Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

[jmik58]

The single biggest improvement that could ever happen would be to incorporate a read-and-react "key" system for all players in regards to gameplay.

Every player has a "key" that tells them to react in a certain way. Depending on the players' attributes they execute said process in a variance of ways.

[wheelman990]

Re: Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

Slow down chest beater... Maybe everyone at your house would be happy. The person who plays Madden at my house would he HIGHLY UPSET.

I've never played 2K, and I'm never going to play 2K. Making Madden a 2K clone would put it squarely in my cross-hairs again similarly to when QB Vision hijacked he series in '06... I don't buy Madden at midnight every release and play it year long because I wish it was more like another game. Likewise, I do not play or buy other football games because I wish they were more like Madden.

Lastly, I'm certainly not accepting of the notion that part-time players who have little desire to play and master Madden know what the entire community wants. That's why we get eye-candy like hand towels instead of actually making the game a better football game.

EA is listening (to the wrong people) because they want money from people they aren't already getting money from - and it's effecting the game for those of us who loyally by the brand relentlessly. Sales are dropping as a result of deferring to the least common denominator - dudes that buy every 3-5 years (if that).

Later

I don't understand this at all. Basically you don't like 2k because it has a 2k logo instead of a EA stamped logo on it.

What you are saying is that no matter what EA chooses to put out in the future(and past), that's the best game in town regardless. You are saying that you have no desire to play a better football game in the future if it doesn't have EA's stamp? So EA doesnt need to do one simple thing with Madden 13 to earn your money?

IMO, this is the very reason Madden is so far behind other sports titles. I am amazed there are so many people that are buying this game ONLY because its "Madden". Its absolutely your right to do so....I just personally don't understand it. To me that says you love the EA brand way more then you you actually like the game of football.

For me, I'm gonna buy the best game of NFL football regardless who makes it. Right now that is madden 12 (although I think APF2k8 had much better gameplay IMO). I'm not bias to 2k or EA. If they want my money, they should have to earn it.

TNT-if I may ask, what things do you think Madden needs to improve on with madden 13? Sorry if you posted this and I missed it.

[romschomp]

Other than gameplay I hope to see much more improvements to the franchise mode. I want CPU to make interesting moves, decisions to their teams, improved trade logic, wider range of injuries, suspensions? player personalities, more in depth contract signings etc. etc.

[bobneil]

Madden does not live up to its its slogan, "If it's in the game, it's in the game". Rocca kicking off for the Redskins???? It infuriates me every time.

[VonRye]

Same common complaints that we who play NCAA Football have. Funny...I wonder why... oh, they're made by the same jokers

[TNT713]

Re: Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

I don't understand this at all. Basically you don't like 2k because it has a 2k logo instead of a EA stamped logo on it.

What you are saying is that no matter what EA chooses to put out in the future(and past), that's the best game in town regardless. You are saying that you have no desire to play a better football game in the future if it doesn't have EA's stamp? So EA doesnt need to do one simple thing with Madden 13 to earn your money?

IMO, this is the very reason Madden is so far behind other sports titles. I am amazed there are so many people that are buying this game ONLY because its "Madden". Its absolutely your right to do so....I just personally don't understand it. To me that says you love the EA brand way more then you you actually like the game of football.

For me, I'm gonna buy the best game of NFL football regardless who makes it. Right now that is madden 12 (although I think APF2k8 had much better gameplay IMO). I'm not bias to 2k or EA. If they want my money, they should have to earn it.

TNT-if I may ask, what things do you think Madden needs to improve on with madden 13? Sorry if you posted this and I missed it.

My "Never Gonna Play 2K" makes it seem like I have something against it when that's not the case. I have nothing against 2K. In fact, I have often complimented it for it's fluidity of movement, player models, sound effects, and the interactions. At the time, all of these factors were indeed BETTER than Madden's offering.

That said, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Madden is the game for me because there has never been a game on any console in any genre that matches or even comes close to the thrill I get from playing Madden head-to-head against another human being. Furthermore, I'd be hard pressed to find anything outside of video games that thrill me that much - maybe practicing reproduction, watching the NFL, and --- WELL, NOTHING.

You gotta understand, I was an adult (18) the first time I played Madden. At the time, I played virtually every video game on console and PC. It was only after Madden 2000 dropped that I realized that Madden was the game for me. In my almost 38 1/2 years of breathing air, Madden is the only thing in the world I must have immediately at release.

You know how girlfriends seem to think video games are a waste of time? I feel the EXACT SAME WAY about every game except Madden. If EA stopped making Madden tomorrow and another company filled the void - it would be of no consequence. No sense in going through the motions with another game. Been there, done that. I'd simply retire as a gamer.

It's kool if guys don't understand the sentiment. It took me more than 15 years to realize it myself. But once I reached the epiphany, there was no compromise and no turning back.

Now that that's out of the way, lets get to the parts you really want to know: What would I like to see EA do to improve Madden?

1) Defense in the Passing Game

When the ball is in the air, offensive and defensive players should have the same process to secure possession. Right now, defensive players can't make a catch while going out of bounds while offensive players can. Conversely, Offensive players must catch the ball and secure it before being credited with possession while defensive players get instant possession even if they haven't established 2 feet in the field of play. The screen shouldn't rotate until a jumping defender with the ball touches the ground.

2) Relevant Skill Drills

Bring back the DB Swat drill specifically and add training exercises that help players improve a larger variety of techniques. Especially those designed to build the skills needed for head-to-head and team play.

3) Mini-Stat overlays in the play call screen.

I shouldn't have to remember which player has the most catches in a game. that information should be available without me hitting pause. It would be 10x easier to know who's hot and who's not.

4) Better Ball Physics

The ball shouldn't just stick to a players hands on offense or defense. We should see more bobble catches. The ball should bounce more unpredictably on punts, kickoffs, incomplete passes, touchdown spikes, or anytime the ball impacts a surface...

5) Rules, Penalties, and Official Interaction

I want defensive holding, illegal motion, illegal touching of a forward pass, illegal formation, ineligible man down field, personal fouls, illegal block in the back, etc... Every relevant penalty should be in the game. Only the obscure penalties like, "Palpably Unfair Act" should be left out of the game.

On that note, officials should interact with the play. When a flag is thrown, I should see the flag and which official threw it. When a player goes out of bounds, I should see at least one official without a hat. So on, so forth.

6) QB Release in Traffic

When I press the icon button, the QB should let the ball go. If he's about to get hit, throw it anyway. I'd also like to see some 'in the grasp' type plays where a defender has a hold of the QB and he's still able to make a throw as long as he's upright...

7) Linemen GO HIT SOMEBODY

Linemen shouldn't always just shuffle their feet when they aren't engaged. They should find a defender and HIT HIM. Help the man next to you. And by all means, if my QB rolls outside the numbers, I shouldn't have 4 linemen shuffling their feet inside the hashes while 4 defenders are bearing down on the QB.

These are just a few of the improvements I'd like to see... I think they are all CORE to football would improve the game and not difficult to implement within a single development cycle using the existing technology.

Later

[jagsrock95]

along with all the gameplay fixes stated above id love to see better player interaction post-play and not the mindless zombie thing we got going on right now.

[ridemooses]

Big thing for me: AI. People call the same plays over and over and the computer should be able to recognize that better and react appropriately. Likewise, running the same play over and over successfully would open up other plays. Maybe I'm just dreaming but this is huge.

[wheelman990]

Re: Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

My "Never Gonna Play 2K" makes it seem like I have something against it when that's not the case. I have nothing against 2K. In fact, I have often complimented it for it's fluidity of movement, player models, sound effects, and the interactions. At the time, all of these factors were indeed BETTER than Madden's offering.

That said, I know without a shadow of a doubt that Madden is the game for me because there has never been a game on any console in any genre that matches or even comes close to the thrill I get from playing Madden head-to-head against another human being. Furthermore, I'd be hard pressed to find anything outside of video games that thrill me that much - maybe practicing reproduction, watching the NFL, and --- WELL, NOTHING.

You gotta understand, I was an adult (18) the first time I played Madden. At the time, I played virtually every video game on console and PC. It was only after Madden 2000 dropped that I realized that Madden was the game for me. In my almost 38 1/2 years of breathing air, Madden is the only thing in the world I must have immediately at release.

You know how girlfriends seem to think video games are a waste of time? I feel the EXACT SAME WAY about every game except Madden. If EA stopped making Madden tomorrow and another company filled the void - it would be of no consequence. No sense in going through the motions with another game. Been there, done that. I'd simply retire as a gamer.

It's kool if guys don't understand the sentiment. It took me more than 15 years to realize it myself. But once I reached the epiphany, there was no compromise and no turning back.

Now that that's out of the way, lets get to the parts you really want to know: What would I like to see EA do to improve Madden?

1) Defense in the Passing Game

When the ball is in the air, offensive and defensive players should have the same process to secure possession. Right now, defensive players can't make a catch while going out of bounds while offensive players can. Conversely, Offensive players must catch the ball and secure it before being credited with possession while defensive players get instant possession even if they haven't established 2 feet in the field of play. The screen shouldn't rotate until a jumping defender with the ball touches the ground.

2) Relevant Skill Drills

Bring back the DB Swat drill specifically and add training exercises that help players improve a larger variety of techniques. Especially those designed to build the skills needed for head-to-head and team play.

3) Mini-Stat overlays in the play call screen.

I shouldn't have to remember which player has the most catches in a game. that information should be available without me hitting pause. It would be 10x easier to know who's hot and who's not.

4) Better Ball Physics

The ball shouldn't just stick to a players hands on offense or defense. We should see more bobble catches. The ball should bounce more unpredictably on punts, kickoffs, incomplete passes, touchdown spikes, or anytime the ball impacts a surface...

5) Rules, Penalties, and Official Interaction

I want defensive holding, illegal motion, illegal touching of a forward pass, illegal formation, ineligible man down field, personal fouls, illegal block in the back, etc... Every relevant penalty should be in the game. Only the obscure penalties like, "Palpably Unfair Act" should be left out of the game.

On that note, officials should interact with the play. When a flag is thrown, I should see the flag and which official threw it. When a player goes out of bounds, I should see at least one official without a hat. So on, so forth.

6) QB Release in Traffic

When I press the icon button, the QB should let the ball go. If he's about to get hit, throw it anyway. I'd also like to see some 'in the grasp' type plays where a defender has a hold of the QB and he's still able to make a throw as long as he's upright...

7) Linemen GO HIT SOMEBODY

Linemen shouldn't always just shuffle their feet when they aren't engaged. They should find a defender and HIT HIM. Help the man next to you. And by all means, if my QB rolls outside the numbers, I shouldn't have 4 linemen shuffling their feet inside the hashes while 4 defenders are bearing down on the QB.

These are just a few of the improvements I'd like to see... I think they are all CORE to football would improve the game and not difficult to implement within a single development cycle using the existing technology.

Later

Those would be some good fixes. Thanks for taking the time to list these, I enjoyed reading through them.

[Eagles1fan89]

1. wr jump up to get the ball
2.dymanic blocking
3. double team pass blocking
4. better accuracy

[AndyP]

I agree with the suggestions in this article but I've truly given up hope with Madden. EA and Tiburon are far too comfortable releasing essentially the same product with minor updates each year. There is zero incentive to do anything. The first 360 release was Madden 06. If they were going to add these things in this generation of consoles, they would have by now. It won't be long before a whole new game is developed for the next gen consoles and we go around the block again. Like I said, I've given up all hope.

[Goodydog]

Quote by AndyP:

"I agree with the suggestions in this article but I've truly given up hope with Madden. EA and Tiburon are far too comfortable releasing essentially the same product with minor updates each year. There is zero incentive to do anything. The first 360 release was Madden 06. If they were going to add these things in this generation of consoles, they would have by now. It won't be long before a whole new game is developed for the next gen consoles and we go around the block again. Like I said, I've given up all hope."

And therein lies the issue.

Stops beating chest for a few seconds...

I said replicate 2K's CORE GAMEPLAY, but it seems that some here get overly sensitive and devolve into a furious rage when "2K' is mentioned. Btw, I can acknowledge Madden's accomplishments:
1. Madden is graphically appealing
2. Madden can be fun (at times, extremely fun). EA has managed to capture and incorporate a "fantasy-like"
aspect in its gameplay

And that is the problem; EA has focused on the fantasy aspect and has thrown football "REALISM" in the attic. Those of us who played Madden when it was FIRST CREATED remember the perfect balance of graphics and realistic gameplay. But guess what, things changed. Competition arrived, fans matured, and the industruy changed (I'm not trying to teach a history lesson here, but you have to put Madden, videogame football, and videogames in perspective, especially since some of you are 30+).

Then there was a schism in videogame football, remember that? EA sided with Sony, if you didn't own a PS you couldn't play football (Madden). And then EUREKA! - The greatest thing to happen to videogame football was bestowed upon us...Visual Concepts (VC). People would walk by a Dreamcast display saying "I didn't know a game was on today. Who's playing?" That's right people, the first 2K game looked lightyears better than Madden. But EA knew that Visual Concepts didn't have the financial muscle to compete with EA and they knew that VC was still trying to establish a fan base, so EA didn't worry too much.

EA noticed that VC's initial game was graphically superior, so they focused on graphics and presentation. But VC realised that Madden's CORE GAMEPLAY lacked realism. Oh sure, EA had realistic stats and stat-trakcing, realistic attributes for players, jerseys and stadium models, but the actual game (you know, "It's in the game"?), the actual gameplay was mediocre. And that's where VC made it's total commitment, GAMEPLAY!

Those of us who were old enough to experience Madden (92) at its beginning and then were forced to play 2K (Dreamcast and then the Xbox initially before EA agreed to make a game for the 1st Xbox) because of EA's alliance with Sony would be able to form an objective opinion because we loved Madden initially (Who didn't) but we were forced to play something else.

Take it from Columbus homie...The world ain't flat.

Until EA (Madden) makes a serious commitment to gameplay (like VC), and stops all the superficial, yearly - "Oh, we are adding blah, blah, blah..," only to have the same (or other new) glaring issues, EA will always truly be "the great pretender."

[Skyboxer]

Re: Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

I'm with you on some of this... Not so much on the rest.

First, NFL Fever sucked. It wasn't the worst football game I've ever played (that was Gameday 99) - but it was close. What you deem as "X for X" isn't a fault with the passing interface in Madden - it is the beauty.

When Madden launched on consoles with only 3 eligible players (because there weren't enough buttons for 5) there it was still never just a simple "X for X." Even then the game had a built in option to throw a bullet or a lob. Ever since, we've had more options added to give us more variety. Now we can lead passes with the stick high, low, left, and right of a receiver. We can throw balls away several ways too - either with the R3 or by purposely over/underthrowing a receiver in a variety of directions. To consider all the possibilities that have been added without changing the basic "X for X" interface is nothing short of mind boggling...

Regarding players running on and off the field when they are subbed - I'd LOVE THAT. Haven't seen it since Madden '92 (or was it 93?). IT needs to return in place of the cut scenes that usually play out while were in the playcall screen... Heck, I'd be cool if they ran the ACCELERATED CLOCK down while players trotted out at time lapsed speeds...

And real ball physics are LONG overdue... The ball physics on 12 are as good as they have ever been, but they still aren't quite right. They need to be drastically improved - but it's the first year it's been a focus so I'll cut the devs some slack. I expect the ball physics to be much better on Madden 13 and beyond.

I never said Fever was a great game. I was simply referencing the new passing system. It was a step towards giving us OPTIONS instead of being forced to continually using the Hit X for X system. I want to be able to throw anywhere on the field. Again when playing Fever's read and lead you felt good when you had a good passing day. It was far more rewarding than just pushing a button. I just think we're long overdue to have some variety in the games options.

I still play fever for that alone. Just a change of pace.
We are in 2012 and we still have the same passing system. Again not saying remove X for X but for the love of God step out of the box a bit and try to advance the game.
X for X is "ok" at best IMO but we should have options by now.
That's all I'm saying. Options for those that are tired of the same system year after year.

Even Madden on the Apple IIe was a ton more fun than the current system.

[roadman]

Re: Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

^^^

Stopped reading after "when Madden first came out" perfect balance of graphics and realistic gameplay.

Ambulances on the field, less commentary and very choppy, running around the ends and gaining 400 yds rushing, chucking the ball in the air for 500 yds passing. That wasn't realistic and that's when I first started playing Madden.

No one isn't saying Madden doesn't have issues, they do and they need to right the ship towards more realistic NFL football.

[Skyboxer]

Re: Five Things EA Sports must do for Success in Madden NFL 13

Madden does not live up to its its slogan, "If it's in the game, it's in the game". Rocca kicking off for the Redskins???? It infuriates me every time.

Don't believe they've used "If it's in the game, it's in the game" for quite a while.
It's now just "It's In the Game".
At least that's all I ever see anymore. Could be wrong though.