Online Communities Took Precedence Over Online Franchise in Madden NFL 12

[ChaseB]

It would be putting it nicely to say that some people were unhappy about Madden's Online Franchise mode not being updated this year. But since I had the chance to speak with EA designer Anthony DiMento about Online Communities, I figured it would probably be wise to ask about the oft-discussed Online Franchise mode as well.

Below you will find the excerpt from my interview that details what the thought process was going into the development of this year's online feature set:

Quote:

Operation Sports: There's a lot of people that are unhappy about not having any updates to Online Franchise mode this year, so was it a choice between Communities and Online Franchise this year, or was it nothing like that? Anthony DiMento: I know everybody's excuse for Online Franchise is that they look at the numbers, and nobody plays it, and it's a vocal minority of guys. But at the beginning of the year, Ian's mandate (Ed. note: Ian Cummings is the former Madden creative director) was that we had to do something for Online Team Play (OTP). So if we're going to do something for OTP, it's got to be the Clubs feature -- that's in FIFA and NHL, basically what this whole foundation is built on. So there wasn't going to be time for Clubs and a full upgrade to Online Franchise, so rather than making a few minor tweaks to Online Franchise, we were able to manipulate the Clubs feature to create Communities -- you know create that head-to-head experience that goes along with all the ranked team play stuff that Clubs brings. I mean I think what Online Franchise is all about from what I hear, and from my experience, is about playing together -- playing with your friends and playing against a group of guys you like playing with. And the biggest complaint we hear, other than it not being updated, is that it's really hard to schedule your time; that's been the problem here at the office, too. I have a Week 6 game, and I have one guy I have to play against. I'm just like, 'Hey, John, meet me online at 8:30. We're going to play our Week 6 game because the commissioner is going to advance the week tomorrow so we have to get this done.' And then either I have to work late and I don't it make in time, or he has to go pick up his wife at the airport or something like that. Guys just aren't able to coordinate. It's frustrating already, so we felt like Communities is still giving people that experience they want playing together without having to worry about thinking about figuring out that I have to wait for that one guy. Now you can be in a situation where you can have 2,000, or if you're in five communities, 10,000 other guys potentially that you can get a game against, and people you want to play against. So it was a matter of priorities, too. Everybody plays ranked head to head, and we had more guys play OTP last year than we had play Online Franchise mode. Basically that is what it comes down to.

My Take: This explanation doesn't let EA off the hook for things that were said about improving Online Franchise mode well before this year, but it certainly seems wise to focus on the majority of football gamers first and foremost. In many ways, it reminds me of the way Criterion tends to do things with their online features. The folks at Criterion, who are responsible for the Burnout franchise and Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit, have had a great amount of success focusing on core online experiences that you are simply able to hop in and out of quite easily. Criterion's racing games sometimes get criticized because people look at them on the surface and see something that does not really look that deep. In the end, it's really more deceptive than anything. Something like Autolog is sometimes easy to dismiss at first glance because it's a part of every single portion of the game rather than being a set mode; the same goes for "Easy Drive" in Burnout Paradise. However, if you stick around and actually play the games, you realize the simplicity gives way to a complex idea that was just implemented in such a way that it's easy to enjoy.

If Online Communities works correctly, then it should simply become a part of the way you play the game online. Imagining a scenario where you can easily hop online and get a game in against likeminded gamers either by going head to head or by going through the OTP lobby would add so much to the Madden experience online. At the end of the day, it's about ease of use. If you hop online, and then have to deal with various barriers of entry before finding a quality game, you're going to be less likely to come back. If everything is streamlined, then you come back day after day because it's quick, easy and you're having fun.

Again, it doesn't solve the problems people have with already having a small, built-in group they want to play Online Franchise mode with on a daily basis, but it seems like that's a very small number of people in the grand scheme of things for EA. So if EA can bring more people back to the online features throughout the year, then it makes more sense that those formerly unconnected people will eventually want more from their experience, and thus a greater demand will pick up for more in-depth experiences like Online Franchise mode. Lastly, if Communities somehow enables EA to further streamline the ways you can connect with potential opponents, then that will help Online Franchise mode when it does inevitably get updated.

[druez]

Weak arguement. I wonder how Online Dynasty is doing for NCAA. It seems pretty popular to me. Nobody plays the Online Franchise mode, because it was weak in features.

I have 4 guys I like to play with, we do head to head already. What we want is for us all to experience the single player franchise mode, but with all of us playing. That means, trades "AI" for the computer teams, salary cap etc...

[Stick skills]

It's all lies... Just looking at your link there are 15 pages of filled with comments about the anger over EA refusing to improve it online franchise and this is not the only sports gaming site with those sentiments. Its obvious to me that EA is lying about how many people play or at least tried to play online franchise. Just wait and see the kind support online franchise gets once it is fully functional. The truth is they need something to sell Madden 13 mark my words online franchise will be a MAJOR selling point for the next Madden

[druez]

The worst part of all of this. They had a working franchise mode back in 2k for the computer version and they actually took it out. It was pretty solid.

Custom league sizes and everything.

[falconfansince81]

"I mean I think what Online Franchise is all about from what I hear, and from my experience, is about playing together -- playing with your friends and playing against a group of guys you like playing with. And the biggest complaint we hear, other than it not being updated, is that it's really hard to schedule your time"

well is is what you make it, a barebones feature that has been neglected for two years. if EA really focused some resources in improving this feature they could eliminate many problems and actually make it a premier worthy aspect of madden that rivals or surpasses the ncaa dynasties. add flex scheduling, league chat rooms, spectator mode and i guarantee you see a resurgence of more successful leagues.

a big reason a lot of franchises fall apart is lack of communication, and perhaps online communities can benefit online franchises by uniting more active sim gamers...but there is no way in hell it should have ever taken precedence imo. tho i agree it wouldn't be fair to just throw a couple upgrades in and call it a day, so i supposed looking at communities as a stepping stone towards creating a better pool for the success of future online franchises would be the optimistic route.

[dkp23]

Delusional. What does the difficulty of scheduling an online franchise game have to do with anything? Has nothing to do with the lack of features of online franchise which probably is the reason why everybody drops after a few months. Communities is just another version of online ranked match with sliders and some stat tracking. Why couldnt that be implemented in online franchise? Communities is not going to eliminate cheese, quitting, and all that stuff. People have their own version of sim and all type of people rage quit anyway...

From reading the boards, update to online franchise was probably one of the most talked about things, being able to experience a full franchise experience online as well as offline. Again, EA trys to add something new to justify buying the game because for years, they just add junk for no reason. How bout scrap superstar and focus on online chise.

Yes EA is listening alright. Slap some new animations to replace old ones and call it gameplay "improvements". Talk about a new tackling system which puts it back to previos versions of one man tackles and pinball effects. There is still no gangtackling and the initial tackler lets go before the 2nd/3rd tackler finishes the runner off. Change the kicking meter again and redo some of the navigation and select screen decor and yes, we got a brand new game.

This is why EA reps get trashed on the boards. They make excuses to add b.s and ignore what is wanted by everybody. Another bad thing is the community people that go and play these games have no choice but to praise or they get left out in the cold. I've already lost faith in EA and lost faith of many of these community guys that get to play early builds because they say good things and when the game comes out, there are so many things that do not work.

Just unbelievable. Lucky for the license deal with the NFL or Madden would of gone the way of NBA Live. It was already happening and luckily, the NFL offered it up..

[jyoung]

Quote:

And the biggest complaint we hear, other than it not being updated, is that it's really hard to schedule your time

So no one at EA has heard of flex scheduling?

It has been a standard feature in most sports games that have had online leagues.

Heck, back when 2K Sports first debuted online leagues in all their 2K5 Xbox sports games, they had flex scheduling as an option for league commissioners.

[ChaseB]

Quote: Originally Posted by wEEman33

So no one at EA has heard of flex scheduling? It has been a standard feature in most sports games that have had online leagues. Heck, back when 2K Sports first debuted online leagues in all their 2K5 Xbox sports games, they had flex scheduling as an option for league commissioners.

I think you're still sort of missing the point here. It's hard to get people together in general for something like Online Franchise. If Communities is successful in bringing folks together, that's the first tangible step for folks evolving to Online Franchise.

I don't think OS is the best spot to really pitch why Communities is more important than Online Franchise, but in the grand scheme of things the logic seems to add up.