Madden Creative Director, Ian Cummings is Leaving Tiburon

[Bondgirl0072]

Quote: Originally Posted by frankrizzo380

I think suprise onside kicks did it, it pushed him over the edge. Is it safe to say that madden 12 is completed? Or did he leave them before completion of the game?

good question. I don't believe Madden 12 is completed yet.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by frankrizzo380

I think suprise onside kicks did it, it pushed him over the edge. Is it safe to say that madden 12 is completed? Or did he leave them before completion of the game?

I doubt it's completed, but it is I would venture a guess, pretty late in the dev cycle. I don't know their development schedule, but that would be my guess.

[TreFacTor]

Not having more than a one sentence interaction with Ian makes it hard for me to feel anything good or bad about him leaving. He was the head for the last 3 Maddens that I've bought, and from that stand point, I was not a fan. I can honestly say that Madden lost my favor when it hit next gen, but in particular 09 to the present has been a disappointment for me. Is it Ian's vision of the game that did it, probably not, so I can't place all the blame on him. Will this mean a new direction for Madden, probably not, I assume that the NCAA team will simply take over the development of Madden from 13 on. So what does all of this mean for Madden, probably nothing. Those of us who were jumping ship are still waiting for a savior while those who stayed on for the ride most likely won't notice a single bump in the road.

[Zastrin]

Maybe EA sports can bring in the creative director from Visual Concepts who made NFL 2K5...hes probably jobless since 2K doesnt make football games

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by Zastrin

Maybe EA sports can bring in the creative director from Visual Concepts who made NFL 2K5...hes probably jobless since 2K doesnt make football games

No he's not unemployed. He still there. Funny thing. He actually used to be an EA employee. The odds of him returning to EA are I would imagine slim to none.

[Herky]

Sad to hear that Ian is leaving as I think Madden was finally taking some steps the right direction.

Very nervous about the future of Madden. I fear their vision is geared towards the causal fan and online players.

Who worked on Madden 05? That's the last great Madden IMO.

[bkrich83]

Quote: Originally Posted by LiquorLogic

Computer science or software engineering degrees aren't new. Ian started as a game tester, and majored in finance while at college.

Just to further my point. The lead programmer/engineer for the 2k series did not get his degree in computer science or a related field, and he created two games (APF,NFL2k5) that I consider to be the virtual holy grails of football gaming.

[DaveDQ]

Quote: Originally Posted by Zastrin

Maybe EA sports can bring in the creative director from Visual Concepts who made NFL 2K5...hes probably jobless since 2K doesnt make football games

I think that's why they FIRED Ian. I think that's why they FIRED the whole Madden team in the middle of a dev cycle. They are going to hire the ol' 2K5 team.

Well, we don't know if they were FIRED. But let's just say they were so it makes things interesting. And let's get a podcast on this. It's good to throw in the old podcast for times like these.

Let's all just speculate!