Madden 2010 News Post

Made a small change this week...

09:28 PM - February 6, 2009 by Ian_Cummings

I set weapon icons and any/all other graphical options all to off by default (like the weapons, icon hints, big pre-play controls menu, etc). So now when you play Madden 'out of the box', it looks ultra clean and pristine. To everyone I showed, they sort of breathed a sigh of relief when looking at it...just "pure football" again. The only thing you see is the score bug (which has been redesigned from 09 btw and I think pretty much everyone will dig it).

But before we ship it like that...what do you guys think? Do you prefer it that way? Do you use the pre-play menu? For our mass amount of buyers, do you think they need the helpers like the icons, weapons, pre-play menu, etc?

Game: Madden NFL 10Reader Score: 7.5/10 - Vote Now
Platform: PS3 / Wii / Xbox 360Votes for game: 76 - View All

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# 61 bison160 @ 02/07/09 01:33 PM

+1 for leaving all that crap off. Keep it about football. maybe have a big centerfold page in the manual that tells all of the pre-snap adjustments. Or you could turn them on in the options. I would say the more simple you keep the screen looking during gameplay, the easier it will be to play for even the beginner. And all the hardcore guys know how to make adjustments without all that garbage filling it up! Another positive move Ian, THANKS!

# 62 Vikes1 @ 02/07/09 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	just "pure football" again.

To me this says it all.

# 63 KOACHK @ 02/07/09 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LBzrule


	With the weapon icons, I think you will do fine without them. You did fine without them in the past. Unless you are going to program specific abilities and attach it to weapon icons so that players with certain icons have special animation sets, I just think the game would look alot cleaner without all of that stuff in there.

I agree LBzrule. -I think weapon icons are more for causual gamers who don't actually go into the rosters to actually look at player ratings. --I've enjoyed your writeups and learned alot from them in the past; I hope to see more writeups and e-books from you in the future!

Ian,
I think what is left on or off out of the box is very important because alot of it seems to translate directly to what is default in online play. -Maybe a good compromise would be to have weapon icons on or off depending on the skill level settings instead.

Speaking on behalf of the tourney/competetive community; I think there should be a skill level/setting dedicated to tourney/competetive play. -On the other end of the spectrum; maybe there should be a skill level/setting dedicated to sim/casual play also. I would think tweaking the "fair-play" function for this might prove very useful, and getting the input of the leading tourney and sim community leaders would prove very useful in that endeavor.

# 64 roadman @ 02/07/09 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	We could also probably debate whether that many "casual" Madden gamers even exist on next-gen...do a lot of people out there spend $300+ bucks on new hardware and probably $1k at least on HD setups and stuff when they have no clue how to use a controller or have never seen a game of football? Wii on the other hand...

Ian;

Back in my days in college, it was Intellivision or the Atari 2600. The 2600 cost $99.00 back in the 80's. College students, at least in my time, couldn't afford big screen TV's, so, the the standard dorm TV was probably 13-15 inch range.

I don't know how much has changed today, but my nephew loves to play Madden and doesn't have an HD setup. His GF bought him the 360.

I don't know if the college crowd is a large paying audience of Madden, but I'm sure college bound students can figure out how to turn on the weapons, pre-snap, etc......

# 65 GoToledo @ 02/07/09 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	It's 100% more awesome.

Only 100% more, huh?

# 66 Joborule @ 02/07/09 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	It's 100% more awesome.

I bet my custom one is more awesome.

# 67 Joborule @ 02/07/09 02:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	So just to give a little insight, honestly this was definitely my first thought. But as I thought a little deeper...realistically is a person new to next-gen Madden going to do any pre-snap adjustments? I think they more likely feel overwhelmed when they see all these options. All of my friends nowadays say "Madden is too hard to play now", but I mean the core mechanics are the same from when they played 5 years ago - call a play, snap it, throw it, run, etc. IMO, it's the overkill with a million options that are always in their face that contributes to the panic. It immediately can invoke the feeling that "maybe I don't know what I'm doing" if you aren't using every one of those options. So I know the knee jerk thought is to think that we need to give more info for casual gamers, but that can often be detrimental when you go overboard. We could also probably debate whether that many "casual" Madden gamers even exist on next-gen...do a lot of people out there spend $300+ bucks on new hardware and probably $1k at least on HD setups and stuff when they have no clue how to use a controller or have never seen a game of football? Wii on the other hand...

That�s a good point actually. When I try new sports games, I generally get use to the basics in a few games first before I go into the deeper detail stuff that revolves around strategy. If I see too much stuff around the screen, it can become intimidating. Perhaps off by default would be a good choice. Those users that want to find out how to do audibles and hot routes will be willing to go through the instruction manual or tutorials to figure out how to do them.

# 68 TheWatcher @ 02/07/09 02:50 PM

This is the kind of stuff that I've been hoping to see. Those very meticulous changes that add those very important small-thing touches to the game. This is very, very promising.

I'd vote for OFF. I personally wouldn't mind if they were still on with the ability to turn them all off one-by-one, but default off caters to my tastes as more of the non-casual I am so this is fine to me.

My main hope is that the on-off situation is contagious throughout the game in a variety of ways. The more ways we get to the make the experience tailor to ourselves the more happy players you're going to get.

Good job Ian. It may sound weird, but I'm almost as excited about where this can lead as I am about procedural awareness. I can't tell you tell how many times I play Madden and wish I could change, edit, or turn on/off this or that. I think that's one of the big reasons why FIFA and NBA Live appeal to me so much, because of the number of changes I can make to the game to tweak it to my tastes.

# 69 TexasBorn1 @ 02/07/09 03:08 PM

I guess it would be okay to leave it on for the casual players.. I wouldn't mind disabling it myself like in 09

# 70 King Gro23 @ 02/07/09 04:05 PM

Implement the big weapons in a pre-game show and never worry about seeing silly icons on the field just natural raw football

# 71 mrod009 @ 02/07/09 05:08 PM

Definitely leave Preplay Controls and Weapons Off by default. It makes everything look too busy and crowded.

# 72 ngoulding @ 02/07/09 05:30 PM

The best solution would be to do what fifa did last year. First time you put in the game you get asked the question what kind of gamer are u. Really casual, sports fan or fifa veteran. Your choices are saved and thats the end of the story. When we turn on madden 10 ask us if we want prompts on screen or a 'clean screen' and everone is happy. I for one am delighted to hear the screen is being tidied up. Madden was really the only 'sim' sports game that places art on the field during play.

# 73 Kevin26385 @ 02/07/09 06:47 PM

I definitely think that leaving all the graphics off except the score bug, is a fantastic idea. Its an easy and great step to make the game look more realistic. And the best part is if someone wants it, they can get the graphic up. I know I will definitely leave it and have a clean looking football game on my hands.

# 74 Ian_Cummings @ 02/07/09 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Joborule


	I bet my custom one is more awesome.

I definitely know yours. Ours is probably 28% better than that one.

# 75 Kevin26385 @ 02/07/09 08:30 PM

How about some descriptions of the Score bug Ian

Is it on the top of the screen or bottom? haha

# 76 green94 @ 02/07/09 08:34 PM

Agree with your thoughts Ian and can't wait to see the new Score ticker. Last years got in the way when seeing whether or not field goals went through the uprights.

# 77 Ian_Cummings @ 02/07/09 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kev5890


	How about some descriptions of the Score bug Ian Is it on the top of the screen or bottom? haha

Bottom. I guess I can answer that right?

# 78 thudias @ 02/07/09 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian_Cummings_EA


	Bottom. I guess I can answer that right?

Dude, your the lead designer you can do what ever you want and you answer to no one...

errr...except Phil but I'm sure he's probably a push over.

Phil if you read this I'm kidding...but not really.

# 79 icomb1ne @ 02/07/09 09:40 PM

weapons, icon hints, big pre-play controls menu

I'm fine with this as long as the ability to turn on/off weapons, hints, pre-play controls, and the like are separate.

# 80 03MstGT290 @ 02/07/09 09:46 PM

I'd like to have the weapons off, or even get rid of them completely from the game. I believe that ratings are what that matter the most. I feel that the weapons give certain players the advantages and it makes the game feel cheated in a way. Ratings are what that should play the biggest role in the game.

Pre-snap menus should stay on as default.

Keep up the good work, Ian and Co!

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