Do You Think EA Developers Actually Play EA Football Games?

[Big FN Deal]

Some may think the obvious answer to this question is yes but I think that is not a given. I am not talking about playing around the office pre-release or bug testing but actually taking the final build home and playing online, online head to head, online franchise, offline franchise modes, etc, regularly.

I remember when people that worked at fast foods places would say that, after spending hours making that food, they no longer wanted to eat it as much. Maybe that's what happens with the EA developers, after spending so many work hours developing EA football games, they would much rather play or do something else.

The reason I bring this up is because there seems to be such a disconnect about some aspects of the games between developers and regular gamers, every year. I just saw a youtube video about using the left trigger to get more lift on passing the ball in Madden 12 and read a thread on OS about the same thing for NCAA 12. The odd thing is that based on the responses developers have given about the left trigger effecting passing, EA developers have no knowledge of it.

Another thing is, you don't have to be very meticulous to spot some of the issues with Madden. Just playing a few head to head games online and various other modes will expose you to obvious issues. RC, zig zag running, odd animations, poor player ball awareness, LB batting down too low passes, offline franchise issues, same play being successful over and over, etc, can all be seen in a matter of a few games. Now if the average person can be exposed to these issues after limited playing time, surely if developers where playing these games in their free time, they would see these, become frustrated with how the game plays and fix these issues the next year. However, that has not been the case, for the most part.

I have seen videos and read articles in which developers state they hate these kind of things in the game and they want a game that plays as realistic as possible. I don't see how they can achieve that goal if they are not actually playing the game to regularly experience just how unrealistic and potentially frustrating some aspects of the games can be.

(Just for the record before somebody makes a "no game is perfect" comment, perfection is not the issue, the developers seeming to be oblivious to certain aspects and issues with EA football games every year, is.)

[Jaaa]

I don't know how anyone plays EA football games.

[RaiderKtulu]

When one creates something, one often tends to be blind to it's flaws.

[NikeBlitz]

Quote: Originally Posted by Big FN Deal

The reason I bring this up is because there seems to be such a disconnect about some aspects of the games between developers and regular gamers, every year. I just saw a youtube video about using the left trigger to get more lift on passing the ball in Madden 12 and read a thread on OS about the same thing for NCAA 12. The odd thing is that based on the responses developers have given about the left trigger effecting passing, EA developers have no knowledge of it.

Can i see it ?

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by NikeBlitz

Can i see it ?

I was going to embed it but the music playing on it has explicit lyrics so I will just post the link. I just noticed it was uploaded May 21 so they were probably using Madden 11 because I think LT is pump fake in Madden 12. However, there is an entire thread on it for NCAA 12 on OS where a developer responds via twitter, I believe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5SSZZARTK8

[Big FN Deal]

Quote: Originally Posted by RaiderKtulu

When one creates something, one often tends to be blind to it's flaws.

I can understand that but this situation makes me think of that movie The Super, I think that's the name of it. A slumlord, played by Joe Pesci, is sentenced to leave in this rundown rental property he owns, as punishment for what he has subjected his tenants too, that can't afford to go anywhere else.

I am not comparing EA developers to slumlords, I am just saying when someone actually utilizes something they create, I think that would make them even more critical of the flaws than the average user and compel them to enact change.

[Hooe]

Given how much the more vocal devs (Josh Looman, Donny Moore) tweet about playing the game, I would surmise that the developers play it.

On top of that, one has to play the game to ensure a feature works. Before someone comes in here and bites my head off, I say this on a high level. For example, someone had to go in and play a Madden franchise to ensure that, in the free agency step, that all the following happened:

• The user can bid on free agent players
• The AI can and does bid on free agent players
• A bid can be overriden by any player at any time so long as time remains to bid on that player
• Eventually, time runs out, and the highest-bidding team is awarded the free agent player

On that level, the game works. Are there bugs in the game? Sure, no software release ever has been bug-free. But to say something is "broken", you first have to define what you mean by "broken", and on this level the game is absolutely not broken.

The issue that your topic post seems to be pointing at is that Madden is catered at a number of difference audiences. There's the pick-up-and-play crowd who just wants to hop online, play a few games, and that's that. There's the MUT crowd, who wants to collect cards, play against opponents, buy more cards, trade cards, etc. And then there's the managerial crowd, who enjoys roster management, interesting on-field challenges, drafting and teambuilding, etc. While the modes over top of the game can be different and separate for each of these three crowds, the core football game has to be accessible to all three of these crowds equally.

To that end, the online community feature is a HUGE plus for this year, because it allows each of these three user bases to separate themselves from each other to get more enjoyment out of the game. You don't want to play against someone who rocket catches? Join a "sim" community that frowns upon such. You want to join a community where the game is super-fast, penalties aren't a thing, and using exploits are seen as playing to win? Join a community that meets your interests to that end.

[roadman]

I don't know, not trying to be a smarty here, but after putting in a 60-70 hr work week, maybe they want a home life too?

My wife doesn't bring her work home and I don't bring mine into family time, either. Doesn't mean we don't have passion or care what we do in our jobs.