What Should Happen in Madden's Passing Game

[RaychelSnr]

Madden has had a good year, and I believe Madden 16 is probably the best Madden ever made. Its key improvement was the interaction between receivers and defensive backs, something this community has been harping on for years (and rightfully so).

However, even with these improvements, the common phrase still remains: "Madden passes are either caught, intercepted or defended; they are rarely just incomplete."

Be that as it may, the NFL has evolved into a pass-first league, so pass types are something Madden must get right. But beyond the pass itself, there are also steps that lead to every pass in the game.

Read More - What Should Happen in Madden's Passing Game

[gametyme89]

I'd be all for these changes if they only happened offline. Playing a game in online h2h and having to deal with randomness like this rather than player skill would be quite annoying to me.

[jmaj315]

those would make me buy the game again... 2 yrs since i last played

[Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by gametyme89

I'd be all for these changes if they only happened offline. Playing a game in online h2h and having to deal with randomness like this rather than player skill would be quite annoying to me.

Nailed it.

This is the fundamental issue Tiburon faces every year with respect to tuning Madden. They have to strike a balance between the desires of competitive skills-based online community to have their stick skills, play calls, and blitz set-ups as the sole determining factor in games' outcomes and the sim community's desire for complete and unapologizing authenticity to the game's source material.

[jfeev215]

Quote: Originally Posted by CM Hooe

Nailed it. This is the fundamental issue Tiburon faces every year with respect to tuning Madden. They have to strike a balance between the desires of competitive skills-based online community to have their stick skills, play calls, and blitz set-ups as the sole determining factor in games' outcomes and the sim community's desire for complete and unapologizing authenticity to the game's source material.

I never play online so I would love these changes and feel they would bring a much more realistic feel to the game. I think people lose sight of the fact that there is randomness in real football games. There are 11 players on either side of the ball that contribute to the success or downfall of each and every play. The fact that madden has now had 27 iterations without a single fumbled snap, a snap that goes over the quarterbacks, punters or holders head is so beyond me. Those plays are "random" and need to be added into the game. Madden is the longest running sports "simulation" franchise running and each year I personally continue to feel that the game is missing so much especially on the defensive side. It's still the only football game on the market and maybe it's time to change the paradigm of the game...instead of placating the fan base with a product that makes for ease of play in online games and make a product that better represents the game we watch and love; ultimately people will adapt and possibly love the game more for it.

[ehamme08]

love ALLLLL of this

[IdleRace]

Well passing still has not changed for 10 years in most areas. Shorts streaks, slants and crosses are always open in man or zone. DBs struggle to stick to their man.

I want to see tighter coverage and less picks. You can get QB's way less accurate with turning down QB accuracy slider. On all pro I have mine at 35. Makes playing with QBs like Kap or RG3 very hard to throw with.

I think better player ratings and everything not so jacked up is the first step. I want to see QB's get rated like deep throw and have the accuracy ratings go down.

[Hooe]

Quote: Originally Posted by jfeev215

I never play online so I would love these changes and feel they would bring a much more realistic feel to the game. I think people lose sight of the fact that there is randomness in real football games. There are 11 players on either side of the ball that contribute to the success or downfall of each and every play. The fact that madden has now had 27 iterations without a single fumbled snap, a snap that goes over the quarterbacks, punters or holders head is so beyond me. Those plays are "random" and need to be added into the game. Madden is the longest running sports "simulation" franchise running and each year I personally continue to feel that the game is missing so much especially on the defensive side. It's still the only football game on the market and maybe it's time to change the paradigm of the game...instead of placating the fan base with a product that makes for ease of play in online games and make a product that better represents the game we watch and love; ultimately people will adapt and possibly love the game more for it.

Foremost, let me be clear and say I'm firmly in the "sim" bucket of players and would be cool with seeing all these changes. That said, let me present a counterpoint:

You are a professional Madden player (yes, they exist; I was surprised to learn this too). You are playing in the finals of the Madden Challenge with your Ultimate Team against some other highly-ranked Madden player. You have 4th and goal on your opponent's goal line with four seconds left, needing a touchdown to win the game. You call a draw play out of a shotgun spread formation (for whatever reason, the play call isn't the important part here). When you go to snap the ball, the center sails the ball over your QB's head. Your QB recovers the ball, but is promptly tackled. Your opponent wins the Madden Challenge and the $25,000 prize, the game ultimately decided on essentially a dice roll.

This is the sort of play tournament players absolutely to not want in the game. Could it happen in real football? Absolutely. In a competitive video gaming environment where user skill is the preferred arbiter of success? This sort of randomness is absolutely detrimental to that experience.

Heck, the tourney guys don't even really like wide-open incomplete passes; their feeling is that, as long as they make the right read, if the guy is open, they should complete the pass. From their perspective where user skill should trump all, is their opinion wrong? I don't think so. I also don't think it's proper to just tell these players to "deal with it", given that they are just as large and vital a part of Madden's audience as the sim players are. We're not more important than them, and they aren't more important than us.