Madden NFL Designers Podcast #2

[adfletch71]

Welcome back Ian, i have 2 simple question for u.

Since franchise is going to be a priority in 2012, and since u said that u have played nba2k11, is there any chance that madden will implement the NBA today aspect in madden? I love the way they break down certain leadersboards like steals, rebound, field goal %..etc. Will madden try to get something like this instead od just individual stats for players, it adds so much immersion to the game u playing? Also 5 years later, can we get a real halftime show for madden? I'm really into presentation and that would really bring the game too life...thanks

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by kjcheezhead

Wow, this is so disappointing to read. I think the madden community as a whole loved individual bump and wr shading on last gen. To hear your not gung-ho about adding them and think it makes the game less sim leaves me speechless. I honestly don't know what to make of this other than that I'm extremely disappointed. This is why defense is so frustrating to play imo, gamers are just left calling plays and letting the cpu handle the rest when on d.

Ugh, can we for once not blow quotes out of proportion? Is that the situation we are in here? I loved those features too. In fact I was the designer that put those in.

Let's face it - a defense isn't built at pre-play with each player actually changing their assignments all over the field. We all know that isn't REALISTIC or SIM. But as I acknowledge, Madden gamers need that control because the defensive options are limited. It's the same with offensive hot routes. We break realism in pre-play to allow you more options.

The whole "something we're looking into" is actually me acknowledging that we want it.

[Ian_Cummings]

Quote: Originally Posted by carnalnirvana

i understand becuase i realize that you guys are not only targeting one audience fair enough... however, penalties are a BIGGGGGG part of football, its the rules man, once again in your effort to bring in a wider audience the wrong part of football is being sacrificed.... i just feel that your attempts to add to your audience is always punching the hardcore crowd in the gut...

Penalties are a part, yep. Having a realistic amount of penalties by bumping a few sliders up seems like the correct approach right? Same reason there is Rookie mode or All-Madden mode, or Free-For-All or Hardcore Team Deathmatch in shooters...to each his own!

[Ian_Cummings]

Well it's been real but it's time to watch some football. Maybe I'll learn something! yuk yuk yuk

Go Giants!

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

Penalties are a part, yep. Having a realistic amount of penalties by bumping a few sliders up seems like the correct approach right? Same reason there is Rookie mode or All-Madden mode, or Free-For-All or Hardcore Team Deathmatch in shooters...to each his own!

Actually, I think if you had a category (like we were discussing earlier) for penalties and maybe a slider bar with , less, avg or more penalties per game, that might suit a wider audience more.

Also, I think the frustrating part for penalties only seem like holding, clipping and face mask work with any kind of consistency. Upping the sliders doesn't increase the percentage of the other penalties being called in it's current state.

[PhillyJim76]

can you please fix some of the minor issues that really detract from the game? Example, my QB fumbles and my O-line recovers, but they go nuts in the cut scene and celebrate the way a defensive team would if they recover a fumble for a turnover.

when you see something like that, it just looks sloppy.

[carnalnirvana]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

Penalties are a part, yep. Having a realistic amount of penalties by bumping a few sliders up seems like the correct approach right? Same reason there is Rookie mode or All-Madden mode, or Free-For-All or Hardcore Team Deathmatch in shooters...to each his own!

lets agree to disagree.

i am enjoying the game after i edited it ALOT. however a fully customizable madden would be great. i sometimes feel our intelligence and dedication to gaming is sometimes disrespected when we get a game that limits our creativity and its creators try to slim it down even more...

i feel sim ballers will tweak while the casuals will use default "out the box" i hope one day the return of options can be the main goal for a dev cycle...

anyway man thx for the replies its gametime goodnight...

[therizing02]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA

Ugh, can we for once not blow quotes out of proportion? Is that the situation we are in here? I loved those features too. In fact I was the designer that put those in. Let's face it - a defense isn't built at pre-play with each player actually changing their assignments all over the field. We all know that isn't REALISTIC or SIM. But as I acknowledge, Madden gamers need that control because the defensive options are limited. It's the same with offensive hot routes. We break realism in pre-play to allow you more options. The whole "something we're looking into" is actually me acknowledging that we want it.

Ian,

I can't remember the name of the game but I used to play a text based game where you had to"build" your defensive play call.

First you would choose 3-4, 4-3, Nickel, Dime, Quarter, etc. You also had options for LB, DB, and DL.

The entire sequence probably took about 5-7 seconds. My question is is this possible with the current engine? Ex. Instead of Cover 2 Press we choose, 3-4, press, twist, OLB Blitz, short zone, etc.

I thought the Gameplan feature was a HUGE step in the right direction for creating a more SIM like experience this year. The fact that I can go in and change/add/delete the existing playbooks was huge in allowing me to create my own "SIM" Madden experience.

Something that could take this a step further next year, if "building" your defensive call is not possible would be a Play Creator with multiple options. Knowing that you are for customization, being able to create our own plays from the ground up combined with the overall gameplay improvements to tackling, zone coverage etc. seems like you would have a combined effort from the development team and the community to create a more SIM experience. At the same time you'll still be able to grab the "casual players" dollars by not creating a game that is over the top from a "jump in and play" standpoint.

Thanks man.