Is there scripting in FIFA 23? DDA in video games explained

Even hardcore FIFA fans usually have a love and hate relationship with the series. For every positive thrill there seems to be a feature that can drive you off a mental cliff whenever you encounter it. One such feature is the so-called ‘scripting’ that could ruin your day in a single snap—or at least that’s what players think.

Is there actually any scripting mechanics in FIFA 23 or is it just a convenient excuse for poor player inputs?

Picture this: it’s the last minute of injury time, you’re up 3–2 in a crucial Weekend League match, you’re keeping possession, just about ready to celebrate a victory, but oh wait, what’s that? It is your TOTY van Dijk, with a 90 short passing attribute, serving the ball on a silver platter for the opposing striker to score an equalizer when all he had to do was make a simple pass to the other completely unguarded center back.

If the above scenario sounds familiar, then you’ve encountered what many FIFA 23 players call scripting. The way the community explains it is the game’s coding snatching victory away from your hands just so it can mess with you.

In reality, there’s a more level-headed, yet arguably evenly rage-inducing explanation for scripted moments in FIFA 23.

What is DDA in video games?

DDA stands for Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment and it is the official term standing behind what is commonly known as scripting. DDA is sometimes implemented in games to balance the experience by adjusting the difficulty based on the player’s performance. If you’re having a breeze, DDA will adjust and make enemies stronger, and vice versa.

DDA is not a universally bad tool to implement in a game by any means. In a lot of games, it could enable more completed playthroughs. Not all gamers come with the same skill set, so a player that would otherwise struggle without DDA could complete a certain title, while another that would be bored if the game had one default difficulty would receive a challenge better suited to their skills. Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment has been around for at least a couple of decades, so FIFA 23 is very far from being the first game to implement it.

However, there is a major difference between most games that use DDA scripting and FIFA. FIFA is not just a single-player game, it is also, and predominantly online. This changes the perspective on DDA and its application. DDA is generally fine because, in its traditional form, it only affects AI-controlled enemies or obstacles.

DDA in a multiplayer title like FIFA 23 directly impacts player inputs and that’s a problem. This implementation of DDA essentially takes away agency and adds an element of randomness that is not only infuriating but goes completely against the concept of competitive gaming, and competitions in general.

Is there scripting in FIFA 23?

The one saving grace for EA is that, according to the publisher, there is no scripting of any kind present in FIFA 23 or any FIFA for that matter. It’s nice to have the safety net of stating something and the audience having no other choice but to accept it as the truth, but that’s the reality of the situation and until someone proves unequivocally that there is DDA within FIFA 23, we can’t definitively say that there is.

Of course, saying out loud that a competitive title, one that has a somewhat large esports scene, is scripted in any way, would be a catastrophic piece of PR for EA.

The company is no stranger to fumbling its relations with the public, but it usually takes a lot of pressure from outside to get there. This would be a self-inflicted PR wound.

There are too many examples like the one we painted with our TOTY van Dijk scenario for there not to be a common cause. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. It could be DDA, it could be poor coding that goes off the rails at random, or it could be that every FIFA 23 player forgets how to play the game once the match goes into injury time. Whatever it is, we know it’s there and we know how many keyboards have suffered the consequences.