new creative director for EA's football games
 

up at the inside blog is this.

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...ea-sports.aspx


This part was a bit scary lol


Q: So what is your main focus at EA Tiburon?

A: As Senior Creative Director working inside of our Central Gameplay Group, I am perfectly positioned to impact and improve the moment to moment football gameplay for both Madden and NCAA. I love to have my hands on the sticks, trying to improve pacing, impact of moves, velocities, AI decisions, etc. We have many talented developers in the mix on football, but hopefully I can bring a little extra magic to the mix and our games will appeal to an even larger audience. It doesn't get much better than working on EA football titles!

hmmm.


anyways, theres the blog.

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

**** just when Madden started going in the right direction.....

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

Q: In the upcoming year, what technology will have the most impact on sports video games?
A: The animations in our games are becoming more fluid, life like, and feel more organic when the user manipulates his controller. The days of "trigger 1 animation that you can't break out of when you press a button" are over, and a new era of real-time responsive control is upon us. Players have never had as much control as they're about to have, and it's awesome.




Q: This isn't your first venture with sports video games, as you were the driving force behind a number of original sports IPs at Midway (NFL Blitz, NBA Jam, NBA Ballers, etc.). While those are wildly different than traditional sports sims, where do you see that experience carrying over to EA SPORTS?
A: I have focused on arcade sports and fighting game titles for the last 17 years, and even though they aren't traditional sims, there are huge lessons learned that can be applied to sim titles. Including how to communicate rules/situations to the user, ways to make the game easier to pick up and play, how to make plays/moves more impactful and entertaining, and even the general pacing of a game to keep player attention. The industry and audience is changing fairly dramatically, and often times our customer is looking for a quicker, more streamlined experience. That type of thinking was required in the arcades, and is becoming more important for all platforms. I love the arcade style games, but certainly understand the difference and requirements for sim products.


Q: So what is your main focus at EA Tiburon?
A: As Senior Creative Director working inside of our Central Gameplay Group, I am perfectly positioned to impact and improve the moment to moment football gameplay for both Madden and NCAA. I love to have my hands on the sticks, trying to improve pacing, impact of moves, velocities, AI decisions, etc. We have many talented developers in the mix on football, but hopefully I can bring a little extra magic to the mix and our games will appeal to an even larger audience. It doesn't get much better than working on EA football titles!


Lets read the entire interview before we panic? :y15:

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

http://insideblog.easports.com/archi...ea-sports.aspxQ: In the upcoming year, what technology will have the most impact on sports video games?

A: The animations in our games are becoming more fluid, life like, and feel more organic when the user manipulates his controller. The days of "trigger 1 animation that you can't break out of when you press a button" are over, and a new era of real-time responsive control is upon us. Players have never had as much control as they're about to have, and it's awesome.
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This last Q & A has me feeling better.

Doesn't seem like he is going to change EA/Tiburon's direction of "Everything You See On Sunday".

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

Mark Turmell is the man when it comes to sports games.

NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, Gretzky 3D Hockey and NHL Hitz are just a few of his projects; the guy has put out nothing but quality games for most of his career.

His influence at EA can only be a good thing, especially if they put him in charge of revamping their lackluster "Arcade" games.

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

Yes, but NBA Jam was "fun" because it wasn't meant to be simulating NBA Basketball. I don't want Maddne to be that kind of "fun", i want it to be simulating what i see on Sundays as accurately as possible, to me, THAT'S FUN.

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

This was the first question asked and this should please most people here.

Q: Being a senior level creative director with over 20+ years experience in the industry, you still remain a hands-on guy. How do you balance the overall direction on the project, yet stay so involved in the execution?

A: Fortunately, all of the game teams I've worked with or led have had really talented developers who love to focus on creating assets, on improving existing assets, or managing the overall schedule. This has allowed me to focus on improving or on innovating core "moment to moment" gameplay. I get my "rush" from making players wince or laugh at the on screen action, and to get that right, you have to have your hands on the sticks tweaking the speeds, animations, and core mechanics of a game. I love to be in those trenches, and while I agree we need beautiful visuals, story, and audio, I truly believe that great gameplay is king and you can't succeed without it.

Re: new creative director for EA's football games
 

Color me concerned. Not for '11, too late for him to have much influence there... but still, I'm not thrilled with having a guy with a track record of arcade titles in charge of the sim games.