Outside the football field

[Outkizast]

Quote: Originally Posted by TDogg09

I agree. I really hope something can be done still. Ian said the real-time stuff won't be in Madden 10, but hopefully the sidelines are better than they have been. PS-even though it wasn't as good graphically, All-Pro 2K8 was still extremely detailed. It had holes in the jersey too. And rain drops on the players helmets, in addition to real-time sidelines

hopefully Madden can at least add some sweet cutscenes and stuff this year to add to the immersion of Madden 10....

[Joborule]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

As we move to the future, what is more important to you? Would you rather have the extra details (like the holes in the jerseys), or much less details on the players and the environment and more extra characters (that animate in a smarter manner) around the playing field? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

I would have to go with the latter and pick more extra characters. Part of the experience is the things out side the play of the field and can add the 'cool' factor to the game when we see neat things like that. I would love to see my coaching staff going up to their players and discussing with him. I would love to see real time reactions to play of the field in a proper response. The camera truck and the sideline personal moving around and interaction, and even reacting to the play of the field at times would just give you that feeling that your there. And that's a key part of giving a game longevity.

A game that feels alive is much more fun to play then a game that feels stale.

[DeLuX]

APF 2K8 had amazing interactive sidelines, there is no reason madden can't.

[Dfiant1]

I would prefer less detail and a more interactive environment.

The facial expressions never quite looked right to me on the NG systems so less detail may actually look better, just my opinion though.

[Cusefan]

Quote: Originally Posted by DeLuX

APF 2K8 had amazing interactive sidelines, there is no reason madden can't.

wow you must have just skipped the entire conversation and decided to post that, nice.


Ian, I gotta say this concerns me a bit as far and Madden 10 goes. Seriously, The Major thing Madden has lacked on Next gen is atmosphere and it sounds like we are forgoing presentation again so we can get holes in jerseys....

Honestly, something has to be done with the atmosphere, unless you were playing against another person, Madden has been a absolute snorefest. There is a reason why Madden on PS2 are often regarded as the best Maddens available, Awesome graphics are nice but when there is no emotion and no atmosphere, what is the point of even playing?

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

Personally (and I am not expressing the opinion of anyone else or of my employers), I'm of the mindset that MORE fully interactive characters = more immersion and "wow moments" to the user than having insane detail with fewer characters.

Now obviously, more fully interactive characters are not a possibility for Madden 10. But that begs the question, as the lead designer, do you have the pull to make that kind of change in the near future? Or, is that an uphill battle that would have to be fought with maybe a few big wigs and probably not a feasible option at least for a few years?

Quote:

So what do you guys think? As we move to the future, what is more important to you? Would you rather have the extra details (like the holes in the jerseys), or much less details on the players and the environment and more extra characters (that animate in a smarter manner) around the playing field? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

Me personally, I'm not a graphics whore. I want them decent of course, but I'm not one who scans for every minute detail. I vote for the immersiveness. I just fear that it's not something that could be accomplished in the near future (as in 1-2 years away).

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by rgiles36

Now obviously, more fully interactive characters are not a possibility for Madden 10. But that begs the question, as the lead designer, do you have the pull to make that kind of change in the near future? Or, is that an uphill battle that would have to be fought with maybe a few big wigs and probably not a feasible option at least for a few years?

It is a very tough battle...as I have fought it for 3 years in a row (though not as a lead but as a person that really liked to bitch about it. ) The battle isn't with any big wigs or anything, but really with a) time needed to re-work all your assets and b) probably PR to some extent. You can even see in this thread - many people just wouldn't accept a major hit to graphical quality (believe me, it would be pretty major to draw double the amount of people on the field), so you can expect reviewers to take notice of it which could negatively impact your sales. In the nature of sports games everyone expects everything to get better each and every year. So if something gets worse (i.e. all your first round of screens look terrible compared to the previous year), then that could be a problem.

Just to be clear - when I talk about interactive sidelines - I'm talking about realtime reactions...not cut-scenes. These would be animations that you can see in instant replay. Running out of bounds and taking out a player, running into the endzone and having the camera guys follow you with their lenses, running up the sideline and having the coach and players wave you on...that's what I mean. I don't really care as much about jersey holes...I would kill for all those moments right now.

Sideline cut-scenes (a la Head Coach) are, well, cut-scenes. I think those are a very known commodity, and I don't object to their usage at all. I was just discussing the realtime stuff in this thread.

[DC]

^ Much like NBA 2K right