The forgotten game aspect: special teams

[ODogg]

Just to clarify I meant snaps that like go over your head completely or off to one side. EA believes most people would not like random events like that. I disagree as I believe most folks here would. But look at EA with their fumble meter. They are even trying to make fumbles skill based which, as we all know, a lot of fumbles are completely random events and you can't just recover by being the "better team".

It's a design philosophy, one that really prohibits a certain level of realism from ever permeating the game if it continues..

[ActLikeYouCrow]

yeah bad luck is part of the game, at the same time you wonder how often the bad bounces would occur if ea put them in the game. yeah, i want bobbled snaps, botched snaps (which should be more likely to happen if you have non centers snapping or switching qb's or playing a qb with a hand injury) and snaps over the head or what have you.

i think in one blog or interview they talked about wedge blocking on this year's game. well the problem is the ncaa outlawed that for this upcoming season.

[ODogg]

I think if you have any claim to want realism, any at all, then you cannot complain about having issues in the game that may be beyond your control. Because having issues that are beyond your control are 100% a part of football at every level. Having a fumble at a key moment, a stupid penalty at an inopportune time, an over the head snap on a punt...all of these things are things beyond a users control but they are all part of what makes football such a wildly unpredictable and fun game to watch.

Honestly I think this is the #1 reason EA's football games feel stale or too boring, because EA has sanitized the parts of football beyond the user control. They do so because they feel it allows their users to control the game and absolves them of hearing complaints when unexpected things happen. And designing their game that way certainly does that.

But view it in the context of real life. No one wants anything bad to happen to them, something out of their control. But the alternative is living life in a padded room. Safe? Yes. But boring and sterile. Much like EA's football games. Let's get the game out of the padded room and start adding what makes it real football..people may complain but let them, the game will be much better for it!!

[DorianDonP]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

I think if you have any claim to want realism, any at all, then you cannot complain about having issues in the game that may be beyond your control. Because having issues that are beyond your control are 100% a part of football at every level. Having a fumble at a key moment, a stupid penalty at an inopportune time, an over the head snap on a punt...all of these things are things beyond a users control but they are all part of what makes football such a wildly unpredictable and fun game to watch. Honestly I think this is the #1 reason EA's football games feel stale or too boring, because EA has sanitized the parts of football beyond the user control. They do so because they feel it allows their users to control the game and absolves them of hearing complaints when unexpected things happen. And designing their game that way certainly does that. But view it in the context of real life. No one wants anything bad to happen to them, something out of their control. But the alternative is living life in a padded room. Safe? Yes. But boring and sterile. Much like EA's football games. Let's get the game out of the padded room and start adding what makes it real football..people may complain but let them, the game will be much better for it!!

Why would a bad snap have to be a random occurrence? All it would take is a change in the way you snapped the ball. Instead of hitting X, why not have pull down on the analog stick? Too hard causes a hard snap...too soft causes a soft snap.....and QB awareness or composure rating determines if the QB adjusts to the snap or not (or punter/kicker/holder).

Also, if the QB is not looking at the center (i.e, he's setting an audible, or looking to the sideline, or setting a hot route) yet the user snaps the ball before the QB is set, then it could result in a bad snap.

All of this would be based on realism and skill for the user....not random occurrences. How NBA 2k does free throws should be how the football games handle many of their skill components.

[Bruce Wayne Jr]

good discussion guys. i wish someone from ea was here to read this

[instant000]

How about if it was just an option you could turn on/off?

Then, it's left up to the player if they want it or not ... that would satisfy the people who want it, and the people who want to do without it.

[ODogg]

Well you could devise systems for these sorts of things but I am not sure folks would really want a system for every single thing. My point was that the game overall needs more randomness and things happening that are sort of fluky like real football. Yes it'd be nice if some of it was based on some sort of user input but then I also don't believe most people want the game micro-managed in every facet either.

An option to turn it off would be ideal, I agree. Make it on by default though for online ranked. Or else you'd never get to see any of it. Well I mean I wouldn't since that's what I usually play.

[Tarheel]

Quote: Originally Posted by ODogg

I think if you have any claim to want realism, any at all, then you cannot complain about having issues in the game that may be beyond your control. Because having issues that are beyond your control are 100% a part of football at every level. Having a fumble at a key moment, a stupid penalty at an inopportune time, an over the head snap on a punt...all of these things are things beyond a users control but they are all part of what makes football such a wildly unpredictable and fun game to watch. Honestly I think this is the #1 reason EA's football games feel stale or too boring, because EA has sanitized the parts of football beyond the user control. They do so because they feel it allows their users to control the game and absolves them of hearing complaints when unexpected things happen. And designing their game that way certainly does that.

+1