Some Perspective From a Comm. Day Attendee

[RGiles36]

Community Day was about a month ago today so it's a little late to put this thread together. But the integrity and objectivity of the 8 guys chosen is still coming up and I wanted to make a non-combative attempt to address it.

I was roaming the boards this morning when I saw a little something that caught my attention:

Quote:

Seriously, anybody that has been flown down to Orlando as one of the very few to play the game months in advance doesn't really have an unbiased opinion anymore. Companies spend lots of money lobbying people with influence ... and getting that type of VIP treatment seems like an effective method of lobbying. And most of the guys who were flown down to Orlando seem like stand up dudes, whose opinions i've respected in the past. But each of the 8 dudes that were flown down there have come back as Tiburon apologists.

I've seen posts of similar content for the past month, so this particular one is not all that different. But if I could, I'd like to throw my thoughts out there.

It appears that some members of the OS community now look at us as one of them. Apparently, since we've come back from Orlando, we've had nothing but complimentary things to say about Madden 10 and the new direction. We're even coined as being bias now by some accounts . I once saw where a guy flat out said, "What happened to the old LBzRules???"

Certainly, I was not naive enough to think that everyone would unanimously be on board with the 8 guys chosen and that everything would resume being 'reesy piecey' post Community Day. I knew we'd be looked at as tainted or sipping the Kool-Aid . But the truth of the matter is we've still been critical. We have still commented in threads pertaining to features that need improvement. And as Adem has said on a few occasions, much of the critical stuff is contained in our feedback Word documents that for obvious reasons, you guys can't see.

Still, I get the feeling that some will continue to think we're bias until we rip EA and the development staff a new one as I'm sure some of us have done in the past. I can't speak for the other 7 guys, but chances are you won't see that from me.

You won't read where I said, "These guys aren't trying. They're lazy. They need to hand the license over to 2K...etc." But I think that's what some of you are looking for as an indication that we're not bias.

I challenge anyone (emphasis on anyone) to first be invited down to Orlando, get to know the team, take an in-depth look at their office and workstations, and come back and say that Tiburon doesn't get it. And I bet the other 7 guys feel the same way. If recognizing that the guys down in Orlando are busting their tails is considered sipping the Kool-Aid, then give me a refill . And no, I don't have a comment on the past Community Day reps and how those games were received once reaching the public.

Without a doubt, the proof is still in the pudding and it'll remain that way. No amount of us babbling over the next three months will erase 4 years of memories of underwhelming Madden releases. But if you're looking for a reason for what some may define as a change in attitude, I wanted to shed some light on that.

Feel free to discuss.

[splff3000]

It's all good man. There's always gonna be haters. That's life. The fact that you guys are standing by it so much seems like a good thing to me. I'm pretty sure EA didn't brainwash you or nothing when you guys went down there. That takes more than one day....see USMC boot camp. That tells me you guys saw something you like and that means, most likely, it's something I'll like. That's the way I see it. Anyway, don't worry about the haters. Those that have been around for awhile, know what the real deal is.

[Prshredder000]

Amen

[Danimal]

It's simple

If you came back with negative things to say you would still be the "stand up" guys you were before to a select number of people. But because you liked the direction of what you saw it doesn't go well with their agenda anymore so now you're no longer credible.

It's a pretty simple fact when something people hate starts to get better, they get more defensive and negative and whats happening is you're really able to tell the guys who want a good football game from the guys who wouldn't like Madden ever.

As more information starts to come out I only expect this to get worse. At least the straight up guys with the agenda are easy to spot and block. It's the guys pretending to want a good game that are more annoying.

It's absurd what has occurred here and I really don't even like to visit anymore.

[Jetpac]

Good post, I've only seen one person from CD that think's he's an EA dev now and thats Rgiles. The Guy swears he's paid by EA. LBzrulez I probably follow his posts the most as his knowledge is extensive.

[salbowski]

Though i don't agree with the statement below, i can see why someone would type/believe it:

Threads like this are why you've become "them" in some peoples eyes... why create the thread if you don't want to be treated differently!??!

If one or two people write crap about you, who cares!?!? It's a forum... you're never gonna socialise in the real world with these people so why give a damn what they think about you in this world... but creating a thread about it isn't going to help yourself... some might perceive it as attention seeking.

Just ignore those that doubt your integrity, they're just jealous.

(just don't create threads like this.. it's unnecessary.

[Smoke316]

Great post..ther are lot of immature peeps out there. The best thing to do is just try and tune them it and think ian and company have been doing that for the most part. The fact that they are allowing us to have direct access and input into the game during its development and not just during patch time says a lot about the dedication, to me at least. I understand there are a lot of things we've been asking for and have not gotten, so there is little room to be skeptical..but we need to use some I learned in my accounting class called "constructive skepticism". Some people just have to learn to be constructive with there opinions, unless there just useless. If Ea continues this approach, there will be a day when Madden is all we want it to be (with an online franchise..lol)

[RGiles36]

Quote: Originally Posted by salbowski

Though i don't agree with the statement below, i can see why someone would type/believe it: Threads like this are why you've become "them" in some peoples eyes... why create the thread if you don't want to be treated differently!??! If one or two people write crap about you, who cares!?!? It's a forum... you're never gonna socialise in the real world with these people so why give a damn what they think about you in this world... but creating a thread about it isn't going to help yourself... some might perceive it as attention seeking. Just ignore those that doubt your integrity, they're just jealous. (just don't create threads like this.. it's unnecessary.)

Make no mistake about it my friend, I don't take what's said here to heart. I don't totally dismiss everything as I do have some guys on here who I'd consider a friend, but I'm not pulling my hair out.

As for creating the thread, I had a similar thought process when composing it (was it necessary). Maybe it wasn't, but like you said, it's a forum. A place for discussion. I thought it was something good to chew on and I stick by that assertion.