Career Mode Expansion Proposal – “Fighter Life System”
Hello EA UFC team,
I’d like to share an idea for improving Career Mode in future UFC titles. Right now, the gameplay itself feels great, but Career Mode feels repetitive and shallow: train, fight, repeat. There’s very little sense of being a real fighter with a real life behind the scenes.
This proposal focuses on adding depth, personality, and long-term progression without changing core combat gameplay.
Psychological attributes:
In addition to strength, speed, stamina and other physical stats, fighters would also have mental and personality attributes such as Aggression, Calmness, Explosiveness, Fight IQ, and Mental Toughness.
Aggression would affect pressure fighting and risk taking. Calmness would improve defense and composure under pressure. Explosiveness would control burst damage and fast combinations. Fight IQ would influence how well the fighter reads opponents. Mental Toughness would affect comebacks and resistance to pressure.
These attributes would not be leveled only with points. They would mainly be shaped by life events and player decisions.
Life events system:
During career mode, random or scripted life events would occur and permanently affect attributes.
For example, losing a parent could increase aggression and explosiveness but reduce calmness. Finding a partner could increase calmness but lower aggression. Having a child could increase mental toughness but reduce explosiveness. A bad breakup could lower focus and raise aggression. A media scandal could change how fans react to the fighter.
This would make every career feel unique and emotionally grounded.
Player decisions and dialogues:
Add simple choice-based moments such as interview responses, contract decisions, training focus, and how you treat rivals.
These choices would influence fan perception, matchmaking opportunities, sponsorships, and attribute changes. This would not be a complex RPG system, just meaningful decisions that shape your fighter’s personality and career path.
Fan perception system:
Instead of one popularity meter, fans could be divided into groups such as hardcore fans, fans, and haters.
Each group would react differently to behavior and results. A controversial fighter might have massive hype but many haters. A respectful fighter might grow slower but gain loyal supporters.
This would affect fight hype, pay, rivalries, and media pressure.
Career loop example:
Weekly progression could look like training, life event, media interaction, decision moment, attribute adjustment, and then fight.
This adds narrative depth without expensive cinematics, mostly using UI, text, and stat systems.
Why this matters:
Right now Career Mode feels mechanical. This system would make fighters feel human, create unique stories per playthrough, increase replay value, add emotional investment, and help UFC stand out from other sports games.
Importantly, this does not require AAA cutscenes or heavy production. Most of this could be handled through menus, text, and attribute systems.
Thank you for reading. I truly believe this kind of Fighter Life System could turn Career Mode into something special.
Thank you, have a great day
