Five Things Madden Could Do To Please Its Dissenters - RaychelSnr's Blog

Arena Blog Dynasty Scores Sign Up ☰

RaychelSnr's Blog

Five Things Madden Could Do To Please Its Dissenters Stuck

Posted on February 9, 2011 at 03:13 PM.

(44)

It is no secret a huge mess of hardcore gamers heavily dislike Madden these days. As I pointed out in my half of the 'is Madden successful this generation' debate with Christian McLeod, Madden has played it pretty safe overall this generation, which has led to it falling behind some of it's peers in our genre.

When the game has tried to innovate and add new depths to its gameplay the features have failed to attract fans approval and thus, most have been toned down or taken completely out of the game. It is no surprise then, that the experimentation has largely been toned down as well, as the Madden team has redoubled their efforts to focus on the basic aspects of the gameplay which has largely led to big improvements in many areas.

However, the moves the past two years have yet to be enough to quell the dissension -- mainly because there are still so many problems which haven't been addressed. So what does Madden need to do? Here are five things I think could go a long way towards alleviating the negativity.

Take the AI to the next level. There are still some things which happen in Madden which would never happen on a real football field. A lot of it has to do with players not playing to their assignments like real football players would. Players don't react to what's going on around them like they should -- and in football it is not easy to mask those kind of problems. EA needs to redouble on how the defense reacts to what's going on and they also need to keep improving the play in the trenches. This year's game was better in that regard but more improvement is definitely needed. And let's just be honest, when it comes to playing the computer you can expect nothing short of predictability a lot of times. Playcalling seems to be the thorn in the Madden's team side. The game just needs to feel more advanced in how players react.
Stick to the Modes which are going to work. There have been several jaunts off the deep end in terms of modes for the game. Lots of bad ideas mixed with poorly executed ones have marred the games progress overall. The breadwinners for Madden into the future will be Franchise, Online Franchise, an Online Competition mode that isn't Ultimate Team that allows gamers to just pick up and play the game with a purpose. Superstar mode is something which I don't know is going to work all that well with Football as it is probably the least individual based sport in America. The concentration of fans is on the team, the franchise, and the aura around that. Madden needs to capture that magic and bring it home to roost.
The game needs a new presentation. Madden has been operating under the same formula for over a decade now in terms of its presentation. There have been shifts along the way, but you can see where the progression has been logical and steady -- but there haven't been any major shakeups. The bigger issue with Madden is that its Broadcast Presentation is really poorly executed. The game really went off the deep end for a few years starting with Madden NFL 06 on next-gen consoles -- and it is just now starting to get to a point where the in-game presentation is acceptable again. And let's be honest, most NFL fans experience a majority of games via the TV. If you want a game to 'feel' more realistic, the key isn't putting the players on the field, but make it seem like they are recreating a broadcast. How Madden cuts to the crowd and to the benches and whatnot are nothing short of amateur and need a complete overhaul by someone who produces NFL games for TV. The graphical stat overlays and displays are lacking and the commentary needs serious depth as well.
"Everything on Sunday?" Where are the.... There is so much still lacking from the in-game experience for Madden that are present each Sunday. Other games handle the finer aspects of their sport much better than Madden, which is where a lot of the gap comes from. For example, penalties are still not handled properly at all. Another lingering problem is that you don't see the AI adjusting to your play style all that effectively (see point #1). EA could easily set up a much more effective Coaching advice tool which could double as your coordinators letting you know how the other team is reacting to your moves and whatnot. As with all good game design, such a feature would be optional -- but you can make a game deep so long as you hold the users hand through the initial learning stages.
Most of all -- player interactions need to be improved a lot still. The biggest problem with Madden is that player to player interaction, even when the ball is snapped, feel generic. There is nothing really all that dynamic about it still, since you don't see players jockeying for position or pushing and shoving after a play. Using good broadcast angles, you could easily show players jawing a bit and whatnot. I'm sure the NFL has a hand in some of this, wanting to keep the sport's reputation clean -- but there are creative ways to show interactions between players that make the game feel more alive. It is like both teams aren't allowed to really react to one another after a play and they just quietly shuffle back to a huddle. That's not how it happens in the NFL, and that's one very huge reason why the game doesn't feel right to many users. Make the player interactions much more realistic before, during, and after plays and you'll see a lot of people's problem with Madden feeling stale or old go away pretty quickly.

So there is my list of five things. Now what do you think? Other than saying give up the exclusive license (yeah yeah yeah, we know that's what you think) what are some things Madden Developers could do to drastically improve the game in your eyes? Sound off!

Comments

# 31 ManiacMatt1782 @ Feb 12

After going back and playing some other games again, I can't justify giving my dollars up for madden 12. This economy is bad enough already, wow me and earn my money.

# 32 thatmandrehall @ Feb 14

players on madden do things that they dnt do in real life, Adrian Foster is a great running back but he does not average 15.8 yards per carry against the RAVENS on hall of fame, the computer was making all arm tackles and when i switch on the player thats closer to him to make a tackle he trucks me like nothing and i was on Terrell Suggs, thats just crazy, also tune up the switching to the closest player to make the play because that really can just mess up the whole defensive play, example: When the AI throws a ball and i see a player that can make the play but they switch me to a guy thats closer to the receiver not the ball i mess up the go the wrong way and he catches it, on that topic another example iswhen the AI catches a pass and i try and switch on the closest player,it always switches me on another player and i mess up and dive or run another way again because i thought i was gonna be on another guy(THIS IS VERY FRUSTRATING)JUST MAKE THE GAME AND THE PLAYERS DO REAL THINGS AND MAKE IT SO WE CAN MAKE A PLAY. Also the AI on defense and offense needs to be EXTREMELY improved, they just do dumb things.
Another thing about realism in the game is why the computer on offense can just thread your defense with slants and under routes but mostly slants, its like theres no defense to it, make the game more hard to score for the computer to, ex-specially when i have the one of the best defenses in the game and im playing against the redskins or any other team in the slumps.
SCORES SHOULD NOT BE 55 to 58 on HOF i only play on five min quarters to come on now.

Also make the jerseys move, like for quarterbacks that doesn't where there sleeves tight, let it hang off the shoulder pads dont make it stick to there arm it looks fake, making the jerseys move and the ability to get dirty will make the game look way better
Also the commentary needs to be improved it really needs to be improved on late 21 to 24 games and tom brady has two minutes to score, its just boring the crowd, and the celebrations are to repetitive and also boring, show the celebration when you score dnt cut it and do a edited celebration, Make them throw the ball in the crowd if its a big touchdown make more players jump on the players and celebrate with the guy who scored

# 33 thatmandrehall @ Feb 14

And on the celebration note THE QUARTERBACK USUALLY DOESNT CELEBRATE WITHE THE RECEIVER LIKE THAT UNLESS ITS A BIG TOUCHDOWN, HE MIGHT DO THE KOBE CLUTCH THING OR PUT BOTH HANDS IN THE AIR AND MIGHT GIVE THE RECEIVER A SLAP ON THE HELMET OR SHOULDER PADS

« Previous 1 23Next »

RaychelSnr

Create Your Card Flip Card Over