Madden NFL 13 News Post

Madden NFL 13 Team Focuses on Making Defense Fun Again, What Do You Hope to See?

02:01 PM - February 21, 2012 by Gotmadskillzson

GameInformer recently sat down with Richard Hilleman, Electronic Arts Chief Creative Officer, as they discuss Madden NFL 13's focus on making defense fun again.

What are you hoping to see on the defensive side of the ball?

Quote:


	Electronic Arts chief creative officer Richard Hilleman says the new leadership group at EA Tiburon is focused on making defense fun again. Hilleman is no stranger to the Madden franchise, having designed the original game alongside Scott Orr and John Madden back in 1988. When I sat down with him at DICE, one of the big questions on my mind was what fans should expect from Madden NFL 13 given the large turnover at the top of the development team. Hilleman seems optimistic. "They are doing big things this year," he said. "They're making big changes. Those are big changes that are going to break a lot of stuff, and they know that. What we're after is a better defense that's more fun to play." The defensive side of the football has been long overdue for a revamp. The last major change to the defensive controls came in Madden NFL 05 with the introduction of the hit stick. Hopefully this retooling will also address the poor awareness demonstrated by the secondary in last year's game and mark the return of true gang tackling. If the new approach to defense was developed by EA Tiburon's shared technology group, there is a chance these features could extend over to NCAA Football as well.

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Member Comments

# 21 UMhester04 @ 02/21/12 05:34 PM

I want to see the things that we have all been talking about for the past 6 years...you know, the basics of football. Im not going to name them all out again because its been done countless times in the past. Im not falling for the hype train this year until I see some solid proof that SOMETHING is going to be fixed.

# 22 spankdatazz22 @ 02/21/12 05:42 PM

Balanced approach please. Do away with the themed upgrades

# 23 balljonesjr @ 02/21/12 05:56 PM

Let's hope big hits are more accurate and 190 lb CBs are not consistantly making open field tackles on 220 lb TEs/FBs/RBs

# 24 DubTrey1 @ 02/21/12 06:01 PM

I hope all the changes work out in the end... what was telling to me (at least IMO) was his comment that he still gets calls he shouldn't get... I think that is funny. His phone must have been disconnected the last 7 years.

# 25 KingV2k3 @ 02/21/12 06:22 PM

1) Smarter playcalling / gameplanning by the CPU

2) Better decision making / pocket presence / reads / down and distance / AWR by CPU QB

3) Better implementation of 3-4 for USER

4) Return of "Commit to Pass / Run"

I'd be having a lot more fun playing D, if it was more of a challenge...

CPU O AI has been weak for a while now...

# 26 DUDERMAN @ 02/21/12 06:26 PM

I would like to see defensive player lock added to all game modes. That would instantly make it more fun for me. This is by far my #1 request for defense. It's the only reason I occasionally play NCAA as I'm not an avid college football fan.

I also would like to see better interaction between DL/OL and DB/WR at the line. This would really help with the realism. It would be nice to see DTs be able to push the line back rather than the stock animations (throw down lineman, trip up while trying to swim move around the lineman, the simply be blocked out of the play)

You also need better AI on offense if you are going to make the defense better. Right now in Madden 12 on all pro and all madden, I can send an all out blitz on every play and get the the QB before he can throw about 80% of the time. It would be nice to have AI QBs read and react to plays if I were to bring everyone at the line and press all the receivers. This is an extreme example but it would help make the game a bit more challenging if the QB realizes (though not all the time) when he needs to get the ball out quick.

[edit] Forgot one major thing that needs to be addressed.

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN 3-4 and 4-3 FRONT SEVEN PLAYERS

Right now I could play in a 3-4 and have 260lb Cliff Avril play DE for me and succeed. At that weight he would likely fail at DE in a 3-4 in the real NFL, he would better be suited for OLB. However his ratings don't adjust so it would be suicide to play him in coverage.

This is the same for 4-3. If I have DeMarcus Ware or Terrel Suggs on a 4-3 team, they better play DE. Currently in the game, their ratings don't adjust so they instantly become 99 rated players.

Basically every player should have a rating that adjusts fairly to a position change depending on the scheme. So if I do move Avril to 3-4 outside linebacker, he should maybe get a slight boost in coverage and a decrease in pass rush for that first year. The CPU should be also smarter when drafting players and putting them in the right positions depending if they play 3-4 or 4-3.

I'm just tired of playing my fantasy drafted leagues, online and offline, and seeing literally over 100 players playing in a scheme that would never work for them.

It would also be nice to have the depth chart act more like a real NFL depth chart. In the NFL, if a team's RCB were to go down, they likely wouldn't put their nickel back in his place outside. If my LDT goes down, I don't want my NT to move over to his place.

This also applies on offense... I likely wouldn't play my slot receiver outside due to injury unless a) He is a versatile player who can get upfield and b) I have a reliable replacement to catch passes over the middle. So a more realistic depth chart would be nice.

Wow, one simple edit to a post and my mind keeps flowing with ideas, like this one...

Please, please, please, please add custom packages that we can switch to in the game. I would love to create a package to have my best pass rushers on the field on 3rd down. There are times in a game I like to be creative but it's a hassle to try and make individual adjustments between plays. So let us create our own packages before the game and easily switch between them at any time.

So lets recap

1. Defensive player lock (reversed camera view so you are looking at the offense)

2. Better interaction at the line between DL/OL, DB/WR

3. Better QB AI to adjust to the defense (needed to help prevent the defense from being over powered for certain plays and helps keep players honest with play calling)

4. Differentiate between 3-4 and 4-3 front seven players

5. More realistic depth chart

6. Custom packages

# 27 mike24forever @ 02/21/12 06:46 PM

It's amazing how quickly this became a wish list.

# 28 KingV2k3 @ 02/21/12 06:47 PM

SLIGHTLY more time to use pre snap adjustments / strat pad / hot routes / etc...

Most of that stuff is kinda useless, because:

1) It's too clumsy

2) Not enough time to implement

# 29 SkillzKillz719 @ 02/21/12 06:50 PM

Yeah... this didn't move me at all. Seriously not going for the hype machine this year.

And I'm not being all oh-my-gosh-developers-need-to-be-fired..... *buys game* oh my goshhhh.

Just honestly. I wanna wait and see :/ I'm more disappointed than frustrated.

# 30 rufusone @ 02/21/12 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by at23steelers


	If he means exciting, then we need a different camera view, specifically the one in NCAA. We need LB's to not be super-human, CB's to not mirror routes before WR even performs it, pass interference, defensive holding, and defenseless WR all to be called and realistic.

This ^^^^ for sure.

# 31 rufusone @ 02/21/12 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkillzKillz719


	Yeah... this didn't move me at all. Seriously not going for the hype machine this year. And I'm not being all oh-my-gosh-developers-need-to-be-fired..... buys game oh my goshhhh. Just honestly. I wanna wait and see :/ I'm more disappointed than frustrated.

I'm with you, same hype train, add features....etc, fix the dang gameplay first, offense, defense, special teams....etc.

# 32 DUDERMAN @ 02/21/12 06:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike24forever


	It's amazing how quickly this became a wish list.

It says in the thread title, "what do you hope to see?". You shouldn't be surprised to see people answer that.

# 33 DJ @ 02/21/12 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TNT713


	Didn't finish the article... Stopped at the most recent innovation being the Hit Stick. I can't agree with anyone that thinks the Hit Stick overpowered the ability to change the assignment of any defender as the most important innovation to how we play defense. The Hit Stick always ranks lower on my totem pole. That said, I didn't meet the exec the writer of the article spoke to... If a person works for EA and talks about Madden I need to look in their eyes before I even consider their opinion to be valuable. IMO, if he was passionate about Madden I'd have met his *** at CD. If I didn't meet him at CD, I should have. So with that in mind, be aware of how unimpressed I am with this interview. Later

Easy, big fella. This guy is one of the highest-ranking officials at EA; I'm sure he had other things to do than to attend a Madden Community Event. That doesn't mean that he's not concerned or passionate about the game.

# 34 SoulAssassin @ 02/21/12 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UMhester04


	I want to see the things that we have all been talking about for the past 6 years...you know, the basics of football. Im not going to name them all out again because its been done countless times in the past. Im not falling for the hype train this year until I see some solid proof that SOMETHING is going to be fixed.

^THIS

seriously.

Pass Interference would be nice too.... it's called so much on Sundays with the soft new NFL, that's unbelievable to never see it in this phony NFL "Simulator"

# 35 LionsFanNJ @ 02/21/12 07:43 PM

I'll wait until we start getting information to have an opinion and even then I may not as evident with NCAA this past year they can implement things and they be imcomplete. Sounds good though.

Now show me the DE getting pressure and not a 56 rated DT then I might pay attention sooner.

# 36 kalimmortal @ 02/21/12 07:54 PM

what bothers me about the development of this game ... is customers and fans of the franchise .. come here and type hundreds of pages of excellent ways to improve the game and features they wanna see in the game..etc..

then when the game comes out ... the major improvement is some feature/gimmick that NOBODY asked for or wanted ...

and for the most part we only get incremental and marginal improvement because every year they change/overhaul a feature.. but since it's not done properly...they have to go back the following year and re-overhaul it...wasting precious time in the process..that could've been dedicated to other features..

but on the hope that somebody is listening ... here are my suggestions ...

1. Make ratings matter .. you can have all the ratings categories you want ... it's irrelevant if all the players play the same... if my 79 RT blocks just as well as my 99 overall LT ... then why am i breaking the bank to pay him?? why is it my 95 rated DE can NEVER beat an 81 rated Tackle?? and my 3rd down elusive 5'9" 205 lb half back ..should NOT.. play the same way as my 240 lb bruising RB...

2. Work on OL/DL interaction... the D-Line gets paid too... they should beat their man occasionally... and with a variety of moves .. from rip moves to swim moves to spin moves to bull rushes... the next time i see an O-Linemen get knocked on his butt..will be the first time...

3. Correct the WR/DB interaction ... the wideout is usually most open right out of his break...except in Madden this is not the case..due to DBs mirroring the route... get rid of the clairvoyant DB feature ... where cornerbacks jump up at precisely the right time to knock down a pass when they had their head turned the whole entire time and couldn't possibly have seen the ball...

4. Fix blocking on running plays, punt returns, and kickoffs .. so my blockers block the most logical person (i.e. the defender that's about to tackle me) ..instead blockin' somebody 10-20 yards downfield ... it's one thing to deliver a piss poor block.. it's another thing for my blockers to never even try...

5. Please do a better job of testing the game pre-release so as to avoid glitches, bugs, and freezes that make the game unplayable and therefore unenjoyable... and don't assume that you can jus patch everything post release...because not all of us connect our console to the internet...

most everything else i would've suggested has been listed over the years ad nauseum .. so i feel no need to repeat it...

i have some aesthetic suggestions ..as well as some auxillary feature requests .. but we need to get gameplay squared away first...

# 37 statum71 @ 02/21/12 08:50 PM

A pass rush that doesn't feel like I'm being held every play. While the CPU has ALL DAY to throw.

# 38 marshallfever @ 02/21/12 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LambertandHam


	Hopefully before the final product ships. I kid, I kid. Would be nice to see some more CB vs WR interaction and fighting for the ball.

When I read that i laughed too lmfao

# 39 scottyo60 @ 02/21/12 09:53 PM

Just a thought... I thought pro tak was the biggest defensive change? I don't think in the last 2 years I've seen the kind of tackling I saw in 10

# 40 johnnyg713 @ 02/21/12 11:11 PM

Tackling
I want a tackling system that feels rewarding. Its not just about making size and strength matter, I want to be able to make a multiple hit tackle whenever I want to fully stop the running back's momentum. I'm sick of trying to "clean up" a gang tackle and watch as I just bounce off. If I'm putting myself in the right position to make the play, I should be able to contribute to the play 100% of the time.

Linebacker Play
When blitzing I want to be able to squeeze in gaps between the lineman.

I want to be able to put my shoulder down and bullrush a fullback or OL when he goes to block me. I want to be able to actually be able to counter his block by pushing him back, completely lay him out, Juke by, or spinning or swimming by him. (edit: simply pressing B can trigger certain animations based on the player, maybe even signature moves)

When I'm being blocked I still want to be able to make a play on the ball carrier. Putting an arm out to slow him down or reaching out to trip him up. Hitting X when being blocked should still trigger some sort of tackle animation (or potentially cause a chop block). I also want to be able to completely sell out if I see a ball being thrown and have a chance to bat the ball down or even make an interception.

Defensive Back Play

JAMMING A RECEIVER
I think there should be a button for jamming a receiver. Make it B. If you see a receiver within 5 yrds of the LOS, or coming across your zone, hit B to throw him off his route (this should be the same for Linebackers as well).

FIGHTING FOR POSITION/JOSTLING
I want to be able to fight for position (take the page right out of Fifa's book), you see a WR has a step on you and you want to stay with him or just give him a harder time to make the catch, hold down A which will trigger jostling and fighting for position. The purpose of this is to slow down the WR, not to have your CB speed up and mirror the route. You will still need to control where your DB is running but the jostling makes it easier to stay with him.

These Animations Must be Tied to Some Sort of Input
I believe we don't have good WR/DB interaction because it seems EA tries to get this stuff to trigger automatically. For this stuff to work the computer must have the logic to do it. In other words EA MUST MAKE "JAMMING" AND "FIGHT FOR POSITION" AI. If you have your AI actually using these tactics as actual moves and realizes there is an advantage to putting pressure on the WR, instead of these things just being automatically triggered, this stuff will finally work when it should and can be tuned.

Again Fifa has had this stuff down for years. Players don't jostle because they are running close to each other, its because the AI is actually trying to steal the ball. The animations will only be triggered when the AI wants them to be or when the user wants the to be. Now all this stuff can finally trigger penalties as well because its user/AI input.

COVERAGE TYPE/DB AWARENESS

1)Shut Down - use this type when you really want to get in a WR's face. The DB will be very aggressive. Bump n' run, jostling, barely looking for the pass. Coverage will be very tight but you are more susceptible to penalties and your DB will rarely pick off the ball because he's not paying attention to the QB, just the receiver. We see this all the time, especially when Linebackers are matched up against WRs or lesser DB's vs talented WRs.

2)Sag Off - this allows your corner to read the QB's eyes. (EA must get ratings and AI down right for this stuff to even matter). This will allow your receiver to make better plays on the ball and allow him to attempt to actually pick it off. However this will give the receiver a lot of room to run a good route or burn you on a quick slant.

3)Standard - pretty much the mid point between each one I just explained.

4) Shading - Allows the corner to force the receiver inside or outside.

5)Hitting/Going up for the ball - I want to have the option to have my safeties try and hit the receiver as he's comming down for the ball or make an attempt to swat it/intercept it/rip it out of his hands. (this could be tied to safety ratings too)

MISC
-I wanna see players diving to try and catch deflected balls.
-Awareness really tied to player ratings and finding the ball.
-Player styles really effect how they play the game (for example aggressive DBs)
-player momentum, defensive players slipping or really getting burned

Edit: After reading my post over I actually noticed 2 particular control mechanics.
1) Holding A (as a LB or DB)- triggers jostling/slowing down receiver (potential holding)
2) Pressing B (as a LB or DB) - triggers jamming a receiver and also countering a block from an offensive player

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