OPINION: What would make Madden 21 FEEL Next Gen?

[scratchdidthis]

As the topic states, I would like to name of list of things I'd like to think we all could agree on that would make the game FEEL next-gen. Tried and true topics like Franchise improvements and gameplay fixes are well known. Let's talk about things that fall to the side a bit.

Dynamic Attendance

We all know the popular story of how this is a big no-no for the NFL. If you don't know the story read here:

“We incorporated accurate attendance for all the teams, and Jacksonville always had these terrible turnouts," a former EA Tiburon producer told Sports Illustrated. "The Jags owner got all pissed off when he heard there were empty seats when you played as his team in the game. The team called the NFL and we had to fix it immediately.”

Seeing as though no Madden game has ever had dynamic attendance, I'm going to have to call shenanigans on this story. Even more-so, if implemented correctly (as 2k does) it would be a non issue for the NFL. The simple fix would be to have play now games largely play out as they do now (full attendance) and have Franchise mode accurately display larger or smaller crowds depending on how your team is currently doing as well as it's relationship to the fan base. As it stands now, every game is packed as if its the Super-bowl and cameras flashes are going off constantly. No immersion factor at all.

Realistic Injuries

Does this need to be explained? I've never seen a game get it so wrong for so long. Injuries occur and they need to be represented in a way this is authentic. Doesn't have to be gruesome or mature content. It could be as simple as players accurately attending to what is hurting them. Blowing an ACL should have players grabbing their knee while being attended too by trainers (as well as other players looking on in concern). Again, not hard to implement but it does missed every time.

Realistic Sidelines

For a game that came out in 2007 to have REAL AUTHETIC FULLY INTERACTIVE sidelines (looking at you APF2k8), there is just no excuse here. Each year we hear about how "hardware has held us back" and each year other more active (I won't say talented because that's just an insult) developers find way to push the boundaries. At this point, Madden needs to fix this issue in a hurry.

Bent Knees

It's one thing to have painted on arm sleeves (Madden 06-21), it's completely another when your players don't even stand up correctly. This is one of the most egregious eye sores in modern gaming and it continues to rear its ugly head every year.


Updated Locomotion

Madden can often look amazing when you look at pictures. And then you watch the game in motion and the hurky jerky arcade like animation takes over. We are in sore need of a complete overhaul of how animation plays out in Madden. Realistic route running and player planting is a must. OL/DL interaction could use a big polish and push in the animation department (patty-cake animation anyone?)


Contextual Player Awareness

How many times have you had a game where the CPU picked you off, you're receiver then goes on to lay a big hit on the DB and gets up celebrating? Question, why is the receiver celebrating? Well in Madden it's because it is a canned animation set to trigger on "X" event. Madden's logic doesn't take in to account variables very well. Things like, down and distance, game time, game quarter, fatigue all of these could play a key factor in how your players react on the field.

Imagine your QB (who is normally sure footed) has taken a ton of QB hits in the game - later on you see his accuracy is now affected because of it. This could be fixed by calling simple dump offs or short passes to calm him down. Sounds odd right? Like a game within a game? Like.... Football?

What if I told you EA had a feature in NCAA 05-06 where the crowd played a factor in games. If it got to loud opposing teams trying to audible would have WR's unable to hear them.

IT CAN BE DONE. But it won't.


Would love to hear more on this from you guys.

[simbayless]

Pride and Effort would be next Gen for them that's how bad madden has been

[TexasFan2005]

Great points. I would also add different commentary teams and different broadcast packages to make the atmosphere a lot better. SNF should feel a lot different than early games. Playoff games should feel much different as well. I'd also add dynamic weather and day-to-night transitions (that actually work) during games.

[PhillyPhanatic14]

A game that is built like it's 2020 and not 2010. From modes, to bug-testing, to graphics, to gameplay. The game has seen such a lack of updates that it's embarrassingly outdated at this point. Every sentence the 2K devs speak about NBA next gen makes it more and more apparent how crappy Madden currently is and how overmatched their devs are.

The Madden devs are the Jets. Yeah, they're technically in the same league as the Chiefs, Ravens, Bucs, and Packers...(NBA 2K, The Show, almost every non-sports game) but they aren't competitive and the product they put out is embarrassing on every level.

[Americas Team]

Deliver on everything they said in the Next Level link below is a good start. And not half done, it needs to be very well done.

https://nextlevel.ea.com/en-us/

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Weather. Rain and snow are basically small graphic overlays on the field and an occasional slipping animation. If you look at what games like Red Dead Redemption 2 have done with weather effects, it is truly staggering. I know that the league is generally moving indoors, but still.

[Blue12]

Something I’ve always wanted is CBS, Fox, NBC SNF, and ESPN MNF music and presentation packages. I think it could work even if they had the same commentary crew for every game. I just think it would go a long way into making every game in franchise feel unique.

Also, I wish they would add the ability to practice in the stadium prior to the game. Maybe just offense only and field goal kicking. I just think getting to do this in a mostly empty stadium (with maybe some stuff going on in the background like cheerleaders practicing or stadium working in the stands having a meeting) would add so much immersion and be a fun way to fine tune some offensive plays prior to a game.

[TanDax1819]

Quote: Originally Posted by Americas Team

Deliver on everything they said in the Next Level link below is a good start. And not half done, it needs to be very well done. https://nextlevel.ea.com/en-us/

I agree 100%. Since we all know this is basically a free patch for Madden 21. The VERY LEAST they could do is implement every single selling point they advertised in the "nextlevel" video. Anything less and they are doing the same old smoke and mirrors trick that they have pulled in the past. Anything LESS than what they showed is unacceptable in my book.