Madden More Than Just a Game?

[goravens2052]

This is a great topic, and I'll add my two cents into this discussion. I'm 22 going on 23 and when I was younger it was just a game. To me I didn't care about much, just that I won the game. Even when I played Franchise on Madden 05 I didn't think much of Free Agency and the Draft. I didn't think much about what would happen if I gave so and so a ton of money. I didn't think much of the cap or anything, just it was a game. At the time, I also didn't really watch Football on a daily basis. I didn't spend my Sundays watching every game, it was just, "Dad, did the Ravens win?"

Then as I got older, and started watching Football more and more it started to become more than a game. I got very into Franchise mode and started enjoying the off-season in Madden a bit more, I cared about the Draft, Free Agency, and cared about trying to win the Super Bowl. So to me, it changed as I started to get more into the NFL, I started to feel like I was the GM making big decisions, and that actually made me enjoy Madden much more.

So for me it was just that as I got older, I got more interested in the NFL, I'm even writing for a small website covering the NFL, I watch whatever is on the local stations and I would have NFL.com Game Center up with other games that aren't on TV to follow them so that's when Madden became more than a game.

[R9NALD9]

I simply refuse to play online at all...
There will always be some people ruining the experience for everyone simply because they aren't mature enough to lose with respect.

Whether it's soccer, madden, call of duty or a racing game(which is the worst imo) these people just ruin the experience for everyone to such and extent that playing online isn't enjoyable to me at all.

It's a sickness of this world, everyone demands success and just can't get to grips with the fact that you will not be the best all the time. Respect, integrity are 2 values that are very rare in this world of ours. Especially when there is prizes or money on the line, then people really lose perspective.

I choose to play madden offline, franchise(or CC) is what it is all about for me. It's also the only way I really enjoy Madden. I love making up my own story lines...and actually enjoy losing games throughout the season without some punk trashtalking me.

[edjames01]

Madden is still a game. Even REAL football which generates billions of dollars and has hundreds of millions of fans is still a game.

[cuttingteeth]

Myself, I must first consider lucky to end up having a job that is fun and rewarding and entertaining. I did get lucky.

I was on the cusp of possible college and maybe even professional football achievement, though. One of the freakiest accidents people/coaches still say they've ever seen ended my chance at being a field goal/placekicker. And mind you, I didn't have the biggest leg...but I had the accuracy...best distance was 53 yards, and I was only 15-16-17 years old. Long story short, playing on a wet field allowed my plant foot to slip forward about a foot, my kicking leg (soccer-style, so you know the motioning) hit the ground before the ball and my leg dislocated at my knee thus tearing three ligaments and creating a bone spur under my patella tendon. I'm from podunk, small town, nowhere at that point - still had college attention, as scouts were at that very game - my knee healed, but proper surgery just wasn't an option. The game and various other sports physically ended for me right then and there.

All of that brings me to this point, and I'm betting it's one that is relatable to many of you: For me, any sports video game is my only chance at still playing the game. My competitiveness, my love for every single detail, nothing about my interests in sports ever went away. Games that allow me to compete and especially to customize to my competitive liking are a huge thing to me. They are definitely a privilege, and I admit that...but I do not take them for granted like I think developers sometimes do. I feel that developers mostly see dollar signs, whereas the real fans of sports see a chance to continue immersing ourselves passionately into the games we never wanted to slip away from us. Sports video games that allow us full customization also allow us atheletic immortality. This is why for the editing loving crowd, it is more than just a game.

[Yeats]

Video games are toys. That was a nice writeup, but let's face it: there's "transcendent" and then there's "having a bit of mindless fun." Madden, like any video game, falls into the latter catagory.

[Yeats]

Quote: Originally Posted by cuttingteeth

This is why for the editing loving crowd, it is more than just a game.

Ha-ha! Let's start another one of them threads!

[cuttingteeth]

Quote: Originally Posted by Yeats

Ha-ha! Let's start another one of them threads!

No...I was just giving a different take on why it is more than a video game to some. I'm not trying to steer the thread, and I think my point is valid, as many of us on here are either up in age or just aren't physically capable.

Be careful, too, though, as not everyone will take your words with cynical or satirical nature. I don't think you mean to belittle, but others likely will.

[Yeats]

Quote: Originally Posted by cuttingteeth

Be careful, too, though, as not everyone will take your words with cynical or satirical nature. I don't think you mean to belittle, but others likely will.

No prob, I was just joking. Like I said, it's just a game, a toy really. Proper perspective and all that.