Are our voices being heard?

[Toupal]

I love coming to Operation Sports!

Being able to share ideas about people who are just as passionate about Madden as I am is phenomenal. I first came here many years ago to download NCAA Rosters, and since I have been sucked in by the great ideas and mock-ups by some talented OS'ers.

With all these great ideas flowing through OS, you would think that developers would be going through these forums with a fine tooth comb to scrounge up some ideas to improve Madden. I accept that EA has their own think tank to come up with ideas for Madden, however there are people on here putting in what appears to be full-time work just to share their ideas in hopes of them getting heard, and better yet implemented into Madden.

However I find it extremely discouraging that year after year, a majority of wishlists remain the same. Granted I don't expect every year for a massive input of items off of peoples wishlists, but if even 25% of wishlist items were added, they could in theory get almost all wishlist items added.

Right now most wishlists for Madden are fairly basic, because it would be irrational to request indepth and detailed features when simple things like custom draft classes, online tournaments, or features from 15 years ago haven't been added.

With all that being said, I love discussing great ideas, stories, and mock-ups with everyone in the OS Community. But, do the people who actually work on the game share that same excitement, drive, and motivation that we do when they read these forums and see our ideas?

I know they have acknowledges Deuces incredible mock-up, but what is preventing them from actioning something like that?

Is it because EA does not give the resources the Madden developers need to achieve what we want? I think it was apparent in Madden 18 when they cut resources from Franchise Mode to work on Longshot and NBA Live that EA does not value Madden like they should. As opposed to hiring new people to specifically dedicate themselves to NBA Live or Longshot, EA saved a quick buck by stripping Madden of its' limited yet valuable resources.

We have been blessed by having Rex, Clint, and John interact with the community as much as they have through social media, and I believe they share our drive for a better Madden, however it has become apparent that the faceless "suits" are holding back Madden from being light years ahead of its' current state.

So with that, who are the suits? Who do we have to reach out to in order to finally get the features we want, to get the wishlists granted, and to get more resources put into Madden?

[Black Bruce Wayne]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

We will never get to see the suits. Those people aren't interested in this, they just want a return investment.

The suits and Rex and his people are two different groups.

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[soonermagic88]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

Is your voice about MUT or Longshot?
If not, then no, it's falling on deaf ears.

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[Sheba2011]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

I love coming to Operation Sports!




However I find it extremely discouraging that year after year, a majority of wishlists remain the same. Granted I don't expect every year for a massive input of items off of peoples wishlists, but if even 25% of wishlist items were added, they could in theory get almost all wishlist items added.




So with that, who are the suits? Who do we have to reach out to in order to finally get the features we want, to get the wishlists granted, and to get more resources put into Madden?

These two points really stand out to me. For the first point I dont think there will ever be a game that covers 100% of everyone's wishlist because we all have differences in what should be at the top of that wishlist and some of them contradict one another. But the current dev's have been at least implementing a few things each year off the community wishlist such as off the ball injuries, regression tuning and coverage assignments. Is it perfect? Far from it but it is still a good sign that they are in fact listening.

As for the second point, to be honest, the ones we would have to reach out to are the millions of people who buy the game each year and sink tens of millions of dollars into Ultimate Team. As long as the game keeps selling every year the suits will continue to see a game they don't need to invest extra resources in and the devs will continue to lack the resources necessary to really make the changes we all want, including tackling those wishlists.

[Black Bruce Wayne]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

EA sports and affiliates are corporations. I know we like to believe that videogames are a wholesome mom and pop operation, but that's not the case.

You know who ruins everything we like as consumers? Investors

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[cable guy]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

I know they are hearing us. Rex knows what we want and has addressed those things in interviews. They put in Sim mode. It's not quite there yet, but hopefully it takes another step forward next year.

But plain and simple, MUT makes them a ton of money. I didn't realize how much people spend on it. That is their priority.

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[mtmetcalfe]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

I think the people that are listening aren't necessarily the ones that need to hear it.

Whether or not I purchase the game or not I spend far too much time following this game. As much as I like to believe I see through marketing BS I fell for it again this year. We have a sim mode.....that seems to be the same as last years mode.

As long as the game sells it will always be this way. Which it will because it's the only show in town.

[Hooe]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

So let's clear one thing up - there are no mythical suits who actively meddle in day-to-day creative direction of Madden.

What AAA video game company executives at companies like EA actually do is set a high-level goal for their teams to meet over the next several cycles. Most recently, this push across not only EA Sports but all Electronic Arts games has focused on e-sports, as is evident not only in how heavily Madden has invested into competitive gaming features, but also FIFA, NBA Live, Battlefield, and Star Wars: Battlefront doubling down on that front.

With this high-level vision in mind, the individual game teams themselves create roadmaps as to how to achieve those high-level goals. Those roadmaps last several years. Tiburon probably already has created design documents for features in the next three Madden games, and they probably started building features for M19 last year. If there is time left for community requests which don't exist, those get added in where they can - formation subs in M17, for example. If there's not time because there's too much to do for a given year's roadmap - M18, for example - then no extra stuff gets done.

The issue isn't that they aren't listening to you. The issue is that making a game as huge as Madden is similar in scale to operating an aircraft carrier. Any and every major move for the foreseeable future has already been prepared years beforehand and major changes in course are simply not logistically possible.

[mtmetcalfe]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

So let's clear one thing up - there are no mythical suits who actively meddle in day-to-day creative direction of Madden.

What AAA video game company executives at companies like EA actually do is set a high-level goal for their teams to meet over the next several cycles. Most recently, this push across not only EA Sports but all Electronic Arts games has focus on e-sports, as is evident not only in how heavily Madden has invested into competitive gaming features, but also FIFA, NBA Live, Battlefield, and Star Wars: Battlefront doubling down on that front.

With this high-level vision in mind, the individual game teams themselves create roadmaps as to how to achieve those high-level goals. Those roadmaps last several years. Tiburon probably already has created design documents for features in the next three Madden games, and they are probably started building features for M19 last year. If there is time left for community requests which don't exist, those get added in where they can - formation subs in M17, for example. If there's not time because there's too much to do for a given year's roadmpa - M18, for example - then no extra stuff gets done.

The issue isn't that they aren't listening to you. The issue is that making a game as huge as Madden is similar in scale to operating an aircraft carrier. Any and every major move for the foreseeable future has already been prepared years beforehand and major changes in course are simply not logistically possible.

Regardless of forecasting we still are where we are. If they were listening years ago to the sim community I think, and I'll speak for myself, I'd be a much more satisfied customer.

[JayhawkerStL]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

What if every bit of telemetry they have received tells them that the deeper franchise mode gets, the less people engage with their game? Should they listen to the sim crowd anyway?

I expect EA, like I expect any company, like I expect any consumer, to act in their own self-interest. Design decisions do not come out of thin air. They are doing what any good sim gamer would do. They are looking at data and adjusting their strategies to achieve maximum effect.

I don't really know what their telemetry tells them. I don't believe they have a personal vendetta against sim gamers. But they sure do find other modes to spend more time on, to evolve more. They seem to honestly believe that catering to the sim gamer crowd is not a ticket to more sales, and might even hurt sales.

You can bring up any other game and make arguments that 2K cares about the sim gamer more, but you are going apples and oranges. Every sport has so many different variables that you need to apply a different set of goals to each sport.

There is such a thing as sim enough. That point is different for everyone. You can go too sim, and start losing folks at the one end. You can be no near sim enough, and you start losing people from the other end. How many customers exist at each end, and where they start losing and adding customers is where they ought to aim.

I think they are listening to their entire audience at all times.

[DocHolliday]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

EA has all the resources in the world to build a great game. Their stock is hitting all time highs basically weekly.

Fact is they are just trying to squeeze every dollar they can, and limiting "R and D" does that.

Great for the short term but long term I see problems. If the NFL ever opens up the league to other producers I could se madden going the way of Live within a few years.




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[mtmetcalfe]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

What if every bit of telemetry they have received tells them that the deeper franchise mode gets, the less people engage with their game? Should they listen to the sim crowd anyway?

I expect EA, like I expect any company, like I expect any consumer, to act in their own self-interest. Design decisions do not come out of thin air. They are doing what any good sim gamer would do. They are looking at data and adjusting their strategies to achieve maximum effect.

I don't really know what their telemetry tells them. I don't believe they have a personal vendetta against sim gamers. But they sure do find other modes to spend more time on, to evolve more. They seem to honestly believe that catering to the sim gamer crowd is not a ticket to more sales, and might even hurt sales.

You can bring up any other game and make arguments that 2K cares about the sim gamer more, but you are going apples and oranges. Every sport has so many different variables that you need to apply a different set of goals to each sport.

There is such a thing as sim enough. That point is different for everyone. You can go too sim, and start losing folks at the one end. You can be no near sim enough, and you start losing people from the other end. How many customers exist at each end, and where they start losing and adding customers is where they ought to aim.

I think they are listening to their entire audience at all times.

What I want is a team with a vision and from I've heard time and time again that vision is a simulation base football game. If they feel like their telemetry is telling them something different and they want to follow that information then so be it. But don't come to me every year and tell me that we are going to get something we really aren't.
I think EA is playing the short game like most large companies. Im not a believer of that model having long term sustainability.

[KickassJohnson]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

I think they are listening to their entire audience at all times.

What I want to know is who in the audience asked for an idiotic movie mode that has little to no replay value while also ignoring a mode that been a large part of the game for the past 20yrs......

The guys that planned that out 4yrs ago don't need to be making the decisions. They have been left in the dust compared to other games. Madden has a reputation of having small change and big talk about "it's further down the line". All BS in my opinion. The people driving this vehicle need their license taken away.

[BigSexy]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

I'd say both yes and no. Yes because there've been several fixes to issues, like zone defense, the statue QBs (which are still somewhat of a problem, but still), and others.

No, because there are so many voices and so many issues to deal with. It also doesn't help that the devs are using Twitter as a means of communication. You're right, they are communicable, but it's still social media.

The suits are EA, a company who's gained infamy through apathy (trying to be unbiased, just saying what I've seen.)

For me, the best gameplay has come through tweaked sliders, which ultimately improved the whole experience for me. Try sifting through the Madden 18 Sliders subforum.


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[csward]

Re: Are our voices being heard?

I remember years past EA paid some schmuck to peruse these forums and make a bunch of promises they never kept (think Shawn Murray of No Man's Sky infamy). He was a huckster there for marketing purposes only.

EA only cares about getting cows to graze on MUT, that terrible, pay-to-win mode that I will never touch. Meanwhile Owner mode has been untouched for at least 10 years. I think EA thinks no one notices.