Robert Flores Goes One-On-One With EA Sports Madden NFL 11 Game Designers (ESPN)

[rooney8]

Quote: Originally Posted by marktg30

Am I the only one that feels like defense in general lacks a feeling of importance? The defensive side of the ball (from a gameplay perspective) hasn't had anything drastically new since Madden 2005's Hit Stick. (I feel like Hit Stick doesn't work this year either... lol)

Are you living under a rock???

[Bull_Dozer]

Quote: Originally Posted by marktg30

Career Modes are the only thing keeping my interest for next year. If it isn't above and beyond what we have already I will never buy Madden again. (I know a lot of you will say "Who cares?! See ya later!) Bottom line is that I think there are MANY other people that feel this way.

Yep, my thoughts exactly. EA will get my money again when they revamp franchise mode. All the shiny graphics and gimmicks don't have lasting appeal.

[Phil_Frazier]

Really enjoying this thread guys. Keep providing that constructive feedback!

A couple of points based on some of the comments here...

What interviewers ask in interviews is entirely up to them. Neither Donny or myself provided any direction on the types of questions. If you feel like the questions are too 'softball' like, I'd suggest that feedback goes directly to the show asking the questions.

When we're doing interviews with more main-stream media, we are supposed to talk to that main-stream audience. If I was to go on and on about restricted free agents and the pro's and con's of that system, the host and a good amount of the audience, would get bored. We need to address the level of detail you guys want in a different way. That's exactly why we do blogs. Those blogs get very little main-stream pickup because they are too micro and built for a more hardcore audience.

Not all communication is meant for all audiences. If the folks reading this site expect all interviews to contain some new nugget of information or some incredibly deep insight into certain decisions, then I think expectations may not be correct.

I'll wrap this post up with this... We see the feedback about Franchise Mode and trust me when I say that this mode is a major priority for us. We were extremely honest with the community this year by announcing the fact that the mode saw no updates in Madden 11. We did that because we know the mode is important to you and we didn't want to keep you wondering. We're not going to get specific about the things we'd like to do but we are keeping an eye on the feedback provided by those that provide good feedback. I 100% stand by my comments about making some of the details of the mode more fun. Not everyone enjoys managing spreadsheet data as they are playing a game. Head Coach made many of the features we had in Madden 'fun' by designing them in different ways. We simply want as many people to enjoy our career modes as you all do, while still giving you all the features you want. That's good business folks.

Good night and good luck.

Phil

[Klocker]

Quote: Originally Posted by djordan

WOW...A Gimmick that is on by "DEFAULT" when you start the game. Any "CASUAL" fan won't know to turn it off their first play through. Lets see the statistics after 4-5 months.

the casuals

Spoiler

who outweigh the HC by tons

probably love the feature

Spoiler

faster, more gameplay, less waiting for the play to start

...why would they stop using it?

[roadman]

Thanks for the post, Phil.

I do have a question and if you can't answer it, I understand.

I noticed you didn't specifically mention any dates(Madden 12, 13, etc...) in the blog you wrote a few months ago.

Can we expect some improvements on franchise mode in Madden 12?

Thanks again for setting the record straight.

[STLRams]

Interesting interview..

[parrothead]

It's actually very reassuring that these guys are still around and reading some of these better threads popping up.

[Phil_Frazier]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

Thanks for the post, Phil. I do have a question and if you can't answer it, I understand. I noticed you didn't specifically mention any dates(Madden 12, 13, etc...) in the blog you wrote a few months ago. Can we expect some improvements on franchise mode in Madden 12? Thanks again for setting the record straight.

We didn't want to get specific with that blog because Madden 11 wasn't even out yet.

We're working hard to make meaningful changes to career modes as quickly as we can. It's a massive effort and I'm sure there will be immediate visibility to these changes in one product cycle. I'm not allowed to make promises at this early stage.

Phil