix the

things they can do by design other
than the things they do by mistake.
nt
FIFA 21 is littered with bad
programming. EA’s long catalogue of
tragedies and anomalies are frankly
inconsistent with a billion dollar
private sector enterprise and
without holding my punches, its
core game play is going sooo slow,
it’s going backwards.
VO

This is not a small point I’m

making. There are serious breeches
of game play that were perhaps not
intentional in the original coding,
but someone was clearly not being
paid to fix these problems!
ID

These are issues that are very

straightforward if you put the
money into the solution. Someone at
EA could snap their fingers
tomorrow and all the breeches, the
flows, the unintended interchanges -
would evaporate.

(MORE)

5.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
And EA’s ‘Frostbite’ engine isn’t
helping - it continues to make life
miserable for developers who are
the hapless victims of the sad
story of a video game that took
Si
several years to develop but didn’t
enter into production until its
final 18 months. And then only got
published thanks to big narrative
reboots and major design overhauls.
gn
I worry, don’t you? When a game is
increasingly based on poor and
faulty technologies. Indeed I would
argue, is it ethical to use this
technology base at all?

So we’re agreed. Game play has now

ifi
become a cash grab for companies
like EA. The interesting thing
though is that with monetized game
modes still in the ascendency and
still driving the FIFA franchise,
the game is becoming increasingly
ca
more expensive - for everybody.

Basically, you’re going to get

discriminated against in the game
play if you DON’T cough up enough
cash to make the game worthwhile.
nt
And I should add before I’m accused
– yes, I do have a detailed
understanding of the money side of
things and no, I’m not expecting
the CFO of EA Games to pick up the
phone to talk this through with me.
VO
Game programming is not a trivial
exercise anymore but it’s plain
that EA is now fixated on the money
ball. No one sitting in their
proper positions, let alone the
developers, are making the game
better. Is anyone giving the CEO
the bad news about how much FIFA 21
ID

stinks? And in fact that 18, 19, 20

weren’t much better either?

And here’s the kicker. I think of

myself as a fan! But I am also a
problem-solver. All video game fans
are - by definition.
(MORE)

6.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
And I want EA Games to think beyond
the myth of financial risk and to
understand the real risk of losing
their fan base.
Si
The executives at EA must
understand their agency. They’ve
got used to not caring about
anomalies in the game’s programming
and approach.
gn
But if fans notice when things go
right in a game - you can be damn
sure they’ll notice when things go
wrong. EA are in danger of failing
to recognise this subtle point. And
what’s more, it seems that only the
fans want to protect what’s good
ifi
about the FIFA franchise.

In the space of just ten years,

EA’s interest in monetizing FIFA
went from a curiosity to a fad.
Their fetish for cash packs, micro
ca
transactions and ‘loot boxes’ has
overrun everything about the
management of a football team.

EA hasn’t broken any new ground in

the game since FIFA 15 and before
nt
that with FIFA 10, being the final
game that truly focused on having a
great career mode and offline
experience.

Beyond improving an interactive

model that rakes in more capital, I
can’t say anything more than that.
VO

The long and short of it is: FIFA

fans are being monetized! EA
becomes a billion dollar
corporation. You’re running to your
sofa for spare coins.

And of course, we have to live in a

ID

market of ‘one’ and there’s little

chance of a serious competing game
ever coming along. It wouldn’t
matter anyway because you can see
where this would go:

7.
12 SCREEN SHOT OF VIRTUAL CARD PACKS 12

PRESENTER
I play FIFA 21. I have to lock into
EA’s new virtual card packs. I want
Si
to switch to an alternative
football simulation game. I choose
to switch to Company ‘B’?

Company ‘B’ says: “Happy to have

you here on our platform but if you
gn
play our game all your pre-existing
investments and card packs will be
irrelevant”.

I can’t move! I won’t ever be able

to move. EA has complete
jurisdiction over me.
ifi
We now have the problem as fans of
dealing with bias - with the profit
motive so high on EA’s agenda, bias
is going to intentionally or
accidentally reduce the quality of
ca
game play as this corporation
balances profit against game joy.

So players today of FIFA 21 have to

endure a double whammy with huge
game disparities and then on top of
nt
that, spending the extra money that
should be going into, I don’t know,
say education?

This is big and I’m here to promote

the right of long standing FIFA
fans to share that discouragement
with whatever parties, groups,
VO
developers we want.

In other words, I want to give fans

as much leverage as possible. They
don’t need to keep digging deeper
and deeper into their bank accounts
to play interactive video games.
ID

Bottom line? Players see the price

tags of a particular virtual card
pack and cry:

“If I’m putting so much money into

this game - why is the game getting
crummier and crummier?”

(MORE)

8.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
The introduction of a meaningless
street mode called ‘Volta’ as a
brazen tactic to gain sales by
preying on the nostalgia of those
who remember the ‘Street’ series -
Si
just adds insult to injury. Please
don’t do that.

In the more dangerous sense of

tracking people for profit and
assembling information for profit,
gn
FIFA 21 is a striking example of
surveillance capitalism and income
inequality.

Some people who can afford to buy

the latest FIFA 21 at the front
end, can’t really afford to collect
ifi
more and more card packs. People
can’t leverage their wealth that
quickly! There are bills to pay!
The game ends because of Covid and
now you’re unemployed.
ca
So maybe we get to the point where
only rich people can afford to play
FIFA! That means if I’m Mr. Average
income, I’m left to play a bad game
and if I’m rich - I’ll have the
spare thousand dollars every year
nt
to pay for my cards and a better
game, well then...

...Those two guys are playing two

completely different games!

So here’s my point. Shouldn’t an

interactive game be accessible to
VO
everyone? Shouldn’t it be about
skill and not about how much you
have in your bank account? Well,
that’s where we are now with FIFA.

Listen now to the CEO of

‘Tribeflame’, Torluf Jernstörm:
ID

9.
13 ARCHIVE CLIP (2016) OF TORLUF JERNSTOÖRM PRESENTAION 13

TORLUF JERNSTÖRM
“Hello. I’m here to talk about
monetization ‘Let’s Go Whaling’, a
Si
summary of a bunch of behavioral
psychology, the trick of how to
monetize a game well - some of you
will be shocked by all the tricks I
have listed here but I’ll leave the
morality of it, we can discuss this
gn
later”.

14 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 14

PRESENTER
That’s right. We’re all being
ifi
tortured by this I know, because on
the one hand we’re active members
of a gaming community and on the
other hand - how can we keep
investing in a game that we don’t
believe in any more?
ca
I’m a big fan of interactive
entertainment and all my
discoveries and knowledge are
gained with each and every advance
made in the FIFA franchise.
nt
But I have to say, FIFA 18, 19, 20
and 21 have easily been the most
hated and least respected of all
the titles on the shelf. These
games represent the decline and
fall of the series. I’ve become
less of a fan now, more of a lie
VO
detector.

And yes. I know. We all have to

live with the platform economy and
the platform wars of Amazon,
Google, Facebook, the rise of
precision weapons and ‘wearables’.
ID

But the reality is starker than

EA’s obsession with following the
money.

10.
15 SCREEN GRABS OF METACRITIC POSTS. 15

PRESENTER
Scanning all the press and
critiques of the FIFA franchise
Si
since FIFA 15, I can only see
journos who say the games are
great!

Whilst the rest of us view all this

as a scandal and are not fooled by
gn
the corporation’s antics, industry
critics are falling on their backs
and having their soft underbellies
rubbed by EA Corporate.

More insidious is the fact that the

commentators in the industry appear
ifi
not only to be softened by EA, but
are possibly even, dare I say, in
their pay.

The industry press is clearly

representing the spirit of the
ca
corporate exercise, not the fan.
They’re serving non-elected
paymasters however odious the game
play. Not one journalist jumping in
with the fans, for fear of exposing
a truth - they simply disavow the
nt
responsibility.

Even a cursory look at a recent

Critic vs User review of FIFA 21
illustrates this yawning gap:

16 SCREEN GRAB OF CRITIC AND USER REVIEWS. 16

VO

PRESENTER
Here, a critic talks about “a
refined and complete game” whilst
the User says the game is “a waste
of money”.

So I will say this - because no one

ID

else will. What is going on here is

that the press who are making these
positive statements about the FIFA
franchise must be on the make
somehow.

(MORE)

11.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Beyond the packs and the monetizing
– what we’re actually seeing today
is a pure conflict of interest
between fans and the critical
press.
Si
17 CLOSE SCREEN GRAB OF CRITIC AND USER REVIEWS. 17

Close aspect of the comment by ‘Yeslord’

gn
PRESENTER
Look at these comments a little
closer. Aren’t critics supposed to
be the honest brokers in the gaming
industry?

What you’re witnessing in the

ifi
common denominator is that all the
so called ‘stakeholder’ parties
involved in making criticisms are
glowing about FIFA 21 whilst the
User ‘yeslord’ of Germany says, and
I’ll translate for you here:
ca
“(FIFA 21)...like its predecessors,
it simply isn’t any good”.

What sits in the mind of a critic

when they make this game shine so
nt
brightly instead of being
transparent and honest? One can
only wonder. Maybe ‘yeslord’ in
Germany knows.

Or. I can take a good guess.

VO
18 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 18

EA wants the money or the discount

of the services provided by the
press to get the marketing push.

And EA gets to plug an intellectual

property with impunity.
ID

To remind ourselves, the critics

should be saying:

“...we are here because we want to

protect the integrity of the
interactive gaming industry”.

(MORE)

12.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
But they’re not. They are thinking
one thing, saying another.

This is where we are with the

industry with the press living on
Si
the planet ‘Zog’ whilst fans are
down here on planet earth.

19 ARCHIVE OF FAN PLAYING FIFA GAME 19

gn
PRESENTER
Consent by the fan to buy a game
along with the mutual agreement by
the franchise to improve the game
exponentially, is one of the most
critical bonds of the gaming
community.
ifi
But what happens when you get a
game that is going backwards?
Rhetorical question really.
ca
20 INT. NOAH CAMPBELL. PTC. 20

PRESENTER
Of course, the larger question is:
how do we get back to the original
relationship between the fan and
nt
the corporation, where the producer
of a video simulation program gets
something in return for a fan’s
loyalty - that’s beyond money.

Many people remember FIFA 11-15

fondly, but all the FIFA fans knew
something fishy was going on when
VO
the franchise shifted towards
Ultimate Team and away from offline
game modes at the expense of core
game play.

Don’t they understand that our

loyalty was being carried by the
game play?
ID

Everyone in their own way is trying

to fix this problem. To fix the way
corporations like EA are heading.
(MORE)

13.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
This is way beyond spotting the
glaring defects of a game because
profit speculation itself is
killing the game, sustained by
immunity from criticism.
Si
The right thing to do would be that
IF the game play of any franchise
deteriorated - that you got
compensation equal to your last
investment in that game franchise.
gn
I know that’s never going to happen
but what we can do is insist on
transparency and honesty from the
game critics if we can’t get
redress from the game makers.
ifi
Let’s get that dynamic back!

Transparency is still key to this

issue in the future. That area
needs to be cleaned up and we need
to start with EA and the FIFA
ca
franchise. Draw a line under the
issue. Start again.

And critics, tell it like it is.

Let’s face it, we need to continue

nt
this discourse in the fan community
so that every aspect of these new
financing models can be discussed.

There’s nothing inherently wrong

with 100% knowledge sharing in the
community - seeing problems in the
programming and seeing them acted
VO
upon by EA is part of all our
commitment to the FIFA game.

The executives of EA should not

discriminate between the highest
quality of game play and urgent
fixes should be built into the way
their business continues to
ID

interact with its community of

buyers.

And they have to be VERY careful

not to be distracted by the
unintended consequences of
monetized game modes.

(MORE)

14.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
It’s the last piece of the puzzle
for getting a truly effective FIFA
game because - it’s this
longitudinal, cradle to grave
attitude to gaming that’s
Si
corrupting young minds and turning
innocents into gamblers.

Here’s a thought for you:

90% of children born in the 1940’s

gn
went on to earn more than their
parents. In the 1980’s, that fell
to 50%. So every year, the economic
future of American youth gets a
little less brighter.

The last thing a 15 year old needs

ifi
today is to be shaken down by
predatory ‘micro transactions’ or
‘loot boxes’ that EA Games appear
so fond of.

How many of the younger minds

ca
actually understand what’s going on
at EA and FIFA 21? Do they really
know? My guess in not! Younger
players do not have the faintest
clue.
nt
EA needs to be very careful here.
Younger fans will fall into the
trap but like all of us in the know
- once they play and get to
understand who is really
benefitting from their hand over
fist investment in card packs - the
discussion will change.
VO

And just to remind ourselves, EA is

chasing these young minds because
they know they can expect rich
pickings. Youth gambling. It’s a
little terrifying. No protections
there.
ID

Like prescription drugs, gaming can

be addictive and its accessible.
You need a strong mind. But every
year EA is continuing to empty
young pockets, seeing games like
FIFA 21 as an engine of
opportunity.
(MORE)

15.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Millions of young gaming minds have
succumbed to this title around the
world, enlarging EA profits through
hard earned ‘paper round’ money.
Si
Where is government? Where does
legislation stand in all this?
Isn’t the basic role of government
to protect?

Some risks are easy to imagine – a

gn
financial crisis, a hurricane, a
terrorist. But what about the
billion dollar video games entities
who have turned game play into a
cash grab?
ifi
21 ARCHIVE OF PARLIAMENTARY CROSS EXAMINATION. 21

News archive footage of Kerry Hopkins from EA being cross

examined by a bench of UK Members of Parliament.

PRESENTER
ca
Well, the government in the UK is
ahead of the curve here, taking EA
to court over this recently as a
means of halting the formula,
citing the names of many children
who watching eSports and wanting to
nt
compete like the Pros are buying
the card packs and gambling the
money they’re stealing from their
parents.

Appearing before the Enquiry Board,

Kerry Hopkins, VP of Legal Affairs
at EA constantly dodged the ethical
VO
questions. Even comparing ‘Loot
Boxes’ to Kinder Eggs with a treat
inside.

It’s enough to make a cat laugh.

Yet the Enquiry did do what it set

out to and after the warning shot
ID

was fired, EA immediately pulled an

ad promoting FIFA micro
transactions from a UK publication
– wait for it – aimed at children.

The company issued an apology but

of course by that time, the damage
had already been done.
(MORE)

16.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Smash and grab anyone?

For those who follow these things,

EA did a copy/paste of its use of
Loot Boxes for ‘Star Wars’ and
Si
‘Battlefront 2’ and as a result,
the Corporation is now being chased
down by several Government
lawmakers in countries throughout
Europe.
gn
We need greater regulatory
protections now here in the US to
ensure fans are not abused. We need
panels of fans and critics
together, sensible people, who want
to see the investment versus game
play equation balanced once and for
ifi
all.

(In concluding tone).

In FIFA FALL, I’ve tried to explore

the hazards of entrusting a gaming
ca
company with your loyalty.

By this point, your hair will

probably be on fire. It seems that
today, there are increasing risks
in video gaming and what’s
nt
happening is impossible to conceive
unless you have invested weeks of
your life into a classic game like
FIFA Football.

What matters most is that we, as

fans need to respond.
VO
A surprising numbers of us have
discovered the same thing: a
collapsed state of game play in
favour of profit. Many like me have
gone on a crusade to stress the
original benefits of earlier
versions of the FIFA franchise.
It’s a pernicious force that we
ID

seem to have no control over.

FIFA 16 was the first sign that

there would be trouble ahead. And
the franchise has slowly become
more and more unconventional.
(MORE)

17.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Early versions had deeper more
meaningful game play, now we were
being expected to lay out
increasing sums of money for
virtual card packs.
Si
Walk like an Egyptian? No thanks!

Nothing has to be fundamentally

changed other than the driving
profit motive. The bug fixes will
gn
follow naturally.

It’s clear that a large number of

fans are voting the game play down
at every opportunity. And you can
be sure that the fans know exactly
which aspects of the video game
ifi
need to be surrendered to improve.

I worry that as a fan I’m now

having to talk to you about ethical
matters, rather than playing the
games that I love. It’s why I’m
ca
talking to you now, standing on the
beach-head with a virtual call to
arms.

We all want to promote collective

gaming, so EA - don’t employ
nt
monetized gaming modes so
explicitly or otherwise - have game
play more accessible like it used
to be - because its for the common
benefit.

Who would argue otherwise?

VO
It would be an interesting
experiment to see how many fans
would sign away their consent to
ever play FIFA again unless EA
committed to identified gaming
improvements. I wonder how many
video fans would do that?
ID

There’s a thought...

Of course, any EA game fits this

charge of criticism. It’s just that
FIFA and Madden are the biggest
culprits. Take Two’s NBA 2K series
has just followed suit.
(MORE)

18.
 PRESENTER (CONT'D)
Other EA franchises like ‘Anthem’
are already feeling the heat.

Understand. I’m not expecting

everyone to agree but we do need to
Si
be clear about how we got here and
why fans are now diving into their
sofas for spare change to play.
It’s a kind of abuse.

So the question is: how do we break

gn
the cycle of dependence as an
increasing number of young FIFA
fans become virtual addicts.

It’s clear to me that EA has

invested little or no time
understanding the under currents
ifi
here. Especially whilst profits are
bobbling along so nicely, thank
you.

And it’s not exactly a head-

scratching problem either. If
ca
you’re a $5.54 billion a year
enterprise with 9,300 employees -
wouldn’t you want to do something
about all this?

So, I’m lifting the lid on the

nt
biggest story in interactive gaming
today, an exposé of high speed
scamming with a call to stop the
excess of monetized game modes of
which EA’s FIFA is its most heinous
exponent.

I’m not a maverick but a fan. And

VO
of course, thanks to all my
viewers, I’m not alone either.

Thank you.

FINAL DURATION:(31:00)
(3,877 WORDS)
ID

19.