An Early Look at Madden NFL 17 Presentation

[RogueHominid]

It's too early to draw big conclusions, that's for sure.

My question, however, which often comes up with Madden is: What is the world in which X makes sense to the developers as a thing to do in Madden?

What part of the game we see on Sundays or of the NFL culture was the team trying to capture with this shot? What aspect of real NFL football or its media representation was the art team or whoever made this shot going for?

Maybe I'm not watching the same broadcasts, but I just don't see a group shot of an offensive or defensive unit such as this one making sense. Maybe the Legion of Boom has done local Seattle commercials in which they strike poses, but I don't think the Packers' secondary has the credibility to go this hard.

If unit shots like this are in the game, It's not going to kill the experience for me, but I really just want these cats to figure out how to make this product feel like what I see on Sunday in as many ways as possible.

I want the form of the game to communicate to me that these guys understand the sport they're trying to represent and that they're attempting to reproduce it digitally with maximum fidelity. I don't always get that impression, but I'd like to.

On the plus side, I'm actually still playing Madden daily, so all they really have to do is find a way not to make the game worse.

[Junior Moe]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

It's too early to draw big conclusions, that's for sure. My question, however, which often comes up with Madden is: What is the world in which X makes sense to the developers as a thing to do in Madden? What part of the game we see on Sundays or of the NFL culture was the team trying to capture with this shot? What aspect of real NFL football or its media representation was the art team or whoever made this shot going for? Maybe I'm not watching the same broadcasts, but I just don't see a group shot of an offensive or defensive unit such as this one making sense. Maybe the Legion of Boom has done local Seattle commercials in which they strike poses, but I don't think the Packers' secondary has the credibility to go this hard. If unit shots like this are in the game, It's not going to kill the experience for me, but I really just want these cats to figure out how to make this product feel like what I see on Sunday in as many ways as possible. I want the form of the game to communicate to me that these guys understand the sport they're trying to represent and that they're attempting to reproduce it digitally with maximum fidelity. I don't always get that impression, but I'd like to. On the plus side, I'm actually still playing Madden daily, so all they really have to do is find a way not to make the game worse.

To me it looks like something tailor made for MUT. That's what all of the presentation seems to be aimed at. Not an actual broadcast.

[roadman]

I go back to that question, though, when was the last time Madden looked like a NFL Broadcast?

I'd go back to the days of James Brown in the studio and Madden and Summerall as the announcers.

Until the games starts looking similar to a NFL broadcast and sounding like one, expectations aren't very high for me in that area. The bright spot is that Rex mentioned commentary was a area of concern that needed to be addressed.

[mrprice33]

I've always been of the opinion that they should not limit themselves on presentational aspects of the game. Otherwise, we'd be stuck playing in broadcast cam forever.

[jbd345]

Looks interesting. Looks like a cutscene which I'm ok with. I'll reserve further judgement until I see it in motion.

[mrprice33]

If some SNF or ESPN producer sees Madden 17 and decides they want to do stuff like this with players (maybe not in pads) for starting lineups or something like that, that'd be really cool, and it wouldn't have happened without the game pushing the envelope.

Here's an article talking about some things TV has borrowed from Madden, and vice versa: http://www.theatlantic.com/technolog...e-ways/385057/

Here's another, from 2004: http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-04...v11-story.html

The dogmatic "they can only do what we see on TV" view is short-sighted at best and damaging to innovation in the game at worst.

[Junior Moe]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

I go back to that question, though, when was the last time Madden looked like a NFL Broadcast? I'd go back to the days of James Brown in the studio and Madden and Summerall as the announcers. Until the games starts looking similar to a NFL broadcast and sounding like one, expectations aren't very high for me in that area. The bright spot is that Rex mentioned commentary was a area of concern that needed to be addressed.

Madden 10 was close, IMO. It wasn't NFL2k but it was at least emulating a TV broadcast. None of this weird "video gamely" stuff we're seeing now that has never been seen in a real life broadcast. I remember wondering why they had all these banners for XP and drive goals but not utilizing them for actual stats and pertinent CFM info. I get that they may want to do their own hybrid presentation. That's cool. But it hurts the immersion factor for me.

[DeuceDouglas]

Quote: Originally Posted by Trojan Man

Maybe I'm not watching the same broadcasts, but I just don't see a group shot of an offensive or defensive unit such as this one making sense.

I think this is part of the reason I really don't like any of the "above and beyond" areas that they try to take presentation. I don't necessarily have a problem with, and completely understand, doing things that wouldn't necessarily be possible with a normal, real-life broadcast. I think more of my issue comes from the fact that when they do choose to do them, like in the case of the on-field cameras or this kind of intro, it looks so awkward and out of place compared to every other broadcast element. The camerawork isn't the same or, in this case, the setup seems weird IMO.