Madden Storylines (Help Make Commentary Stronger in Madden 13 and Beyond)

[RGiles36]

I think it would also be cool if the player role system in franchise triggered some storyline commentary:

Franchise QB: talk about how much the guy means to the team and how the GM is trying to put players around him, mention how he makes the players around him better

Injury prone: self explanatory. If an injury-prone player makes a play, Collinsworth should mention, "This guy has the ability to make plays, but it's tough to keep him on the field".

Underachiever: "This guy was drafted with some lofty expectations and he hasn't lived up to them."

I could go on and on. As it stands, the player roles work under the hood but unless you check them for your opponents, you have no idea what each player means to each team. Plus, it's a way to add storylines that can also be generic.

[ABR173rd]

Hey Chase,

The biggest part of commentary is not just the current storyline's about the current players in the NFL (Which is important) its also the ability for the commentary to be dynamic. What I mean be that is four seasons into a franchise the commentary needs to be able to incorporate new story line's and statistical information for the new players and compositions of NFL teams.

The current storyline's are obviously a must but this is a big killer seven seasons into a franchise when the commentary has none of the new players names or developing storyline's for them.

[SuckaRepellent]

I think that would be a great idea. And maybe just some banter back and forth between announcers like a random fact that pertains to the game like they do in real life.

Like today I learned James Laurinitis is Animals son from wrestling and his uncle is that RAW GM.

Sent from My Touch Slide 4G

[jpdavis82]

This really shouldn't be that hard, just look at what NBA2k12 did and how they have several storylines for each team, city, players and random facts about several players.

NBA2k12 uses several opening lines to cue lines that follow and Madden would be well advised to use this same system.

I.E. "So far Cris, the Packers have been red hot this season and have yet to lose here at home, let's see if they can stay perfect in Lambeau as they face Eli Manning and the defending champs.''

"The NFC East has been highly contested in recent seasons Cris and looks to be headed for another tight finish, who do you think has the best chance to win the division this season?"

"Aaron Rodgers has been on a tear so far this year and looks like he may be headed for another MVP season."

"The Cowboys look like they are getting hot at the right time and may be a team to watch for in the Playoffs."

All these are just examples of what they could add that would go a LONG way to help improve the commentary and replay factor especially in Franchise mode.

They also need to have pre and post game commentary to preview and review each game. I remember them having something like this way back in Madden 98 so they have no excuse not to have it now.

Add a studio halftime show and post game show, with a four man team and highlights and game wrap ups, postgame interviews.

[brza37]

Quote: Originally Posted by stp2081

I completely second this. Reviewing 2011 storylines in the first season of next year's franchise mode is great, but if it does not become dynamic, it's going to become not only stale, but outright silly (e.g., the (non-generic) pre-game QB intro storylines in Madden 11 that never changed regardless of what happened and what year your franchise was in).

Quote: Originally Posted by ChaseB

Agreed. And just to be clear, this is the type of stuff that will help in Play Now/Online as well as Franchise Year 1.

So will these storylines only be heard in Play Now and Year 1 of franchise? To me there is nothing that takes away the immersion more than the commentators discussing something that is no longer relevant as if it were last year when I'm actually in year 2 or later of a franchise. (For example the bit about Kolb taking over the franchise QB role from McNabb that was constantly played in Madden 11 even when Vick was starting).

To me a pieced together dynamic commentary would be much more fulfilling if it matched the situations or told the story of my particular franchise than any prescripted stories about a team or player that I will hear over and over again no matter what season I'm in. However, NBA2k and The Show do a great job of making commentary dynamic to represent whats going on in the season without it sounding pieced together at all.

Also, if changes are made that take specific time-dated storyline commentary out of offline franchise mode year 2+ will these changes also be made to online franchise? If dynamic commentary were to make it in I'd hope that online franchise will also get it too.

[Cre8]

The Cleveland Browns
My real issues come from broken/repetitive commentary and overlays in Franchise Mode AFTER year 1.

- I made it to and won the Super Bowl in season 1... While I made it to the game, there was an overlay that stated it was our first super bowl appearance... Then... the next season we made it back and won again. However, it still said it was our first Super Bowl. This really annoyed me. It was 5 years later and we finally made it back... still our first appearance.

Commentary/Storylines
- Cleveland has had a history of drafting busts in the first round. Now that the Browns have RG3 (I hope to God) where should they focus next? This team is clearly in the early stages of building, but who are some of the top prospects now?

- The Browns have been a team with loyal fans but still struggle to keep anyone else around long enough to make this team into a perennial contender. They now have Pat Shurmur as coach, but will he be here long term after struggling so much in 2011?

- Flash forward- I have a current franchise in season 7 and we have drafted and traded numerous great players but now we have a superstar at QB (Derek Gaston) and HB (Davonnie Chapman). The commentators seem clueless about how important these guys are to the Browns and the NFL. They are putting up great numbers and should be the focus... Yet they are referred to as #12 and #34 and no one seems to care that they are on a tear.

- The Browns drafted Carlton Mitchell in the middle of the draft a couple years ago and he is hoping to get a chance to prove himself. Could 2012 be the year that he comes out of the woodwork and makes the plays many think he can?

With me being a Saints fan I would love to here some dynamic commentary. Whilst playing Madden 12 the commentary was terrible, boring and stale. I would here the exact same thing linked with the saints game after game. It does not mention about Brees except that he led the Saints to the Superbowl in 2010.

• Gus needs to explain why he is one of the elite QB's in the league and explain his journey to breaking the Passing Record. Chris could then follow this up by explaining how he is a key part of this dominating offense and his partnership with Jimmy Graham.
  
• Talk about what the Superbowl victory meant to the Who Dat nation after the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and what he brought to New Orleans. Add facts about when the Dome was badly damaged in the Hurricane and how to the city pulled together to bring the stadium back to life.
  
  Talk about the relationship he has with Sean Payton and how they have transformed the Saints.

[goravens2052]

I think this is for all teams, not specific but one thing that bugs me is the lack of commentary in terms of players playing their old teams. There is nothing right now that brings it up, take the video someone made of Peyton Manning being a Dolphin.

In that video, it was a game between the Colts & Dolphins, Manning is a Dolphin and Andrew Luck is the starter in Indy. All it could talk about was the generic home field advantage, there was no mention of Manning no longer on the Colts and how Luck has big shoes to fill, etc. Let's use that example and since the Colts do play the Dolphins next season, this will help if Peyton does sign with the Dolphins.

- Talk about Peyton's neck surgeries and how it ended his career as a Colt and how the Colts cut him. From there talk how if he is still the same Peyton we all know, can he still play at the top of his game, how much longer does he have in the NFL, will the Dolphins need to draft a QB as insurance in the off-season.

- Pats/Dolphins: For years we always saw Brady vs Manning when it was Patriots/Colts, but now talk about how it's a treat that we get this match up twice a year since the Dolphins signed Manning, will Manning help the Dolphins get by the Patriots and Jets, etc.

- For Luck: Talk how he is the best QB prospect to come out in a decade and how the Colts were the one team nobody expected him to be playing for. How this is similar to Rodger's being in Favre's shadow until he won the Super Bowl, and how long will it take for Luck to step out of Manning's shadow, etc.

- Throughout the game compare the 2 players stats wise, and make it a storyline throughout the season. Now don't over kill it like the media will actually do but play out the storyline of Luck/Manning and their success of their teams.