Its the small things

[cjallure24]

I believe the small things count for something,they give the game that added compliment to the major features....It also shows that the development company pays alot of attention to detail....For insteane if your a Patriots fan and your playing the game and Tom Brady licks his right fingers while in the shotgun Formation before he hikes the ball....that makes the game even better...Hate to say it,but 2K did it in NBA2K8 and it makes the already good gameplay even better...

[Pared]

The little things show the attention to detail you'd expect from someone creating a video game of a sport you watch on TV, follow online and read in the paper.

It's what really makes you appreciate the game. You want the most accurate recreation of the NFL as possible and even with the gameplay issues, at least show your fanbase that you know what the uniforms should be, that a specific players always wears tape on cleats, that so and so always does a specific gesture after a specific play and so forth.

Player differentiation should be HUGE and sadly, it is not.

[SageInfinite]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

The little things show the attention to detail you'd expect from someone creating a video game of a sport you watch on TV, follow online and read in the paper. It's what really makes you appreciate the game. You want the most accurate recreation of the NFL as possible and even with the gameplay issues, at least show your fanbase that you know what the uniforms should be, that a specific players always wears tape on cleats, that so and so always does a specific gesture after a specific play and so forth. Player differentiation should be HUGE and sadly, it is not.

[bears5122]

Quote: Originally Posted by Pared

The little things show the attention to detail you'd expect from someone creating a video game of a sport you watch on TV, follow online and read in the paper. It's what really makes you appreciate the game. You want the most accurate recreation of the NFL as possible and even with the gameplay issues, at least show your fanbase that you know what the uniforms should be, that a specific players always wears tape on cleats, that so and so always does a specific gesture after a specific play and so forth. Player differentiation should be HUGE and sadly, it is not.

I think you hit on a great point though. Video games created by people who watch the sport on TV or follow it online. It just doesn't seem to me that many of their games, Madden included, are made by real diehard football fans.

And a lot of these issues are small, but noticeable to football fans. When I see a punt in the game hit the ground and bounce 25 yards of to the right in a straight line, I know the guy who coded that hasn't watched much football in his life. The game is filled with small things like this that make you wonder where the football IQ is within the company.

Some of you guys may remember the old High Heat baseball game. It had crummy graphics and didn't excel in the features, but it was a phenomenal baseball game. It had tons of little nuiances and was as realistic as you could get at that time. We are seeing this attention to detail in games like The Show and College Hoops 2K series. Games that truly feel like they are made by passionate fans of the sport.

So maybe that is part of the problem at EA. Maybe the development decisions are being made by guys looking for better ways to market the game instead of just making the game play more like football. I believe with the internet and gaming communities all over, you can't get by just on your name anymore. EA learned this last year when Madden tanked sales wise. Hopefully they threw their development team in a room last year on Sundays to watch football all day. Hopefully they brought in some diehard fans to give them guidance. Otherwise I think we're going to be in store for more "Create-a-ring" features while tackling animations stay a decade behind where they should be.

[Pared]

The question is... when are we going to see a game that is representative of a fan of the NFL?

[blackngoldfan]

I would like to see the "Cover Guys" and other NFL players get more involved in the development of a game that represents THEM. It seems that they only care about their ratings. Gilbert Arenas was very involved with the development of Live 08 and it showed. I think Live 08 made the biggest improvement for a sports game last year. Linemen should get in there and say "why don't I ever pull?", "why did I double the D tackle and let the D end go in freely to kill my QB/RB?" Players on the Browns should have said "This is a joke right? Since when have we EVER worn brown pants?" EA has all of this reference material at their disposal but refuses to use it. I guess it's arrogance.

[SageInfinite]

Quote: Originally Posted by blackngoldfan

I would like to see the "Cover Guys" and other NFL players get more involved in the development of a game that represents THEM. It seems that they only care about their ratings. Gilbert Arenas was very involved with the development of Live 08 and it showed.

Live had nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE to go but up. The game was still garbage. Also the cover boys think Madden is great. They play Madden just like the tournament guys.

[blackngoldfan]

Quote: Originally Posted by SageTheInfinite

Live had nowhere, and I mean NOWHERE to go but up. The game was still garbage. Also the cover boys think Madden is great. They play Madden just like the tournament guys.

Hopefully Favre will design some plays like he did for Quarterback Club.