I'm planning on looking at a few dismissal clips. It might sound counter intuitive to talk about dismissals as a favourite part of the game, but they're a vital part of the context that makes the other favourite bits seem meaningful, and a vital part of the illusion that a real cricket game is happening and the feeling that the game's concepts of success and failure are fair and coherent.
For me, the important factors in a "good" dismissal are :
i) I must know what my mistake was.
ii) I must feel getting out is a fair result for that mistake.
iii) I must feel that I can avoid repeating the mistake in future, either through strategy or skill.
iv) It must feel / look like a plausible cricket dismissal.
i, ii and iii are especially important in terms of whether the dismissal leaves me feeling like I want another go or not. Batting very quickly becomes frustrating if the dismissals feel unfair, not reasonably avoidable or if I'm unsure what I did wrong.
The first example is a run out. In earlier builds the infield throws were a bit too sharp. It felt like they just couldn't miss. More recently I've found them a little bit too laid back about returning the ball and cheeky singles a bit too easy to take. Not this time.
Run out :
There are a few reasons why this run out left me with a smile on my face.
The first thing is that I made a mistake that I've made in real cricket. I'd just set off automatically because I hit the ball nicely, and when the fielder dived I thought I'd beaten him. I thought the applause was because the ball was going for four.
The error was compounded because I ran normally instead of sprinting, and when I realised he was throwing at the stumps I had that moment you always have when you think "I'm out if he hits". The moment when the stumps go down is so vivid in Pro Cam. It's just so close to what I remember seeing getting run out in real matches.
The fielding seems plausible rather than superhuman. He takes just long enough to set himself before the throw, and he's close enough and at a straight enough angle that you'd fancy a pro should have a chance of hitting. Ok, it's still a great throw and if you're constantly getting thrown out like that it's going to get frustrating, but I'd got away with a enough similar run out chances that I didn't feel cheated on this one.
Knowing that I might have made it if I'd sprinted all the way is another factor. I feel like I had a fair chance and I blew it, and that's exactly the way I want to feel when I get out.
One thing I would consider as a possible improvement is the opportunity to cancel a run later and attempt to sacrifice my partner. Currently you can't cancel if you're more than halfway down (I think?).
Ok, in terms of realism you don't see a lot of guys turn around from past the halfway point in real games, but it would add another little opportunity for the user to exercise some tactical skill, and sacrificing a weaker batsman is a real thing in pro cricket - as is selling your partner out to save your average like Geoff Boycott.