Why Line Play Will Never Be Realistic in Football Games

[RaychelSnr]

With video game baseball season underway, it's the perfect time to make this analogy What realistic hitting would be to baseball games, realistic line play would be to football games -- unplayable for 95 percent of gamers.

To put things in perspective, a hitter at the MLB level has less than .25 seconds to judge a pitch's speed, location and decide whether or not to swing.

How Hard is it to Hit a Baseball?

Hitting major league pitching is so difficult, that succeeding 30 percent of the time is considered successful enough to earn a multi-million dollar contract.

NFL quarterbacks have more time to make decisions than MLB hitters, but with so much more data to take in, a NFL quarterback’s job is arguably the toughest in pro sports.

Read More - Why Line Play WIll Never Be Realistic in Football Games

[Jarodd21]

Thats why I have my CPUs pass rush cranked up to 100 on my sliders because I feel like I shouldn't have that much time in the pocket.. QBs don't get alot of time like that in the league. I have just enough time to make all my reads and make the throw and I produce great passing stats in my franchise.. But this does seem to be a big deal for alot of people who like 5 seconds or more in the pocket to scan the field. Good interview BTW.

[Rayp]

Nice write up, it is true that was one of the complaints with backbreaker people whined but that was a accurate portrayal lol in real life you dont drop back 7 yards and wait 4 solid seconds and make a delivery

[mvb34]

You may great points!! I wish EA would make it realistic anyway..

[Agent 007]

You're mostly right, but remember the .300 batting avg you're referring to has more to do with hitting the ball where defenders aren't than just actually hitting the ball.

[LiquorLogic]

I don't agree with this at all. First, difficulty levels can handle this problem perfectly. Neuter the pass rush for the lower difficultly levels, and for the highest difficulty levels, make the pass-rush realistic. That way, the CPU wouldn't have to cheat to make the game difficult at the All-madden level. The game will be difficult enough with only 1-3 seconds to get rid of the football. I would love for the dline to get to the QB in 3 seconds or less most of the time. I'd have no trouble adjusting, and defensively I'd be a monster.

Also, the advantage that gamers have over NFL QBs is the Bird's eye view that Madden provides. In Backbreaker, the way the camera was set up, and the configuration of the controls, made it impractical to get rid of the ball in 3 seconds or less. In Madden we have the bird's eye view; it's a lot easier to see the field.

And you're wrong about no football having realistic game-play. APF had realistic game-play. There were times when Reggie White would sack me in under 2 seconds, but that didn't happen every single play as it didn't happen every single play in reality. I'm sorry, did R. White average 15 sacks a game ? Reggie White was held at bay sometimes.

[Hooe]

Numbers aside, there's no reason for EA to not give us the ability to make the passing game that hard if we want to. Options are the name of the game.

Understandably at the baseline difficulty there should be significant leeway to allow the game to have some pick-up-and-play ability and so it's not an exercise in futility; they're in the business of making video games, and the games they make have to have widespread appeal so that even those who don't enjoy football might enjoy Madden. However, that's no reason for EA to not develop more realistic AI routines that play out for gamers who enjoy a more difficult and more realistic challenge. The stated mantras of the company - "it's in the game", "everything you see on Sunday" - obligate them to as much.

[Dashdagreat]

Its "realistic" in 2k8... im just saying...