OS Interviews EA Football GM Cam Weber

[Thinking Out Loud]

Not to come off rude but I really don't understand why people keep stating that Weber's influence will not matter til next year. Everything I have read and seen so far this cycle and even slightly earlier, points towards his vision being all over Madden 12.

Think about it, NCAA/Madden teams increased sharing of core tech announced this dev cycle, NCAA/Madden focusing on core gameplay/presentation, marketing priority being gameplay/presentation by order of info release, scheduled info release dates made available, engaging/talking directly to/about hardcore football gamers, taking a year off in Madden 11 from major franchise/dynasty/Superstar/RTG improvements to save them for Madden 12 (also possibly allowed easier implementation of the "Advance Team" Weber says "we HAVE DONE") and potentially more, that hasn't been revealed yet. All this being mentioned by Weber in multiple interviews and being bore out in early game blogs, video releases and previews but people still say we shouldn't expect his vision until Madden 13, huh?

I guess some people are basing this on the premise that Weber didn't physically arrive at EA Tiburon until early Feb and the core decisions for Madden 12 would have been made much earlier. If that premise is accurate, it contradicts the notion that Weber had little to no impact on Madden 12. The reason being, if EA lays out timely plans for the core decisions to be made each dev cycle, then it makes sense that, EA would have done the same with relation to appointing a GM of Football operations.

So even though Weber didn't arrive from EA Canada until Feb, it would make sense that his interaction with the development of NCAA/Madden 12 began earlier. It's not like they hired him new from another corp, he transferred from EA Canada to EA Tiburon and I honestly don't believe EA just made this decision, to have a GM of their entire football division, on the fly, mid-cycle. If that's the argument some "wait til next year" people are using, I respectful disagree and that would also be a contradiction. If EA is making decisions on the fly, mid cycle, about people in charge of dev cycles, then core decisions for the what goes in the games could be made the same way.

Like I posted before here is what Cam Weber himself said about Madden 12 and in it, he consistently takes joint OWNERSHIP of this title with "we" and "our" not "they" or "the":

"We have a ton of talent within our football group, and with the depth we have, for every Ian Cummings, there are a number of up and coming talented designers that are chomping at the bit to get an opportunity to take a leadership position. Our games are built by strong teams with leadership across all of our game areas. So ultimately, while we are disappointed to see Ian and our other engineer leave our team, we have other talented developers who have taken over their work, and we continue to charge ahead. For Madden NFL 12 specifically, we are in our Alpha period right now, which means our game is feature complete and we are in the final phase of bug fixing and tuning, and we are on track to deliver a strong, fully featured Madden title this year that will be the best one we’ve delivered in years."

This guy seems to know what it takes to make a good football simulation game and what hardcore football gamers expect. So if he, after stating all his collegiate football and general video game credentials, feels confident enough in Madden 12 to say "we are on track to deliver a strong, fully featured Madden title this year that will be the best one we’ve delivered in years.", I think that's a very decisive statement and encouraging, IMO.

[the_EDJ]

Great interview. Cam didn't quite sound like he was being filtered by Marketing which is refreshing (funny coming from a marketing mind like myself) and I really hope that Madden 12 delivers along with a non-lockout NFL season.

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thinking Out Loud

Not to come off rude but I really don't understand why people keep stating that Weber's influence will not matter til next year. Everything I have read and seen so far this cycle and even slightly earlier, points towards his vision being all over Madden 12. Think about it, NCAA/Madden teams increased sharing of core tech announced this dev cycle, NCAA/Madden focusing on core gameplay/presentation, marketing priority being gameplay/presentation by order of info release, scheduled info release dates made available, engaging/talking directly to/about hardcore football gamers, taking a year off in Madden 11 from major franchise/dynasty/Superstar/RTG improvements to save them for Madden 12 (also possibly allowed easier implementation of the "Advance Team" Weber says "we HAVE DONE") and potentially more, that hasn't been revealed yet. All this being mentioned by Weber in multiple interviews and being bore out in early game blogs, video releases and previews but people still say we shouldn't expect his vision until Madden 13, huh? I guess some people are basing this on the premise that Weber didn't physically arrive at EA Tiburon until early Feb and the core decisions for Madden 12 would have been made much earlier. If that premise is accurate, it contradicts the notion that Weber had little to no impact on Madden 12. The reason being, if EA lays out timely plans for the core decisions to be made each dev cycle, then it makes sense that, EA would have done the same with relation to appointing a GM of Football operations. So even though Weber didn't arrive from EA Canada until Feb, it would make sense that his interaction with the development of NCAA/Madden 12 began earlier. It's not like they hired him new from another corp, he transferred from EA Canada to EA Tiburon and I honestly don't believe EA just made this decision, to have a GM of their entire football division, on the fly, mid-cycle. If that's the argument some "wait til next year" people are using, I respectful disagree and that would also be a contradiction. If EA is making decisions on the fly, mid cycle, about people in charge of dev cycles, then core decisions for the what goes in the games could be made the same way. Like I posted before here is what Cam Weber himself said about Madden 12 and in it, he consistently takes joint OWNERSHIP of this title with "we" and "our" not "they" or "the": "We have a ton of talent within our football group, and with the depth we have, for every Ian Cummings, there are a number of up and coming talented designers that are chomping at the bit to get an opportunity to take a leadership position. Our games are built by strong teams with leadership across all of our game areas. So ultimately, while we are disappointed to see Ian and our other engineer leave our team, we have other talented developers who have taken over their work, and we continue to charge ahead. For Madden NFL 12 specifically, we are in our Alpha period right now, which means our game is feature complete and we are in the final phase of bug fixing and tuning, and we are on track to deliver a strong, fully featured Madden title this year that will be the best one we’ve delivered in years." This guy seems to know what it takes to make a good football simulation game and what hardcore football gamers expect. So if he, after stating all his collegiate football and general video game credentials, feels confident enough in Madden 12 to say "we are on track to deliver a strong, fully featured Madden title this year that will be the best one we’ve delivered in years.", I think that's a very decisive statement and encouraging, IMO.

My point in all this is that the developers are setting up ideas for the next Madden in August and September. I don't think they shut down Cam's office in Canada till late October or in November. He didn't physically move down till February. By then, Madden is already nearing the end of Alpha stage. I'm sure the decision for Cam to physically come down came about the time when EA Canada was closing the doors.

If I was the new kid on the block, sure, I would start talking about ownership on the product to make sure everyone knows I'm in control.

We'll just need to agree to disagree, then.

By the way, hard to tell what goes on behind the scenes unless you work for EA.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

My point in all this is that the developers are setting up ideas for the next Madden in August and September. I don't think they shut down Cam's office in Canada till late October or in November. He didn't physically move down till February. By then, Madden is already nearing the end of Alpha stage. I'm sure the decision for Cam to physically come down came about the time when EA Canada was closing the doors. If I was the new kid on the block, sure, I would start talking about ownership on the product to make sure everyone knows I'm in control. We'll just need to agree to disagree, then. By the way, hard to tell what goes on behind the scenes unless you work for EA.

I thought a read a tweet or article from late March 2011 that said the game still had not went Alpha by then but I could be mistaken.

Anyway Roadman, I guess I need to work on doing a better job of clarifying myself in my posts. I will put what I am trying to say like this.

The vision for EA football that Weber is now sharing in multiple interviews seems to fit perfectly with what's been happening since EA announced they would not be adding major offline upgrades for Madden 11. I am not saying that Cam Weber was directly involved then but that the foundation for implementing a new vision for EA football was being laid by EA. I think Weber had some direct influence on Madden 12 even prior to Feb and his physical arrival to be the GM of football, was just another phase of implementing a new vision. Not saying EA planned to appoint Weber all along but that his appointment fit within that plan of a new vision.

That's what I get from all of this but you are right, I don't know what goes on behind the scenes at EA. However, I think regardless of if he worked directly on Madden 12 or not, considering his stated vision along with his collegiate football and EA sports title credentials, him making that decisive statement about Madden 12 is encouraging.

Would you agree with that?

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Thinking Out Loud

I thought a read a tweet or article from late March 2011 that said the game still had not went Alpha by then but I could be mistaken. Anyway Roadman, I guess I need to work on doing a better job of clarifying myself in my posts. I will put what I am trying to say like this. The vision for EA football that Weber is now sharing in multiple interviews seems to fit perfectly with what's been happening since EA announced they would not be adding major offline upgrades for Madden 11. I am not saying that Cam Weber was directly involved then but that the foundation for implementing a new vision for EA football was being laid by EA. I think Weber had some direct influence on Madden 12 even prior to Feb and his physical arrival to be the GM of football, was just another phase of implementing a new vision. Not saying EA planned to appoint Weber all along but that his appointment fit within that plan of a new vision. That's what I get from all of this but you are right, I don't know what goes on behind the scenes at EA. However, I think regardless of if he worked directly on Madden 12 or not, considering his stated vision along with his collegiate football and EA sports title credentials, him making that decisive statement about Madden 12 is encouraging. Would you agree with that?

It's a breath of fresh air. I'm really excited for the direction of EA with Cam Weber at the controls.

Ian said the same things, but Cam went into more depth.

Ian coined the phrase, "Everything you See on Sundays" and at OS and on Twitter, Ian always said build the game for the hardcore and the casuals will come.

Same message, but more in depth with Cam Weber.

Last June or July before E3, EA explained no added features to franchise mode. They said it takes more than a year to change things up and they were already working on making some features for 12. Before the game came out, I'll never forget that Phil mentioned that you would be able to tell with a noticeable eye the changes for franchise mode for 12. This was all he could say at that time.

I'm just saying that the inner workings for 12 franchise mode were already being discussed in May, June or July last year.

I'm hoping Ian's 3 yr plan works out and I wish the best for Cam Weber.

[Thinking Out Loud]

Quote: Originally Posted by roadman

It's a breath of fresh air. I'm really excited for the direction of EA with Cam Weber at the controls. Ian said the same things, but Cam went into more depth. Ian coined the phrase, "Everything you See on Sundays" and at OS and on Twitter, Ian always said build the game for the hardcore and the casuals will come. Same message, but more in depth with Cam Weber. Last June or July before E3, EA explained no added features to franchise mode. They said it takes more than a year to change things up and they were already working on making some features for 12. Before the game came out, I'll never forget that Phil mentioned that you would be able to tell with a noticeable eye the changes for franchise mode for 12. This was all he could say at that time. I'm just saying that the inner workings for 12 franchise mode were already being discussed in May, June or July last year. I'm hoping Ian's 3 yr plan works out and I wish the best for Cam Weber.

Well I guess you were right about us having to agree to disagree because all though I just recently joined, I have been reading OS since around 2008. So I am well aware of how Ian got down and though I liked his personality and have much respect, I disagreed with quite a bit of the stuff he said. It seem liked Ian wanted more NFL realism but not necessarily more NFL simulation play, IMO. He talked about making Madden for fun "out the box" and sim customizable and I always felt that was backwards.

However, Weber seems to be talking about Madden the opposite way with a foundation for football simulation and leaving customization for individual fun.

Well anyway, going by some of your other posts, you seem pretty optimistic about NCAA/Madden like I am, so we agree on that. Maybe when they come out, we can get a game in online sometime and settle this on the football field.

Hail to the Redskins and the Spirit of Miami U!!!!!!!!!

[videlsports]

We are gonna have to wait and see.. can't judge him on this years reviews

[22cedric]

Cam Weber seems to know what consumber are complaining about I like his plan & vision for Madden & NCAA Football in the future. I think his impact will go into effect & the 13 titles. I wish him the best