A Plea for More Strategy in Madden... - RGiles36's Blog

RGiles36's Blog

A Plea for More Strategy in Madden...

Posted on September 12, 2012 at 11:56 PM.

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When people talk about the enhancements that need to find their way into Madden, the overwhelming majority mention line interaction and player movement. Personally I have zero objections if these items were to be the focus for M14, but just as important is an overhaul to AI.

A recent post on OS highlights the necessity for investment in AI:

Quote:

Originally Posted by thundergatti


	I also don't like playing against the computer because I feel like playing defense and picking play calls against the computer is just not fun. I feel that whatever ingenuity I may be able to put into my play calling isn't going to either (a) catch the CPU off-guard during the play or (b) be taken into consideration by the CPU in the CPU's subsequent play calls.

I echo Mr. Gatti's sentiments, which is why I'd like to push for a more strategic AI in the near future. While I know and accept online gaming as the future, that doesn't give the green light for Madden to continue having a relatively stale offline experience.

I'm looking for a more complex AI: one that is both proactive and adaptive, and makes adjustments similar to what human opponent does today.

Proactive:
-The AI should identify weaknesses pre-game and gameplan to attack them. The AI needs the ability to process a depth chart and make judgements based off that. If my defensive line is a weakness or if I have a couple guys out with injuries, the AI should recognize this as an opportunity and perhaps run the ball slightly more than they normally would. If that weakness is in the secondary, I'd like to see the AI take chances at passing the ball.

Adaptive:
-The expectation here would be that the AI is always learning and adapting (to some degree) in-game. For instance, I have the tendency to run on first down; it would be nice to see the AI pick up on that and force me into a different strategy. The CPU could adjust by simply blitzing more on first down, or hot routing one of the safeties to blitz.

-I'd also like to see the AI be cognizant of what plays are called in certain formations. If I only run draws out of a certain formation, that's something else the AI would perhaps look for.

-Would also like to see the AI make more individual adjustments as the user does. If I'm consistently beating one of their corners with deep passes, I'd like to see the AI be smart enough to move that CB off coverage to guard against the big play.

From the perspective of a non-programmer, I don't believe this is overly-complicated stuff. But these are just some raw ideas that could make the AI be more strategic than it currently is.