Ian and Co, Do you want any suggestions for cutscenes?

[tmccormi]

Hey Ian and whoever else reads these boards,

I couldn't help but get excited over the idea of what we see on Sunday should/will be on Madden. Though not overly specific on what this entails, I presume at the very least it will be a greater absorption into the game you are playing.

I made this thread as a Wishlist for Ian and Co for strictly visual presentation cutscenes and cutaways we as fans feel would add to our gameday experience. Not that I expect the Madden team to get these into next years game, but if they are sitting around and looking for new presentations to add to '11, maybe they can come back here and sift through the OS faithful's opinions.

--- Tunnel Cam- I would be so pumped up to watch my team as they are in the tunnel and watch them as the run out onto the field, cut to sky cam and watch the whole team emerge.

--- Game Winning FGs- It would be a cool cutscene to see the kicking team all on the sideline holding hands

By now I'm sure yyou get the idea, hopefully we can get some good ideas in here and keep it organized and positive enough for Ian to read through some of these

[johnprestonevans]

Im a big fan of cutscenes. I think the big issue with them is how they quickly become routine and repetitive. What I think EA needs to do is to use dynamic AI behavior to capture moments between plays. What I mean is to avoid canned animations wherever possible. If you want to make Madden feel alive, then some deep programming needs to be done to bring player emotion and reaction to the men on the field and the supporting cast on the sideline - as well as finding a way to capture it accurately (broadcast camera angles). I'd love to see cutscenes of coaches reacting to a big play. Visiting the sideline to get an update on an injury and showing the player being worked on. Seeing a kicker warming up for an impending field goal attempt. That kind of stuff needs to be there.

A great example of this is NBA2K9. They use a number of broadcast style cameras to capture dynamic player reactions between baskets. Sure the "emotion engine" they use is programmed, but in combination with the different angles and virtually infinate # of situations on the court, you never feel like you're seeing the exact same cutscene twice. I would love to see this approach in Madden. Treat/program your players and cameras like they are REAL and you will get realisitic results. Easier said than done i'm sure. : )

Perhaps the biggest un-tapped resource for cutscenes are things we see all day EVERY Sunday - Out of Town Scores & Highlights. Cutting away to see what’s happening around the league during franchise mode games would be a massive upgrade to the presentation. All in all, cutscenes are about polishing the experience to make it look (and feel) like the real NFL.

[Exonerated]

Different reactions/emotions after each play.

Sounds like procedural awareness that Ian just announce thats going to be a feature.

I think Ian has said they try to limit as many cutscenes as possible and have authentic post play reactions.

[roadman]

I do like your suggestions.

Based on request from other posters and Ian, the mods made a wish list sub forum about 2 weeks ago.

Here is the link.

Just an FYI.

http://www.operationsports.com/forum...ishlist-forum/

[TheWatcher]

The key is variation. This is where cutscenes came up shy in Madden 06 and 07 as there was no real variation. There needs to be different angles, different player movements, but all of which take place after similar plays, because in football you're going to get a lot of the same plays and same situations over and over again.

Also, though we probably don't think of it much, we actually see a lot of the same scenes game-to-game during real life broadcasts. For example, when it's the last possession and the team knows the Super Bowl is locked, what do you see almost immediately? You see a cut to the scene of the Coach being drenched in Gatorade. You can count on it like clockwork.

What scene do you always see when the game is close and a field goal is more than likely going to decide the game? You see a cut to the scene of the kicker warming up kicking into the practice net. You can set your watch to it (it used to give me chills sometimes when I seen it happen in that "other game").

... so placement is very important, too.

In addition to that, there needs to be a good mix-in with standard post-play camera work. Post-Play camera work was mostly awful in 09 with very little realistic broadcast quality to it, so the goal should be to get rid of that, extract what you see on TV, and add that. Don't be cute with the post-play camera's, be authentic.

The best camera work is done during the playoffs and Super Bowl. This year was some of the best work I've ever seen. I was really impressed with many of the NFL broadcasts this year. If they just take what was done with those and adapted that, we'd be in heaven.

[johnprestonevans]

Quote: Originally Posted by TheWatcher

.... there needs to be a good mix-in with standard post-play camera work. Post-Play camera work was mostly awful in 09 with very little realistic broadcast quality to it, so the goal should be to get rid of that, extract what you see on TV, and add that. Don't be cute with the post-play camera's, be authentic.

Hire this man! ; ) This is it exactly. Be authentic to how the NFL is seen and presented on TV - not just with cutscenes, but the entire experience.

[DTown]

1. Follow players down the tunnel. Great IDEA!
2. (Playoffs)Follow players from the locker room to the field... This would add to the playoff feel that is missing.
3. An injured player on the sideline being worked on by the trainging staff.
4. Players telling thecoach to throw the challenge flag.
5. Defense huddled around the DC working on the next set of plays.
6. OC showing the QB images of the defense.
7. Sideline reporter.. even if it's only for a few moments for an injury update or something and then they go back to the game and have the sideline guy still talking in the background.
8. Fumble scrums! Show us a big pile up and the ref trying to fight his way to the ball.

[TheWatcher]

Quote: Originally Posted by DTown

1. Follow players down the tunnel. Great IDEA! 2. (Playoffs)Follow players from the locker room to the field... This would add to the playoff feel that is missing. 3. An injured player on the sideline being worked on by the trainging staff. 4. Players telling thecoach to throw the challenge flag. 5. Defense huddled around the DC working on the next set of plays. 6. OC showing the QB images of the defense. 7. Sideline reporter.. even if it's only for a few moments for an injury update or something and then they go back to the game and have the sideline guy still talking in the background. 8. Fumble scrums! Show us a big pile up and the ref trying to fight his way to the ball.

All hot Dtown. I won't mention that a certain other football game had at least 4 or 5 of those 8 things. Sadly, Madden has none. But I will mention that FIFA 09 for certain has a little of #1. I was playing FIFA 09 once and I saw that during a big game against Manchester United, my jaw dropped... the crowd was chanting, the players were getting pumped up in the tunnel... I don't know squat about Soccer or its history, but this video game put me in the frame of mind that this was a big deal and it made me understand.

NFL Football broadcasting is all about those sorts of moments, we see them all the time. It's one of the unsaid reasons why we watch... that atmosphere. Just remember what it felt like to see the Steelers and Cardinals walking down that tunnel to hit the field for Super Bowl 43. Remember that emotion? Remember how the players looked ready but you could sense an air of nervousness at the same time? Maybe we were more nervous for them, lol. But you don't forget that stuff. FIFA has some of that, but Madden just has none of it right now.