Madden 09 News Post

Madden 09 Interview: GameTap

06:40 PM - April 25, 2008 by iamemmittsmith

GameTap has posted an interview with Phil Frazier, Lead Designer of Madden NFL 09.

Quote:


	GameTap: "How are online leagues going to be implemented in Madden 09?" Phil Frazier: "For the first time ever in Madden, you'll be able to get together with 32 of your friends and participate in a league where you can play through a schedule, play through the playoffs, play your own Super Bowl. There's draft support, there's trade support, and we actually implemented flex scheduling in the online leagues. We've had tournaments before online, but the problem with tournaments is that having more than two or three people together at the same time to complete a series of games is very, very challenging. So with flex scheduling, you can actually play your games in any order. It's more like a round-robin style. We did this because it's online and we wanted to make sure people can actually play through their seasons. If you and I are scheduled to meet in Week 10 but we're both online today, we can just play our Week 10 game now. I know there are possible issues or questions about what happens to the rosters if you get injured, but we're not worrying about that right now. We wanted to set up a system where leagues would actually get used and are very user-friendly in terms of the coordination required. It's all server based. There are no files to manage. There's no data whatsoever being saved on your box."

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Member Comments

# 21 Joborule @ 04/25/08 08:58 PM

Wow, they actually took my total control feature I asked for in my wishlist this year.

Thanks EA!

# 22 LingeringRegime @ 04/25/08 09:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SageTheInfinite


	. IMO online gaming and the tournament play has ruined sports games.

I agree in part with this Sage. It has taken the dignity from sports games, then over the top trash talking, the non sim like strategies, all of these things have been glorified, and thinking like a coach has been dumbed down also. I like the adaptive intelligence idea, but it worries me also. I still hope that you adjust sliders manually.

# 23 K_GUN @ 04/25/08 10:29 PM

they re-did the stadiums...lower res/less detail i'm sure...fine with me

my 1st impression of ortiz was him raving about how sec 525 row zz seat 99 was accurately depicted in the game......yawn...who cares about the water fountain in the mezzanine section represented with precise detail

# 24 green94 @ 04/25/08 11:07 PM

A lot of good things to take away from this article... although from the pictures, the sidelines still look like ****!

# 25 Rawdeal28 @ 04/26/08 09:54 AM

great interview. i am pumped. i love the things he explained. cant wait for aug 12

# 26 spankdatazz22 @ 04/26/08 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomentousCeltic


	Aw damn...I don't want to buy into the hype but I'm starting to feel a little bubbly inside. Just the broadcast presentation and the return of actual commentators makes this an entirely new game (at least for me). I hope it turns out ok.

Yeah they are really good at hype, that's for sure. And finding new/unique ways to do it every year. Last year I thought the game was progressing fairly nicely... until I saw extended gameplay video. Right now though, it does seem like they're getting to the point where they're either fixing or getting workarounds for the issues w/the game engine. For me the biggest thing is how the game animates, and the player interaction. I don't like their rock-paper-scissors approach to gameplay and it seems they're going to make the same mistake they made last gen by not putting enough emphasis on OL/DL play & player interaction in the formative years w/the new engine. But I don't think it matters much given the current situation. I'm sure the game's gonna look great, and the fact they're giving out information so early likely means the game will be more polished. Will be interesting to see how long it'll be before we get to see it in motion

# 27 JBH3 @ 04/26/08 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott


	Good read, looks like formation subs are back..

I must of missed it, but where was this mentioned?

# 28 Nza @ 04/26/08 11:21 AM

Quote:


	GameTap: What other AI tweaks have been made to the gameplay? Phil Frazier: Everything. The biggest thing in gameplay is something we call Total Control Animation. The game is much more responsive now and you don't need to wait for animations to completely play out before starting a new animation. Now you can string together jukes or do a double juke or a triple juke as you come up on a guy. You can also now do animations while you're involved in a wrap. That's something we've never been able to do in Madden before. In the old days, once a tackle animations started, you were done. The game determined whether or not that tackle was successful. But now, once a tackle starts, you still have a window where you can hit spin

I could have SWORN they said the same thing last year. I distinctly remember them using the example of a player catching a sideline swing pass and breaking out of the catch animation before going out of bounds like they used to in 07 and prior.

Oh, and nice job avoiding the question too. AI != animations. Sigh.

# 29 JBucc @ 04/26/08 11:30 AM

I hope the animations for jukes and spins aren't as crazy over the top as they look to be in NCAA. If the turnovers are fixed (I can't believe he didn't ask about the biggest issue in last years game) this game could be ok.

# 30 blackngoldfan @ 04/26/08 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nza


	I could have SWORN they said the same thing last year. I distinctly remember them using the example of a player catching a sideline swing pass and breaking out of the catch animation before going out of bounds like they used to in 07 and prior. Oh, and nice job avoiding the question too. AI != animations. Sigh.

It's basically the same thing that was said last year, but they called it "BRANCHING ANIMATIONS".

EDIT:
(Here's what you were talking about.)
Can you talk about the new game and some other features players will find?

(Part of the answer) "The thing that's most exciting for me is how we've tightened up gameplay. This is the best-playing Madden ever. We have the 60 frames per second and we have new branching animations. Instead of catching the ball and rolling out of bounds, you're going to be able to stop, plant and run up the sideline. We've been able to get to a lot of stuff that we haven't been able to get to in the past because we have such short development times. Runners will move the pile and juke around. We've added so much to the actual gameplay that it's never been as responsive as it is this year."

link:http://www.sportsgamer.com/content/8...s-08-features/

# 31 countryboy @ 04/26/08 01:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackngoldfan


	It does seem pretty similar to what they were saying last year, but I think they called it "BRANCHING ANIMATIONS".

I think they are expanding on the branching animations.

# 32 blackngoldfan @ 04/26/08 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by countryboy


	I think they are expanding on the branching animations.

I edited my post above, and put the link to that interview.
If they continue to improve, It's all good. We know they're gonna say "This is gonna be the best Madden ever". I just hope they're right this year.

# 33 kmart2180 @ 04/26/08 01:34 PM

Everything sounds great and I am pumped up big time now for madden 09, but please tell me that the replay thing is not allowed in a actuall game?

Why would they give you the option of rewinding the play? You cannot do it in real life! I pray that is only for practice mode. Or I could careless if its in a exibition game.

# 34 countryboy @ 04/26/08 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackngoldfan


	I edited my post above, and put the link to that interview. If they continue to improve, It's all good. We know they're gonna say "This is gonna be the best Madden ever". I just hope they're right this year.

Will it be the best ever? Probably not. Madden '05 is in my opinion the best Madden made to date.

What I think Madden '09 is going to be is a solid foundation for the NG/CG Madden series. Up until now NG/CG Madden's have been like building a house on top of wet cement. Its not going to stand up and you are basically going to have to start all over. This year, it seems as though as they have let that wet cement turn into to concrete before builiding the house. The house may not be complete this year, but EA has at least got the floor set, the walls up, and a roof over their heads.

# 35 Scott @ 04/26/08 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmart2180


	Everything sounds great and I am pumped up big time now for madden 09, but please tell me that the replay thing is not allowed in a actuall game? Why would they give you the option of rewinding the play? You cannot do it in real life! I pray that is only for practice mode. Or I could careless if its in a exibition game.

I fore one hope it is in the real game...It's just like reviewing pictures on the sidelines.

# 36 countryboy @ 04/26/08 01:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kmart2180


	Everything sounds great and I am pumped up big time now for madden 09, but please tell me that the replay thing is not allowed in a actuall game? Why would they give you the option of rewinding the play? You cannot do it in real life! I pray that is only for practice mode. Or I could careless if its in a exibition game.

I don't think its going to be available during an actual game.

# 37 K_GUN @ 04/26/08 01:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott


	I fore one hope it is in the real game...It's just like reviewing pictures on the sidelines.

good call......i like it

# 38 blackngoldfan @ 04/26/08 02:16 PM

It's only fitting that the rewind feature would be in this game. I'm surprised it didn't come sooner. Madden used to go crazy with the rewind button during telecasts. I would be like "Damn, OK Madden, I get it!!"

The more I think about it, I'm starting to love this feature. I seriously doubt it ill can used outside of practice and exhibition mode. It polishes your game IMO. How many times have you seen the open receiver, but accidentally pressed the wrong button? OR How many times you should've cut left instead of right?

You're never gonna get that same EXACT situation by starting the whole play over, but If you rewind back to the spot before you passed the ball or made your cut you can fine tune things.

# 39 SmashMan @ 04/26/08 02:32 PM

"EA Sports Backtrack" sounds like it's going to be an awesome feature to have in the middle of a game you're playing. "EA Sports Rewind", not so much. Having a 'do-over' just seems dumb to me. I made a mistake, show me how I screwed up, and I'll learn for next time. No need for the rewinding.

But I can easily not use that part of it, so it's no big deal.

# 40 marshallfever @ 04/26/08 03:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackngoldfan


	It's only fitting that the rewind feature would be in this game. I'm surprised it didn't come sooner. Madden used to go crazy with the rewind button during telecasts. I would be like "Damn, OK Madden, I get it!!" The more I think about it, I'm starting to love this feature. I seriously doubt it ill can used outside of practice and exhibition mode. It polishes your game IMO. How many times have you seen the open receiver, but accidentally pressed the wrong button? OR How many times you should've cut left instead of right? You're never gonna get that same EXACT situation by starting the whole play over, but If you rewind back to the spot before you passed the ball or made your cut you can fine tune things.

Wait WTF Are you talking about? rewinding the actual game or being able to rewind a fragment of the game ala replay mode? Cause if their putting in a rewind a play during the game, then that sounds pretty bad to me.

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