Addind Longevity to Madden offline Franchise

[dw76]

Hey,

This is my first post at OS, and I am doing so in the hopes of seeing what you think of my idea for adding longevity to the offline madden franchise. Let me start by saying that I am a die hard madden fan, and even with the horrific gameplay a couple years back on the current generation of consoles (PS3, 360), I am still the type of consumer that will buy this game every year.

I play madden alot, but I find that I get bored of a franchise after about 2-4 years of playing the games. Then I either start a new one or sim ahead a year or two and then start a new one in the near future. I was thinking one day about why I do this, and part of the reason is because there is nothing that I am building towards or trying to "achieve". It is this process of building towards something that makes a game like Black Ops so addicting to me. As soon as the game becomes a grind and nothing changes, you reach level 50 and prestige. That simple and on the surface silly, concept of prestiging actually breathes new life into the game for me. Then the climb back up towards 50, unlocking guns and pro perks becomes exciting again.

So here is my idea...... Adjust the trophies/achievements to have long-term career ones for offline franchise. It may seem silly, but I am sure that I am not the only one who actually puts more time into a game just because trophies/achievements have been added to the game. An example of the type of trophies would be something like: Pass for 40,000 yards in a career during offline play, or Record 45 interceptions in a career during offline play.

I am sure that the developers of madden/readers of OS will mention that it may create something where people just sim numerous seasons to get the trophies, to this I would say that the trophies/achievments are already ridiculously easy to get. The only one that seems elusive is the recovering a fumble for a touchdown one.

Again my idea is to add career oriented trophies/achievements to offline franchise. It may seem simple and stupid, but I know that I don't stick to an offline franchise for numerous seasons and I also know that other games draw me in far longer then I should be captivated simply with trophies/achievements.

Remember this is my first post and if trophies/achievements mean nothing to you, then I get how this would be a silly idea, so go easy in the responses.

[north dallas]

I hear what your saying but frankly the offline franchise needs a complete overhaul. IMO EA needs to bring back training camp, weekly shows, practice squads, fix IR, etc. I have been playing Madden forever and have actually contemplated going back to 05 on the PC when there was far more depth in franchise.

My favorite sports game currently is College Hoops 2k8 becuase I feel like I am actually building a program and there is so much to do in addition to playing the games during the season. Hopefully Madden 12 will overhaul franchise mode (although I am not holding my breath)

[RedZoneD25]

I feel that while that could be an option, it isn't really a "fix" to longevity. Creativity, as well as a fleshed out mode in general would create that without the aid of having to sucker me into playing 10 years just for an achievement. If they were to ONLY do long-term achievements and do nothing else to franchise, you'd have a community backlash like no other. We're past simple fixes and patching small things. Franchise needs dire assistance because it has little to no life on it's own as is.

Just my opinion, as I said it wouldn't be bad in addition to an overhaul in general...just not "the" fix.

[dw76]

North Dallas and WTFitsDaveyJ,

I agree with both of you in that it would not be a "fix". It would just be another wrinkle to add to the entire package. I forget who mentioned it, but I read at one point last year that there were no real major changes outside of tuning all the logic to Madden 11 franchise because the team chose to overhaul it on a 2-year development cycle instead of the 1-year. This was done, if my memory serves me correctly because the code was so badly broken that it would take 2 years to correct.

With that being said, I expect a major overhaul to the madden franchise mode and I say this with all due respect to the development team. I think it will be overhauled not because we as fans deserve it, but because it is really the only avenue the team can go to generate interest and sales in the game. Everything else in the game has seen major changes and inorder to generate further interest and sales (especially in a year that may have a lockout) offline franchise mode seems to be the most logical vehicle for increasing fan interest and sales. The madden game is already very solid in my opinion. There are some issues, but the gameplay is some of the best that it has ever been in the Madden franchise.

My idea was just a simple add that should not take much time to implement, but I agree with both of you that the major overhaul is what will really bring people back to the game time and time again.

[jwmcards]

I like your comparison to CoD, because that's really the only thing that keeps me going on that game as well (fun though).

I don't think it's a bad idea, but I don't know that it would do much to help the game itself. I admit I have been known on occasion to have a slight addiction problem with achievements & trophies, but I don't know how much a long term goal just for a trophy would keep my interest.

However, that being said, I don't think it would bad to have some type of reward system if you do some things such as breaking career NFL records. You know, make it worth something, not just a quick message of "New record".

As has been mentioned though, franchise mode needs some TLC. Fix that before doing anything else.

One thing you could try though is to take control of more than one team for your franchise. Play 2 or 3 seasons with one team, then if you get tired of that team, you can switch to a different one. Just let the CPU do all the tasks on the other teams during the season, that way you're not starting the whole franchise over, but you're still changing it up by switching what team you personally control.

[RedZoneD25]

Quote: Originally Posted by jwmcards

I like your comparison to CoD, because that's really the only thing that keeps me going on that game as well (fun though). I don't think it's a bad idea, but I don't know that it would do much to help the game itself. I admit I have been known on occasion to have a slight addiction problem with achievements & trophies, but I don't know how much a long term goal just for a trophy would keep my interest. However, that being said, I don't think it would bad to have some type of reward system if you do some things such as breaking career NFL records. You know, make it worth something, not just a quick message of "New record". As has been mentioned though, franchise mode needs some TLC. Fix that before doing anything else. One thing you could try though is to take control of more than one team for your franchise. Play 2 or 3 seasons with one team, then if you get tired of that team, you can switch to a different one. Just let the CPU do all the tasks on the other teams during the season, that way you're not starting the whole franchise over, but you're still changing it up by switching what team you personally control.

It shouldn't even have to come to that though. Hopefully you can be a specific position on the staff of the team(GM), allowing you to be fired/hired in M12.

[jwmcards]

No arguement there. I'd love it if that was the case where you can get fired, hired, or offered a new job. That's one of the best things about NCAA football to me. You can always get offered a new job, get booted, or see what's available. And there is the approval level, etc, etc. NCAA has some issues of it's own, but I'm playing a lot more of it than Madden this year. Still have to play some Madden though as I need my NFL fix.