Clint Oldenburg Explains the Strength Rating For Linemen in Madden

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by ABR173rd

For anyone who was interested in a follow up to this article, this was just posted a couple hours ago in regards to future attribute blogs by Clint. "I know there's been a big following of my STR rating blog so I want to give an update for upcoming information. I will not be writing another piece until we get closer to launch. Initially this sounds like bad news, but it's actually very exciting. We are in the process of making an official series of presentations to promote Madden 14 as the release approaches. Hopefully the last piece I put out was enough to wet your whistle in anticipation of more in-depth ratings discussions in the coming months. So stay tuned and keep posting the stuff you want to know about. I will use your feedback and answer your questions when the time is right! If its in the game!" So basically EA has now taken something that should either be included in an instruction booklet or within the game itself and turned it into a promotional item for Madden 14.....

[Big FN Deal]

To elaborate, at this point I just have to laugh at the seeming cluelessness coming out of EA Tiburon about Madden. Phobia sir, this is what I was mentioning earlier in this thread about how those working on the current game seem satisfied and proud of the end product. I am not trying to degrade Clint or any other Madden dev but if they can't acknowledge what a football mess the current game is then I don't see any chance of it getting better. He writes the explanation of how the STR rating works and comes across as just fine with it, then proceeds to hype the release of even more likely nonsensical ratings explanations, in lieu of M14. smh

I often use the tale of "The Emperor's New Clothes" to describe next-gen Madden because it is so apt.

[hanzsomehanz]

Dude! You got me laughing out loud with that Gif.. read the first few in bold and just burst out laughing when I caught the image caption lol classic! And so true - a picture truly does speak a thousand million words

[at23steelers]

Quote: Originally Posted by hanzsomehanz

Dude! You got me laughing out loud with that Gif.. read the first few in bold and just burst out laughing when I caught the image caption lol classic! And so true - a picture truly does speak a thousand million words

Wow, how similar that GIF mirrors the EA Tiburon group. I bet that was right after he drafted Kwame Brown thinking, "Wow, look at how foolish I can look and people will still be in the seats and look up to me." I bet Madden Tiburon people are like, "Wow, we can sell a half-*** product and people will still buy it every year."

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by huskerwr38

Hit the nail on the head. Madden is trying to be bigger than the game itself. I've always thought that sports game designers have it easy compared to other game designers that have to create MMO's, FPS, etc.. Because sports devs don't actually have to be creative, JUST CREATE EXACTLY WHAT WE SEE ON TV. We don't want gimmicks, we don't want cannons going off when a WR catches a deep ball, we don't want Madden rings, we don't want Heisman mode, etc.. Follow exactly what you see when you attend the games live and what we see on gameday, that's it. As far as franchise goes, just follow exactly what happens during the season and off-season, I never understood why Madden makes up it's own rules such as having to have a set number of RB and FB, etc. This is a head scratcher.

This is exactly what I am talking about in regard to EA Tiburon overcomplicating how to make a solid football simulation video game. I would like every person in the Madden community that is able to go down to Tiburon to ask them about the bold. Why in the eff do they keep attempting to reinvent the wheel and "fun" up the NFL in Madden?

I was attempting to read some info on NCAA 14 and I just couldn't do it any longer because the way EA Tiburon's two football games replicate their respective sports is abysmal. Player movement, player differential and presentation are atrocious and don't lay any type of solid foundation for realistic immersive football games. I can watch videos of others playing games like The Show and NBA2k, which entice me to want to experience them for myself but not with EA football games. Aside from their carefully crafted hype trailers, the actual gameplay videos from EA football games don't make me want to play the game. Every year, I get caught up in hype trailers and early hands on impressions of EA football games, not immersive gameplay videos. The fact that they have to use everything other than the actual gameplay itself to promote these football games is telling of how poor the end product is.

Think about it, Madden should be the easiest game to promote/market in the US because it is supposed to be replicating the #1 American sport. However, the fact that sooo much money is spent by EA marketing Madden is a testament to how inept the game is at replicating the NFL and capitalizing on the NFL's rampant success. Companies pay the NFL top dollar for product placement to capitalize on the NFL's success, not the NFL changing it's brand to attract the following of popular products. So it makes no sense for EA to pay an obscene amount of money to acquire an exclusive NFL license and then spend even more money marketing Madden than replicating the NFL in it. The NFL exclusive alone should be enough to promote the game IF it did a solid job of replicating the NFL.

EA football games are doubly frustrating because not only are they poor representations of their sports but the underline business decisions seem nonsensical too.

[RyanMoody21]

I would be shocked if we are provided any more "information", of that detail. Certinaly not for promotional reasons.

Despite the variety of opinions and assumptions in this thread, it's becoming obvious that the community has deciphered this game.

When provided a sliver of information (strength equates to hold time) it was used as a cog to deconstruct the line interactions across the board.

Years of a sub par product and lack of up front, honest information have lead to a consumer based reverse engineering of the game. Eventually will haunt every years release of Madden until its provided a complete overhaul.

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by RyanMoody21

I would be shocked if we are provided any more "information", of that detail. Certinaly not for promotional reasons. Despite the variety of opinions and assumptions in this thread, it's becoming obvious that the community has deciphered this game. When provided a sliver of information (strength equates to hold time) it was used as a cog to deconstruct the line interactions across the board. Years of a sub par product and lack of up front, honest information have lead to a consumer based reverse engineering of the game. Eventually will haunt every years release of Madden until its provided a complete overhaul.

I think many will miss how insightful Ryan's post is. If Madden was a good representation of NFL football, myself and the vast majority of others could not careless how the game works under the hood. However, by producing such a lackluster product, EA Tiburon has inadvertently caused numerous gamers to seek out answers and dig deep into the inner workings of the game.

I despise the fact that I spend more time and find more enjoyment in discussing NFL gaming than actually playing the only current NFL game allowed. Madden is far more of a pop culture icon and hot topic for discussion than it is a viable immersive NFL football simulation, which is just sad.

I will take some heat for what I am about to state but eff it. I don't see how the developers and other people that put their names on this game don't feel the need to produce a better product. I understand being thankful to have a job and pay the bills but what about deserved pride in your work? This question is even more highlighted considering AJ's comments and that's how I would expect someone to feel about something they actually care about being done so poorly. Again, I don't expect mass resignations but it would seem if the vast majority of the people working on Madden were actually passionate about NFL football like he is, Madden would be a better product.

The thing is as soon as another studio is allowed to make NFL games, if another studio ever is, it will be blatantly obvious how intentional and avoidable next-gen Madden was. All this talk of "suits", which I have done my share of, late console dev kits, dev time, bad code, etc, while likely having some merit, is dwarfed by a culture of a lack of passion and effort for replicating NFL football. Yes I said it because there is no way next-gen Madden demonstrates a commitment to replicating NFL football at any level. What it demonstrates is a commitment to creating some arcade-sim hybrid to please the masses which is a complete contradiction and a mess of a NFL football game.

P.S. I have been ripping into Madden lately partly because of the Redskins being knocked out of the playoffs and Madden 13 being so incomplete that I can't even remedy that on the virtual gridiron.

[GiantBlue76]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

The thing is as soon as another studio is allowed to make NFL games, if another studio ever is, it will be blatantly obvious how intentional and avoidable next-gen Madden was. All this talk of "suits", which I have done my share of, late console dev kits, dev time, bad code, etc, while likely having some merit, is dwarfed by a culture of a lack of passion and effort for replicating NFL football.

I'm not afraid to say it. The developers that work on this game are terrible. They've had years upon years to prove me wrong. Hasn't come close yet. I've said it before and I will say it again. Madden is an arcade game based on football. It's not designed to be realistic. It doesn't even play good ARCADE football, because the player movement is so horrendous. I'd be embarrassed if I worked on that game. Apparently, that's exactly how AJ felt.