Madden NFL 15 Ratings Release Monday, Watch Rookies React After Hearing Their Rating

[DCEBB2001]

Quote: Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

Do what's need to get in through the door. You could very well have said, "Perfectly fine. Sure I'll change Larry Fitzgerald's OVR from a 93 to a 99." And you follow up by changing the universal rating scale. Maximum now would be 106 as oppose to the standard 100. So, technically Larry Fitzgerald would definitely be a 99 but on an adjusted scale of 1-106, Fitzgerald would still have an OVR attribute of 99 but in the overall scheme of things he would still be a 93. "Suits, Larry Fitzgerald is now literally, numerically a 99 as you wanted."

That wasn't my thought process at the time. At the time, it was more like, what on earth are these guys talking about? Why would that question even be necessary. That isn't really the kind of company I would want to work for, personally. So I guess it "all worked out". Besides, if what is published (in the game) is from a scale of 99 to 0, I wouldn't be able to put anyone that is a 106 rated as such in the game. Instead, the player in question would simply be rated the same as the other players who were actually worthy of the 99 rating in Donny's example.

[strawberryshortcake]

Quote: Originally Posted by DCEBB2001

That wasn't my thought process at the time. At the time, it was more like, what on earth are these guys talking about? Why would that question even be necessary. That isn't really the kind of company I would want to work for, personally. So I guess it "all worked out". Besides, if what is published (in the game) is from a scale of 99 to 0, I wouldn't be able to put anyone that is a 106 rated as such in the game. Instead, the player in question would simply be rated the same as the other players who were actually worthy of the 99 rating in Donny's example.

Yes, hindsight is definitely 20/20 ...what about "hidden" rating only the developers can see and not the suits. What about fractional ratings: 99.1, 99.5, 99.7, 99.9, etc. Hindsight could have also showed the "suits" video footage of Fitzgerald and a few other elite receivers and their actual performances on the field to give evidence backing your ratings.

[DCEBB2001]

Quote: Originally Posted by oneamongthefence

So it sounds like we really can't blame Donny. We all do things at work we don't like just so we can keep our job. If you don't want to do those things then the job isn't right for you. Or at least that particular company. Close minded as it might be sometimes you don't have a choice.

I thought the same thing, but every time he justifies what he does with youtube scouting and PFF stats I can't help but SMH. To some, it comes down to the willingness to sacrifice your ethics. I just wasn't willing to do so. It didn't seem right to me.

[DCEBB2001]

Quote: Originally Posted by strawberryshortcake

Yes, hindsight is definitely 20/20 ...what about "hidden" rating only the developers can see and not the suits. What about fractional ratings: 99.1, 99.5, 99.7, 99.9, etc. Hindsight could have also showed the "suits" video footage of Fitzgerald and a few other elite receivers and their actual performances on the field to give evidence backing your ratings.

Oh man! You hit it right on the head here! Donny's line of questioning indirectly proposed that even when "all the evidence in the world" is brought to back something up, that it may still get shot down from the business side of their world at EA. Talk about being hamstrung from doing a decent job.

[oneamongthefence]

Quote: Originally Posted by DCEBB2001

I thought the same thing, but every time he justifies what he does with youtube scouting and PFF stats I can't help but SMH. To some, it comes down to the willingness to sacrifice your ethics. I just wasn't willing to do so. It didn't seem right to me.

Madden has always been a stat driven game in regards to ratings. I'm sure there's more than enough examples of players who have amazing stats and are highly rated in Madden but they're just a product of system/players around them. Public perception is the biggest determining factor of ratings. While this is wrong, it's the general public who this game is made for. You appeal to the widest audience. And guys that really dig into ratings and logic behind them are the majority. I know too many people who play Madden but they don't follow football or are just casual fans.

[kehlis]

Quote: Originally Posted by DCEBB2001

Donny Moore specifically asked me what I would do if someone from the marketing department or an executive told me to change a rating for a player. The example he used was, "If you had Larry Fitzgerald rated as a 93 OVR but a suit came down and told you to change it to a 99, what would you do or say?" I answered his question with a question: "Why would an executive have any say over how a player is rated". His response was that it was a "hypothetical" question. I said that I wouldn't like it one bit because it would undermine the system. Needless to say, I guess I wasn't willing to "play ball" enough to get hired for the job.

I would tell them okay and change the overall rating which shouldn't have any meaning anyway.

Individual ratings should be what matters, they can give whatever overalls they want for whoever and as long as that ghost rating has no bearing on actual gameplay then no harm no foul.

[strawberryshortcake]

Quote: Originally Posted by DCEBB2001

Oh man! You hit it right on the head here! Donny's line of questioning indirectly proposed that even when "all the evidence in the world" is brought to back something up, that it may still get shot down from the business side of their world at EA. Talk about being hamstrung from doing a decent job.

I was just thinking right this moment ... options. (1) Patch (2) Settings.

Why couldn't EA simply have optional settings. Out of the box, default setting has Madden's Donny Moore plus upper suit adamant in game ratings. Option two, hidden under wherever (i.e. FBG ratings) catered to simulation gurus.

Secondly, couldn't they issue an optional Patch (i.e. FBG ratings 1.0119) or something. Just something to give the gamer the option for a more realistic rating settings for those that care or want. Download if you want. Don't download if you don't want. Just something ... optional.

[wordtobigbird]

I'm happy this topic is being discussed knowing that it will be read by an EA dev.



4 players over 90. Doesn't seem to hurt FIFA's popularity at all.