06-17-2020, 05:59 PM
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#20
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Just started!
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Re: Madden NFL 21: Franchise Mode Additions Missing In Action So Far
I think Chase touched on the most important point about this year's games, but don't let it pass without really considering it...
Games are made together, as a process. A team pours over the art, the approvals, the decisions, the features. They are discussed in groups and in brainstorm sessions. But mostly- the bugs are found and reproduced by being shown or found together.
With covid-19 and people being apart- this is absolutely not happening in the same way. It just... can't be. You can't share a game over zoom, or twitch or any internal screen sharing tool with the fidelity of running it off the console in person, with other people.
I honestly feel terrible for the game team, and how they're making a game through this...
There is a possible silver lining though- which is that it does mean little sectors of the game could be owned more individually and have the possibility to really shine. In the same way that group-think and over analyzation can kill a mode or feature, even down to an animation approval... there may be really great individuals on the team implementing their ideas in more of a vacuum and given new opportunities to succeed. I think we could see little bright spots throughout.
Last note- since I'm on a roll... the notes about what EA and the Madden team does with their money, and not putting it back into the game are so silly, short-cited and just wrong. You can be unhappy with allocation, end-product, or EA's shrewd business decision to buy exclusive rights, but the reality is- in 1991, games cost $60 and took 15 people to build. The animations and art were simple, the logic simple, and the focus and team could be on the gameplay mechanics. In 2020, games still only cost $60 (that would be around $30 then). Teams are much larger and the focus, because we as consumers demand it is on the art, graphics and fidelity. The studio has to spend LOADS of resources and money on making the game perfect for people to pause, zoom in on, and oh- if you see through his facemask, that's Joey Bosa. Meanwhile, you don't ever play with these needs whatsoever- but it's what we demand from the system and game. So- resources go to things like that- and not gameplay, mechanics and FRANCHISE.
If you want better Franchise, be willing to pay $120 for the game, or be willing to have better modes, at the expense of graphics, because as long as the team has to consist of over 50% artists versus designers, producers and gameplay engineers- it's what you're going to get. And the micro-transactions will keep rolling. I don't think Madden quite makes as much as you think it does... not that it would be wrong since... ya know, EA is a publicly traded company with a fiduciary responsibility to its shareholders.
I like bitching about the game being better too- believe me.. but we live in our own fantasy-world. LOL.
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