Madden NFL 19: The Full Interview With Producer Ben Haumiller

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Junior Moe

NBA 2k18 was the 2nd best selling game of 2017 https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/18/n...s-of-the-year/ The game clearly has mass appeal. An NBA game that came out in September at number 2! Not only does it have mass appeal (casuals), but it is also deep enough to satisfy hardcore "sim" heads as well as franchise types like myself and any and everything in between. My Park and Pro Am and My Team are the most popular modes, as is the industry standard, still there's something for everyone. I firmly believe that's why an NBA is doing unprecedented numbers. I hate how people talk like these things are mutually exclusive. They are not, you can do both and still be a commercial smash. I'm not stupid enough to believe that having a sandbox MyLeague is the reason. But it doesn't hurt. Neither does having a story driven MyGM. It doesn't hurt, though. Having Czar and Scot OG designing the offense and defense, respectively isn't the reason. It doesn't hurt though. Then having Sam Pham "exploit" on aspect or the other and having them catch up. It only adds to the end product at the end of the day. Madden is 4th, so its not struggling. Their model is successful as well. That's why I see very little reason for them to change things up. You can see from 2Ks basketball comp that the companies are just different philosophically. They tout "engines" and tech like infinity and ignite ( and living worlds), I remember "bounce-tek" for one of the Lives, and now Frostbite. It's not innovative. Madden is a good enough game even without innovating much yearly to stand on its own. NFL is king. The other game can't, so it died and is still struggling because of the snails pace they innovate.

Yep, I agree with this, I mentioned the different philosophies several pages back, one company is aggressive and one company is conservative.

Historically speaking, I don't see that process changing anytime soon.

[GiantBlue76]

Quote:

My primary mode of play in sports games is online franchise with my friends. Last I heard, MyLeague online doesn't even have a salary cap or offseason free agency. Moreover and more importantly, none of my friends play NBA 2K. To that end, 2K could literally put the sentient brains of Red Auerbach, Phil Jackson, Pat Riley, and Gregg Popovich on the disk and it doesn't fix the fact that I don't want to play a sports game by myself and I don't want to subject myself to a bare-bones online franchise mode.

Every time a discussion comes up about what's severely lacking in Madden, this argument is made about servers and online play. What about the actual sport the game is supposed to represent? This point has had to be brought forward so many times, but it still doesn't seem to penetrate... Sageinfinite made a thread last year that asked what Madden does exceptionally well. You had to dig through the thread to find something that was actually related to football.

I get it that you want to play online franchise. So do I, that is all I exclusively play, we've had a league with the same guys for nearly 10 years (even before online franchise was in the game). I do not ever play the computer in Madden. The bottom line is this, just because I can play online with my friends doesn't automatically make it a good deep game. Mutant League Football could have online franchise, but I'm not going to be interested in it, because the football isn't realistic. There are many people who do not play online franchise. WAY more people prefer to play offline franchise than online. A lot more people would play the single player offline if it was remotely playable. The AI is so basic and horrendous in Madden it makes it unplayable. There is a difference between wanting to play online and HAVING to play online because you can't enjoy the game any other way. The lacking pieces in Madden do a lot of damage to online franchise players as well. You literally have to try to have fun despite the shortcomings of the game. While Madden devs are still arguing about the wind meter and the difficulty of preventing players from going through the walls after TDs, other developers are adding deeper levels of immersion to their games while providing the settings and options to cater to less skilled players. More and more people would undoubtedly play offline franchise (most of them really want to anyway) if the mode was half as deep and immersive as an NBA 2k My League, and they'd probably be more willing to try MUT to boot. I know I would.

Instead, Madden is the Fisher Price version of sports sims. Everything is simple, basic and stripped down followed by a litany of excuses as to how difficult it is or why it can't be done. All games are difficult to build, I don't care if it's a pac-man reboot, it's not easy at all. That is a given. However, the Madden team is more than capable of doing a far better job of emulating the sport of football on and off the field than they have been doing since 2004. The consumer should not have to bear the burden of their mistakes (madden rewrite of 2006, for example).

[TheShizNo1]

Quote: Originally Posted by tyberious4now

This right here speaks volumes Sage...We are a divided community on OS some of us old school cats have been hearing the same rhetoric from EA for 20 years or longer... It's really time to just keep it real and acknowledged if EA could they would but they can't and they aint...That's the bottom line point blank period... It's just time to move on from EA football!

This is interesting; especially the last part. I've been coming here for over a decade and and during that time games like Live and The Show have dropped from my gaming catalog for various reasons. I don't care for those games anymore and typically don't visit those sections on the forums either. Now, I know everyone isn't me and vice versa, but I find it comical the same handful of guys that are and have been done with Madden and EA find there way back to this section around this time of the year. Every. Year.

It's like the guy scrambling to pick up his phone when it rings after he's dumped thinking it's his ex. Maybe the game really isn't for you anymore for whatever reason?

Sent from my SM-G950U using Operation Sports mobile app

[triplechin]

I don't buy Madden anymore and won't pick up 19 but still come around because I feel like my ideas have a chance of being implemented and the more that get behind them, the better chance it is. It may be a .00001% chance but I know some EA guys check out those posts and I really want to play if they could fix it up. Can't speak for others though

[roadman]

My .02 cents.

Based on my past history, I noticed my ideas are heard quicker and more on Twitter by asking the Developers. On OS, it might take several years to get a response and a chance of it being implemented into the game.

I am a firm believer of Twitter and the instant response you may or may not receive. My response rate has been about 50/50.

Maybe some people are blocked on Twitter or don't want to set up an account, I don't know, but then, yeah, OS would be the place to get your voice heard.

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by stinkubus

You've got to be kidding me with the Joe Montana Sports Talk being a good game. You could literally take every hand off in the opposite direction of the play design and score a TD every time because the entire defense would flow to the ball.

Now you're just deflecting and not even that well imo. Went from my post mainly about 11v11>5v5 or not, being no excuse for Franchise mode in Madden being what it is, to now about JMF Sports talk game play flaws, LMAO.

[Reed1417]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

My .02 cents. Based on my past history, I noticed my ideas are heard quicker and more on Twitter by asking the Developers. On OS, it might take several years to get a response and a chance of it being implemented into the game. I am a firm believer of Twitter and the instant response you may or may not receive. My response rate has been about 50/50. Maybe some people are blocked on Twitter, I don't know, but then, yeah, OS would be the place to get your voice heard.

Yeah Twitter is a great place for feedback. I use it more now since I've started streaming seriously and it's a big help in that regard. But when you go on Twitter to talk to a dev PLEASE for the love of god be respectful and give critical feedback/advice without bashing the game or developer. I shouldn't have to explain what I mean by that. These are people with feelings too so just put your thoughts out in a respective manner. You're more likely to get a response that way but again, not a guarantee.

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[jfsolo]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Yep, I agree with this, I mentioned the different philosophies several pages back, one company is aggressive and one company is conservative. Historically speaking, I don't see that process changing anytime soon.

Quote: Originally Posted by Junior Moe

NBA 2k18 was the 2nd best selling game of 2017 https://venturebeat.com/2018/01/18/n...s-of-the-year/ The game clearly has mass appeal. An NBA game that came out in September at number 2! Not only does it have mass appeal (casuals), but it is also deep enough to satisfy hardcore "sim" heads as well as franchise types like myself and any and everything in between. My Park and Pro Am and My Team are the most popular modes, as is the industry standard, still there's something for everyone. I firmly believe that's why an NBA is doing unprecedented numbers. I hate how people talk like these things are mutually exclusive. They are not, you can do both and still be a commercial smash. I'm not stupid enough to believe that having a sandbox MyLeague is the reason. But it doesn't hurt. Neither does having a story driven MyGM. It doesn't hurt, though. Having Czar and Scot OG designing the offense and defense, respectively isn't the reason. It doesn't hurt though. Then having Sam Pham "exploit" on aspect or the other and having them catch up. It only adds to the end product at the end of the day. Madden is 4th, so its not struggling. Their model is successful as well. That's why I see very little reason for them to change things up. You can see from 2Ks basketball comp that the companies are just different philosophically. They tout "engines" and tech like infinity and ignite ( and living worlds), I remember "bounce-tek" for one of the Lives, and now Frostbite. It's not innovative. Madden is a good enough game even without innovating much yearly to stand on its own. NFL is king. The other game can't, so it died and is still struggling because of the snails pace they innovate.

I guess the argument is "Look at everything that 2K does or did 15 years ago, Madden needs to get their **** together and follow suit" As you guys say EA has a completely different philosophical approach so that isn't going to happen, now okay then what's the next discussion point. For some there isn't one, so round and round we go.

Quote: Originally Posted by TheShizNo1

This is interesting; especially the last part. I've been coming here for over a decade and and during that time games like Live and The Show have dropped from my gaming catalog for various reasons. I don't care for those games anymore and typically don't visit those sections on the forums either. Now, I know everyone isn't me and vice versa, but I find it comical the same handful of guys that are and have been done with Madden and EA find there way back to this section around this time of the year. Every. Year. It's like the guy scrambling to pick up his phone when it rings after he's dumped thinking it's his ex. Maybe the game really isn't for you anymore for whatever reason? Sent from my SM-G950U using Operation Sports mobile app

At the the end of day it come down to the same arguments, love of football games, and the license exclusivity. So even those who have abandoned the game will be sure to come in and get their pound of flesh. It is what it is.