Gamechanger guys or devs..Please pass this on to the team if you could or jot down these suggestions for us. I know i can speak for others on this stuff. Anyone else that has any last minute suggestions..add to this if you want.
Looking over some of the more recent M16 game play vids...It's great to see a lot of improvement on animations,etc...the player emotion after plays don't necessarily need to be over done though...what i mean is pumping of fists,etc should be there but not too frequent...if anything, there needs to be more subtle more varied jogging * walking animations back to the huddle and sidelines,etc. Not just switching camera angles. More player on player chatter animations, slapping of butts,players pulling grass out of other players helmets,tying shoelaces that come undone,etc..stuff thats the real deal, the skies the limit..the idea's are endless if you put your mind to it. All of it is crucial but there has got to be a big amount of this in order to keep the game feeling fresh and fluid.
IMPORTANT: Before i forget let me add this to the top of my list. The audio of player on player physicality of gridiron needs to be revamped & amplified. More clashing sounds of helmets, more grunts and groans,etc...this stuff has been dated with madden for eons. It's time to revamp the on-the-field sounds of clashing hogs and tackles. One quick example...2k5, listen to the banging and grunting going on..the sound is right on that game, well for its time it was. In this particular aspect of NFL video game football..the sound in this regard should be amplified..almost a bit over-the-top but not in a bad way..to a point where it's still believable but since it is a video game..the sound really sparks up atmosphere. Boys will be boys no matter the age..these little things go a long way when presenting excitement. Listen to 2k5 clashing, groans and moans..while dated with today's standards in terms of audio tech (the simplicity then vs. now), it still hits the bullseye in approach imho
https://youtu.be/n-nJbCrQZ3c?t=5m26s PS - Adding just another sound layer over current grunts,groans clashing, banging, impact audio could be a quick fix that might do wonders..it can be generic ..but i know it would do justice for current state that it is. Raising the sound level is really needed at least..it's way too low but i suggest a revamp and amplify the sound level.
Back on topic: I think there needs to be a good healthy balance of excitement after plays and subtle walking and jogging animations, high fives and other varied subtle sequences of players...it's sorta like the crowds for example...i seen way too many twirling of fan hankies or pom poms lol....this also needs to be adjusted to be more varied. All one has to do is look at real game play footage of a stadium that's hyped a lot..like Seahawk fans ...you will see its more varied and mixed animations of fans...not overly done with excitement even though seahawks are some of the most charged up fans around. Well same thing can be said with player emotions. It's good to make sure its not overly done but on the flip side..its no good to make it moot atmosphere. A good way to go about this is to add many more subtle post-play animations of player emotions or just players jogging,etc...just switching camera angles is NOT gonna cut it..that's taking short cuts that eventually harm the atmosphere when the human eye starts to see that. Just a bit of advice from a presentation/atmosphere freak that i am lol.
Anyways, I really like the progress made, Tiburon!! You guys have really made some super strides in cleaning up the presentation/atmosphere side of things. Although i would highly suggest that you guys get a quality half-time show done with recaps of other on-going games...even during gameplay..cut away from the current game and show some other games in progress where a notable TD or play has been made...Again just like what we would see on TV!!
One last thing - Keep pushing on these player emotions and pre/post play sequences of players, fans,etc..this stuff in all honestly help make the game fun to play...but the key to all this is to get rid of repeating animations and make sure there are ENOUGH or should i say a PLETHORA of varied sequences pre/post play animations.
PS: Make sure to fix that pre kick off animation of players jumping up and down right before the kicker kicks off the ball where we see two players doing the same jumping up and down animation(s)...i see this animation way over used ....waaaaaaay too much. Again...more, many more of pre/post play animations of players will fix this and also bring more SOUL to this game of pigskin.
PS PS: Next year you guys should really look at bringing play-by-play to a new level of excitement and of course much more varied chatter by the play by play guys...and that it all flows ..sorta like that old 2k game.