17-year old video games and data visualization

So, first things first, there's something you should know about me: I'm a nerd. Please, try to contain yourselves. I know: this is devastating news. But, don't worry, I'll channel that into something (moderately) interesting for the rest of you normies.

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things to do was play Madden. I spent so many weekends, so many summers, building and rebuilding teams in Madden franchise modes. Heck, for one glorious weekend, I was ranked #6 online for Madden 2005. I haven't ever quite gotten that good at any game since then, but I've remained pretty obsessed with sports, simulations, and data since then.

One feature I perhaps didn't full appreciate at the time these games were modern were the statistical output features that are included. With very little set up involved, the game can output HTML, CSV, or TXT files with individual game or season stats. It also is smart enough to create unique records for each game and/or season if you so choose. The outputs are not very pretty - they are unstyled HTML documents with almost everything inside of a single <pre> tag. But, the raw data is there.

So, preliminary thoughts:

• Create a new franchise file in Madden 08 with the intention of simulating 17 seasons (2008 - 2025)
• Utilize base output to design relational DB structure(s); e.g. players, teams, divisions, conferences and relationship to individual and team statistical performances
• Write script(s) to parse HTML/CSV/TXT outputs into relational DB structure
• Design options for data visualization and interactivity to compare simulated results against actual

Very much an early thought, and maybe not as interesting to you as it is to me. But, once we get some outputs on display I'm guessing you'll at least say, "oh, cool."