Marcus Stephenson was a major member in the building of MaddenMania.com and has since risen to the status of Electronic Arts employee. We recently got a chance to catch up with him and see how his new position is doing, and while we tried for the inside scoop his lips are of course sealed on what to expect in the future. Nevertheless, if you ever aspired to one day work with video games here is your chance to see how some of it goes down.

Steph, thanks for taking the time to give us an interview. I realize that you cannot comment on a lot of what you know about future games and the likes, but try and answer what you can. If you think of anything you would like to say that isn't asked feel free though. And I know some of the answers to these questions, but these are a few that seem to come up a lot from members and ones that I thought would be of interest about you and your work.

Thanks again for you time, it is greatly appreciated. Let me know if you have any questions or anything.


Operation Sports: Describe to us your job duties and title with EA if you would.

Marcus Stephenson: I'm the EA SPORTS Content & Community Manager for all of the EA Canada Sports titles. I'm responsible for all the content that you see on our franchise sites, and growing the communities for each game. That involves gathering feedback, constant communication with all of you, coming up with ways to extend your gaming experience and being that bridge between EA and the community. I like to tell people at the office that I'm the closest person in the company to not being employed at EA.


OS: About where is the production on NHL ’09? Give us a rough time frame of the making of the game if you can.

MS: I can't answer that for you man. Lips are sealed. Look for info soon though.


OS: Are you able to let us in on any aspects being added or worked on for next year’s game?

MS: Unfortunately, not at this time.


OS: Anything the producers wished they were able to clean up or get in this years game that wasn’t able to get done?

MS: Heh. Trickster....can't say right now man.


OS: Do you think there could ever be an exclusive license deal with the NHL and a video game company?

MS: Since the whole Take Two / EA thing is going on right now, I can't really comment.


OS: What is your favorite part of your job?

MS: Continuing to talk with all of you guys.


OS: Do you get to deal with any professional athletes with your work? If so, maybe give a favorite story or player.

MS: Yes!! My favorite was while I was in New Orleans for NBA All-Star, Eva Longoria was there. So was Reggie Bush and Kim Kardashian. Nicest athlete I've met though is Al Horford. He's a good dude.


OS: What is the hardest part about making an EA video game?

MS: The expectations. Making a game that so many people love (like NHL) on a yearly basis is tough. Especially when the previous (NHL08) was loved so much.


OS: Tell us how you rose from the ranks of MM’er to working what would be a dream job to many of our members.

MS: It wasn't me. It was all of you who helped me. I decided when I took over MM (MaddenMania.com) that I wanted to work in this business. The great community that was MM elevated me to that role. I'll never forget that.


OS: Any advice for the kids reading this that one day may hope to hold a title close to yours or work with or around video games?

MS: If you truly want to get in the industry, then don't limit yourself. There are many ways to do it, so explore all of them.


OS: Was there ever any thought to putting more roster updates out this season? Or, perhaps updates for just NHL players and then working on the minor leagues later?

MS: If we could put out a roster update every week, we would have. We just simply don't have the resources to do so.


OS: Can you give us any insight as to how updating the rosters work; as it is an area that is of great concern to the gamers it appears? We understand that players must be in either the NHL Players Association or sign a deal to be in the game if they are in the minors, but what else makes it so hard?

MS: It isn't as easy as a user going into their game and messing with the rosters. When we change code, it could mess with the game. We carefully have to test everything in the code especially before we send it to all of you.


OS: What feature would you most like to see in a hockey game in the future?

MS: OTP Leagues!!!


OS: Can you comment any on the first person player feature that is supposed to be hitting NHL, like how deep is it, is it just like goalie mode now, or something more etc?

MS: no comment

And now a quick rapid fire session for you, just to see what your time at EA has done for your love of hockey.

OS: Crosby or Ovechkin?

MS: Ovechkin


OS: Favorite NHL team?

MS: Go Canucks Go!


OS: Stanley Cup Finals match-up and winner prediction?

MS: Montreal vs. Anaheim = Anaheim


OS: Most fun goaltender to watch?

MS: Roberto Luongo


OS: More exciting, 8-6 final score in a playoff game, or 1-0 overtime?

MS: I'm a Canucks fan. 1-0 overtime


OS: Finally, tell us anything else that you think the community would be interested in knowing about the game or your job.

MS: I really wish I could bring the entire community of MM to EA so that all of you could see what these guys truly do. I know at heart you're all huge sports gaming fans, and my job is to get as much feedback from all of you as possible to make our games better.

If you have anything (questions, suggestions or opinions), please pm (private message) me on these forums. A lot of you constantly rag on me for being a fan of EA, particularly EA SPORTS, but that's definitely not the worst thing in the world.

Thank you for your time on the interview Steph. Marcus is constantly checking the forums for any input or concerns with the games EA Canada produces to take back to headquarters. If you would like to be heard, or see what the deal is coming out of Vancouver, be sure to check the boards and find “stephensonmc”, his mailbox is always open.