Madden NFL 15 News Post

Madden NFL 15 Gauntlet Mode Teaches You How to Play Football, Get Better at Madden

08:56 AM - July 11, 2014 by jpdavis82

EA Sports released a brief Madden NFL 15 video featuring the new Gauntlet mode yesterday. A couple of sites have posted their previews this morning. If any more show up, this post will be updated.

Madden NFL 15 Wants You To Be A Student Of The Game (Game Informer)

Quote:


	The Skills Trainer mode features 48 new drills, but beyond teaching you the controls of the game, they go deeper to teach you core football concepts like recognizing defenses. "When we playtested," says designer Danny Doeberling, "we found out that people call cover 2 defense, people call a smash route. They have no idea what that actually is. So, we're actually taking them through how to recognize a cover 2 defense. And once you actually see it on the field, we'll have you attack that. When you're calling different pass plays, what actually makes up a pass play? What's a cross? Outs? We basically teach you the foundation of the coverages, and we also [teach you] the most common pass concepts. We basically teach you football." Accordingly, there are also drills in the mode where you call red zone plays, for instance.

Madden NFL 15 wants to teach you about football to make you a better Madden player (Polygon)

Quote:


	As Cam and I crafted this vision to take the game toward 'more realistic and more authentic,' what we realized is, if we don't teach people how football works, they're never going to understand this game," Dickson continued. "That's really why the Skills Trainer mode was developed, is because I basically pitched that we need a tutorial system if we're going to keep going in a realistic, authentic direction.

Game: Madden NFL 15Reader Score: 6.5/10 - Vote Now
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Member Comments

# 81 CM Hooe @ 07/13/14 11:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reyes the roof


	It's just mind blowing to me and I'm sure a lot of other people too that they would ever implement a progression system where the user has the ability to gain XP in practice, and the cpu teams aren't simulating practices and having the same opportunity to gain XP

Mind blowing? Not really. CFM was IMO quite obviously designed with a online multiplayer emphasis. I imagine implementing simulation of CPU practice with rewarding XP, however trivial that task may be, was either incredibly low priority or an oversight.

That said, is it an issue to legitimately gripe about because it obviously creates a game imbalance in a single player setting? Unquestionably. I suppose there's a workaround in that the user can ignore practice and the game becomes balanced - and I'm sure that's what Tiburon would offer as well - but that's not a good enough answer for those who want to develop a young QB from the sideline, given that all other progression requires in-game statistical achievements in the current design.

An aside - can a user simulate practices in Madden 25 and earn XP for his team? I don't recall that being the case, but I could be wrong.

# 82 kehlis @ 07/14/14 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CM Hooe


	Mind blowing? Not really. CFM was IMO quite obviously designed with a online multiplayer emphasis.

But even with that said how many 32 team online franchises are there? I know there are some but there can't be that many.

That means any league that doesn't have 32 users still has the same imbalance on the CPU controlled teams in online play as there is in an offline CFM.

Whether that was an acceptable loss based on design decision I have no idea but if it was designed strictly for online play versus offline it was still designed poorly.

# 83 Skyboxer @ 07/14/14 01:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kehlis


	But even with that said how many 32 team online franchises are there? I know there are some but there can't be that many. That means any league that doesn't have 32 users still has the same imbalance on the CPU controlled teams in online play as there is in an offline CFM. Whether that was an acceptable loss based on design decision I have no idea but if it was designed strictly for online play versus offline it was still designed poorly.

Unfortunetly (Unless this year is different) getting CPU AI tuned for different things is not a priority.
We asked a year ago or so about different things regarding CPU AI.
The answer was stuff like "Just hot route them yourself" etc.

This went back and forth as we were trying to get them to understand we were talking about when playing the CPU.
The general answer to everything was a "Playing a user vs user game doesn't have that problem" answer.

In my M25 SP franchise I skipped the practice to try and keep it fair.

# 84 wordtobigbird @ 07/14/14 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CT Pittbull


	Im interested to see how deep they go with this. I know the game. I've played it in real life. So its probably not going to do much for guys like me who LIVE football. I do think its a good idea as long as they stay true to making Madden a complete simulation in the future. Ive said before they(EA/Madden) have their foot in BOTH buckets right now. The have a few simulation aspects but they still have more weight in the arcade bucket. It has made some nice strides in the last few years, its just at a snails pace. They need to get the game to the point where the gamer is FORCED to play football, not play "Madden" football. I would say this mode would help those who lack basic football knowledge and maybe if more people actually knew how to play football, they're would be less players learning to cheese/glitch/ and exploit the AI.

I agree.

Here's the thing though: Madden's controls are too basic. The gameplay is too easy in general. Look at running the ball. Well theres sprint, spin, juke, truck, backstep? Even though they try to advertise chaining moves together how often does that happen. Very basic. The running itself, even with true step, does it ever punish you for over sprinting or not understanding your momentum? For having the ball in the wrong hand? For spinning/juking in traffic? Very easy.

The easiest comparison is always with FIFA. For example, in FIFA there is a drill where you just have to weave through poles with gatorade bottles on top without knocking them down. Why? Because the controls are complex and the gameplay is challenging. If you move too aggressively the ball won't stay close to you and you wont be able to make turns with possession. The have varying paces, not just from sprinting like Madden. Imagine if Madden had a cone drill because you had to adjust to how you had to turn with different size/skilled players? FIFA has the skill moves to differentiate how players handle the ball too.

There are so many passing drills in FIFA. Why? Because passing controls are complex and the execution in gameplay is challenging. In Madden we have lob and bullet, throw in total control to let you pick high/low/left/right and that's it. FIFA? Standard, cross, lead pass. Hold L1/LB and get different type of pass. Crosses can be double tapped or triple tapped for different types of crosses. The options are beautiful. When do you think we will ever be able to throw a back shoulder pass in Madden? Imagine if you could double tap or triple tap the receiver icon to get a different type of pass?

# 85 wordtobigbird @ 07/14/14 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiantBlue76


	Whatever happened to people wanting to learn things and learn the game? People who have been playing a long time and know more about football concepts should absolutely be better than someone who is new to the game. Why dumb things down so that the average joe can compete with a Bill Walsh? The frustrating part of Madden is that it is formula driven on both sides of the ball. You play enough games (especially in a long term league) and after a season, everyone is doing the exact same things. They run the same plays, make the same adjustments (thanks youtube) and discover everything that "works". That's why people come out in 5 wide and the guy on defense still comes out in his base D. Why not? It's all about plugging up gaps in the secondary and if he were to call quarters or dime, it just creates spacing and lanes to more easily make throws. That's why 3rd and 18 in Madden is just like 2nd and 6. Gotta make 3rd and 19 easy enough to convert so the user doesn't put the game down, right? Same goes for 22 sets. Come out in quarters in that situation. You can stop the run up the middle because the blocking logic gets hosed with a 3 man rush, and you have the sweeps and stretches covered with your incredible tackling defensive backs. This is not teaching someone real football. They will utilize this nonsense in Madden, then go watch an NFL game and wonder why the defense is playing dime and nickel on 3rd down. "Come on, you should be coming out in the 5-2 or 4-3 stack against 5 wide! It works great in madden!". By having this massive fear that people will find the game "too hard" (which I find incredibly funny when it comes to Madden) they are ruining the game for the majority of their core fan base who actually DOES understand the game. I am all for simplification and easier game modes. That is why OPTIONS are the key to making madden please all of its fans again like it did 20 years ago. Give me the option to play the game requiring REAL football concepts. Don't teach me how to play Madden ball. Give the players individual AI instead of having them tied together as one synchronized unit. Allow proper gap assignments and pursuit logic to play out organically. Let me get as deep or as shallow as I want to get when it comes to football IQ and x's and o's. Even first person shooters do this to some degree with their different modes, i.e, hardcore mode. Put some of the task to learning the game on the user - God forbid they might actually learn something about the real game.

Thank you.

The play calls that Madden allows people to get away with are crazy. Which is why I stopped playing online a couple of Maddens ago. I'm hoping with this improved defense this year that doesn't mean people will be able to just call whatever defensive formation they want, as usual. You should be forced by down and distance and offensive formation just like the NFL.

When I play someone in Madden and they pick their defense before they've seen my offensive formation I laugh inside. Tells me right away they are playing Madden and not football. I always have and always will call my defenses based on the offensive formation/down and distance. 4-3 base against 5 wide should result in the offense getting 25+ yards and running no huddle until the defensive coordinator gets fired and they make subs.

# 86 Skyboxer @ 07/14/14 11:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big FN Deal


	I commend you for being able to brush your shoulder's off and just enjoy Madden for what it is, in spite of you knowing/still remembering stuff like this, lol. I swear man, I just haven't been able to do it, I've seen/heard too much stuff like what you referring to and it annoys me to no end just thinking about it, even worse when trying to play the actual game. I guess it's kind of like eating a hot dog once you find out how it was made and what actually went into it, it's possible to get completely turned off from it. Tiburon seems to incubate some of the most perplexing concepts and POVs towards football gaming that I have ever heard, then try to sell them as something innovative. I have been playing all manner of video games for a long time, I have NEVER, before Madden, EVER, heard of wanting NPCs (Non-Player Characters) to be mindless drones. In fact, the best games are usually the ones were NPCs have the deepest AI routines which help bring the virtual world to life. Now in Madden they tout Living Worlds to eventually bring NPCs in the crowd/sideline to life and player sense for the NPCs on the field but then they intentionally limit it because, Madden is 1v1 football. WTF is "1v1 football", the NFL certainly isn't and it doesn't make sense to teach Users football in Madden but not program those same lessons into the CPU/AI NPC teammates.

Frankly if it wasn't for The Show a lot of what Madden has would be fine. Just playing a game like The Show shows where we possibly could be at with an NFL game.
I do like the improvements that Madden has made it's simply been a long time getting there. That's the main issue. We should be having discussions on "The little" things that we'd like see added by now instead of basic player interactions.

However for me, in the end, the game is still fun.

I still remember playing all the old games (Intellivsion etc..) so while the game hasn't made it to where I'd like to see it, I still have good times with it as I did back with stick man football lol

# 87 jpdavis82 @ 07/15/14 09:15 AM

This article talks about how skills trainer will work in CFM http://m.bleacherreport.com/articles...medium=twitter

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 88 NDAlum @ 07/15/14 09:16 AM

Ummmmmm did I just read in that BR article that you earn MUT rewards in CFM?!?!???

If true GTFO. That is straight up garbage leave my franchise mode alone with that MUT BS

I hate that stuff so much

I'm hoping it is just the stand alone trainer mode that will earn MUT garbage.

I will calm down then lol

Sent from my iPhone 5

# 89 jmurphy31 @ 07/15/14 09:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NDAlum


	Ummmmmm did I just read in that BR article that you earn MUT rewards in CFM?!?!??? If true GTFO. That is straight up garbage leave my franchise mode alone with that MUT BS I hate that stuff so much I'm hoping it is just the stand alone trainer mode that will earn MUT garbage. I will calm down then lol Sent from my iPhone 5

I took it as it's in CFM but also in the mode (outside of CFM) you can earn MUT rewards.

I think that's why the guy asked the follow up question. Then he answered about gaining XP points

Hopefully this is the case. MUT has no business in CFM

# 90 Cowboy008 @ 07/15/14 12:00 PM

I think you just get MUT rewards when just playing the mode by itself and not in CFM.

# 91 jdareal21 @ 07/15/14 04:24 PM

IMO, this has been the single most damaging thing about sports games in general, but Madden in particular. I don't understand why sports developers feel the need to "teach" anything, or cater to any other base outside of the hardcore sports gaming demographic. I would assume someone picking up a controller to play Madden or NBA 2K etc., has some sort of passing interest and understanding of the real-life sport it's trying to replicate. And if not, they'd take it upon themselves to learn the ropes of the real game in addition to the controls and nuances of the virtual world.

If I make the choice to purchase an RPG, I understand there's likely going to be a learning curve because it's not my wheelhouse, and along with that, I understand those type of games (the good ones anyway) usually won't bend over backwards to familiarize me with the mechanics of the RPG genre. What needs to happen is more Arcade style games like NFL Blitz & NBA Jam need to be made annually and/or include modes within the sim games themselves where ****** fans can have an arcade option outright. But using development time, energy & resources on helping people understand Football better is ridiculous to me...

# 92 JaymeeAwesome @ 07/16/14 07:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bucky60


	A game balancing issue so far off in a career franchise does break the game mode. The real fix would be to fix the CPU progression.

I wouldn't call that broken...just poor designing. You can still play every game years in from end to end. You still have the ability to go through the offseason. It's just that your team ends up better than the rest every time. Not broken. You can use any other term to describe it, but broken it is not.

# 93 jdareal21 @ 07/16/14 10:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Big FN Deal


	I think some will read this post and misunderstand what you're saying but I think I get you. It's one thing to teach gamers the control scheme for how to play the football video game but something else entirely to teach gamers football itself. The latter should be something they're compelled to do on their own, complimented by what they're able to figure out while playing, depending on how deep the game is able to go into real football nuances. For example if playaction passes in Madden actually worked by setting them up through running the ball, getting the defense to bite and QBs having differing styles of "selling it" through handoff/ball technique, there would be no need to teach all that to gamers. They would only need the basic control scheme understanding of how to pass the ball, everything else would be built into the program and they could look more into the deeper strategy of PA passes on their own. It does seems like a huge task and a more difficult learning curve to take on trying to directly tutorial football in a football video game versus just having the game function that way, direct tutorial them on the control schemes and have them inherently learn about real football more along the way. It's the same thing with watching football on tv, you don't have to know a lot about it to enjoy it, just a few tidbits and then you pick up more stuff along the way.

Exactly. Obviously learning the controls of the game is necessary, and for certain games (like NBA 2K) that change significant controls annually, re-learning the buttons is something we all have to do. But from this description, it seems like they're trying to teach ****** fans Football. And of course, like I said before, that's utterly ridiculous to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiantBlue76


	The reason is that it is a 100% business decision. How are you going to get people who are not die hard football fans to buy your product? The first thing you do is acquire an exclusive license (sorry, had to throw that in there ). Secondly, you make the game simple enough that the average fraternity brother can pick up the game and throw bombs for TDs and yell and scream on his couch while pounding beers with his buddies. What you have to realize is that much of how the game is marketed is designed to make it compete with games like Call of Duty. They want EVERYONE buying their game, especially the people who are not hardcore NFL junkies. I understand this thinking from a business standpoint and it's hard to argue with it from that perspective, but there are ways to build the game so that you can cater to both kinds of customer. Tiburon, for some reason, cannot or will not implement different levels of game modes that change how the game plays. You can simultaneously make the experience as complicated or as simple as you want it to be. This is one of the reasons why we are constantly comparing games like the Show and NBA 2k to Madden. It allows the user to do this, while Madden has one setting.

Actually I do get (and to a certain extent) agree with the approach from a strictly business perspective too. But here's why I can't get with that angle completely.

Simply put, there's enough football fanatics that play video games to offset ****** fans to begin with. Especially considering there's only one option now, I can't fathom any situation where Madden has to cater to a wider audience for financial reasons. The name and legacy is established, I played the first Madden available on Sega Genesis and continue to TRY to support the brand. But if they keep pandering to people who aren't their target audience anyway, at some point, they're gonna start losing the hardcore gamers that have been supporting since Day 1. It's already starting to happen, and I personally no longer have the time nor the money to waste on games. I would hope EA doesn't lose sight of that in pursuit of gamers who aren't as invested. It's that same mentality that sinks musicians and movie makers who go chasing demographics that alienate their core...

# 94 strawberryshortcake @ 07/17/14 05:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiantBlue76


	.... What I find funny though, is how there seems to be this thought that making a game less realistic, makes it more fun, which in turn attracts more customers. I don't agree. I stopped religiously following baseball over 5 years ago. Same with the NBA. However, those games are now so good and much more realistic, that I am thinking of giving up on madden and buying those instead. Not to mention, I have about 10 friends my age (in the 35-45 range) who were religious maddenites. They LOVED Madden. Never once even played 2k football despite me trying to get them to try it. However, they stopped buying madden altogether. They do not go on forums, they do not watch youtube videos, they do not study the game. They simply felt that madden got to be a joke of a game, and was "ruined" as one of my buddies put it. They would be considered "**" I guess, but they still wanted a realistic game. 10 year old kids play MLB the Show and NBA 2k and don't have a hard time getting into it. They are immediately attracted to it because it looks and sounds exactly like they see on TV. They do not feel that same way about madden. I think people tend to underestimate the intelligence of today's gaming community and even younger kids who venture into these games. The fact of the matter is, making a game realistic is a HUGE contributor to making it fun. There is no need to have one at the expense of the other. When a game is uber-realistic, it turns heads. That's how many people got interested in other games in the sports genre.

I can personally attest to everything you've stated here based on my own experience. You might even label me a ****** gamer.

Brief background. Played atari, NES, and graduated to SNES. Completely stopped for whatever reason. Fast forward to generation PS3/XBOX360, still in video games hands off mode. I'll watch my friend get immersed in first person shooters. "I'm good, you have at it, I'll just watch you play."

MLB2k baseball. Being someone that loves watching sports, I said sure let me give it a test run. Looks like fun. Change of pace.

Fired up MLB the Show 09. That did it. It was all over. My days of video gaming came back in that instance. I played hours on end til early in the morning. The realism, realistic graphics, player movement, player behavior, their smarts, atmosphere, the challenge. Everything on TV represented in a video game. "You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me. WOW!" It was incredibly addictive. The realism was absolutely mind blowing.

Went home that morning and the adrenaline high had me searching for other sports games that offered the same exact sense of realism. Stumbled onto NBA2k, and it was all over. Gran Turism footage, Professional Baseball Spirits ... "Get. The. Heck. Out. Of. Here. Ridiculous." Hooked.

The realism found in these games marketed themselves. I did not need a marketing department to tell me these games were great. I saw the realism with my own two eyes. As a ****** gamer, I can no longer play arcade sports titles. They simply aren't fun anymore. Realistic games are NOW fun.

Classify me as a ****** gamer. I don't get to play much, except maybe during the weekends. I want realism in my sports title. Realism is fun and addictive. Had it not been for these realistic sports titles, I would never have gotten back into video games.

# 95 jdareal21 @ 07/17/14 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GiantBlue76


	10 year old kids play MLB the Show and NBA 2k and don't have a hard time getting into it.

And this right here hits the nail on the head. I believe the intelligence of gamers is being insulted on a yearly basis nowadays. When I was a child, I wanted things as realistic and true to life as possible. I don't think that's changed in anyway, but if they're not going to challenge kids and ****** gamers, then we'll never know...

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