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Madden has no soul....
As you can see, I don’t post. I read the forums, but I don’t post. That being said, there are some things that I wanted to perhaps discuss regarding the state of Madden football….
Like everyone else, I’m a huge football fan. This is going to date me, but I have been playing football video games ever since that horrid iteration on the Atari 2600. I’ve seen and played them all. As much as I was disappointed to see the NFL grant EA exclusive rights, thus ending any competition, now Madden is the only option. I wait, just like all of you, for the next release, hoping it will be better. Sometimes it is, but most of the time it’s somewhat of a disappointment. Everybody has expectations that are let down every year, and the game will never be perfect. I accept that, but bring the game to life.
My biggest problem with Madden is that it has no soul. To me, it’s just not fun to play. My style of play is not online. What I like to do is start a franchise with my brother and play (hopefully) several seasons. My goal this year was to stick with the game through at least two seasons. We didn’t make it through even one. It just didn’t grab me. I felt like I HAD to play it because it was my turn in the schedule. Every game was a grind to me, and I began to despise it. Finally, I said I can’t do it anymore – sold it - and I went back to playing ‘MLB 08: The Show’ (which is the greatest sports game I’ve ever played).
Why is this? It’s not that Madden plays a bad game of football, because it does that pretty well and I’m amazed at what can be done. There a lots of things that leave Madden feeling stale to me. One of these things is the lack of atmosphere. Madden does nothing to draw you into a game. My biggest issue has always been the lighting. Madden frequently boasts new lighting effects. Hmm…. To me it doesn’t matter if it’s static lighting. You need something other than the game clock to convey the passage of time. Progressive (or dynamic lighting) does amazing things. Long shadows creeping across the field gives that late sense of urgency that is missing at the end of a game. To me, there is nothing like driving down the field late in the fourth quarter with the long shadows stretched across the field. Madden 2000 (I think it was 2000, it was the first Madden for the PS2) had dynamic lighting and it was awesome. You could actually see the shadows move in between plays. The shadows were crude and hard, but they gave the game a feeling of life. Then the following year the dynamic lighting was gone, never to return. Other games (including Madden) have tried to fake it in the past, which was better than stagnant lighting. They’d change the lighting every quarter (If you paid attention, 2K5’s shadows actually moved in the wrong direction – it was like you were starting the game at 9 in the morning – but at least the attempt was there). The next generation systems have done nothing. It looks pretty, but the lighting does not change from opening kick-off to the final gun. It makes the game environment feel incredibly sterile and lifeless. Plus, the static shadows for many of the stadiums are wrong. They don’t depict the true representation of the sun positioning. Why not? I’m a Bronco fan, and the shadows for their stadium have been wrong ever since the old Mile High Stadium. With all the detail that is put into the stadiums, you should be able to get the shadows right. Use Google Earth or something - anyone can see any stadium’s orientation to true north. Why is it so important that we have the reflections on the helmets correct, but not this other stuff?
I’d obviously like to see the lighting change. I think that’s huge for the overall feel of the game. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the upcoming version of MLB 09: The Show. It’s huge. Not only should the lighting change, but have transitions between sunny and overcast (not like that ominous cloud that 2K sports used…) – not all of the time, but sometimes would be nice. The transition to night is also important.
Other things that lend itself to atmosphere have been discussed in great detail (referees, the chain gang, better sideline animations) and I know some of these things are being addressed. Hopefully it’s all for the better. Why can’t your actual roster be on the sideline? Good field degradation is also important. I don’t like the magically healing turf. Let it stay. That should be better by now. It also shouldn’t look like a monster truck rally took place (Madden ’06). Also, how about adding the flags that are pinned to the top of the goal posts? Yes, I want to see them move.
Bring the season alive. I remember the very first versions of Madden used to have highlights of other games that were going on in the play-offs (that’s all there was – play-offs, no season mode). Why can’t something like that be added? 2K5 did a pretty good job of showing half-time highlights of the game you were playing. It worked nicely because it was a TV style presentation.
Another thing that I think is very important that a lot of people don’t understand is the accelerated clock. This HAS to be an option. If you don’t want to use it, fine. But playing a video football game loses a lot of its integrity without it. You should not be able to bring your offense up to the line with 30 seconds left on the game clock only to be able to completely change your play via hot routes or audibles. An accelerated clock also allows you to play near fifteen minute quarters in a reasonable time frame while producing believable stats. Also, have the clock wind down to a random set time – maybe have the randomness be associated to QB’s awareness or something. Sometimes offenses are rushed, and that's part of the game.
I know Ian and Phil come across these forums now and again. I am hoping they make a difference.
Oh, and one more thing… get rid of the flash bulbs. I understand it for the Super Bowl, but not Week 3 at Arrowhead. Besides, anyone who uses flash photography in stadiums…. well, that’s another topic.
Last edited by Jonsco28; 01-24-2009 at 02:15 PM.
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01-24-2009, 02:13 PM
