Madden NFL 16 News Post

Donny Moore, the 'Madden Ratings Czar', Leaving EA

11:28 AM - July 2, 2015 by RaychelSnr

Donny Moore, aka the ‘Madden Ratings Czar’, is leaving Electronic Arts as he will be “pursuing other interests.”

In an official statement on Twitter, Moore said, “After much thought & consideration, I have chosen to step away from @EASports & announce my retirement as the Madden Ratings Czar as I have opted to pursue other interests. I am especially grateful of the opportunity to rate players for some of the greatest fans in video games today. After 16 years, it is finally time to hang up the czar's mouse pad! #Czartirement"

For Moore, this ends a long tenure as the guy running the ratings and updates for Madden. Moore’s tenure spanned 16 years at EA Tiburon, which means he was easily one of the most tenured at that studio. There is no word yet on who will be replacing Moore, but we do expect an announcement soon.

The ratings position occupied by Moore has been a staple of Madden’s internet presence for years. Moore’s ratings oftentimes drew criticism, but the weekly ratings updates were always hugely anticipated by fans, despite what ire they may have drawn.

The ratings this year will likely still come in the same pacing as previous years, and it will be interesting to see if any differences in how much players move up and down the scale happens without Moore at the helm. We’ll certainly be watching it going forward!

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Member Comments

# 181 King Cardinal @ 07/06/15 01:50 PM

Hey DCEEB, could the consistency rating determine progression (and regression) better than other systems used in the past?

# 182 HC0023 @ 07/06/15 02:27 PM

Good Luck to Donny and Good Luck to u today DCEEB

# 183 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by King Cardinal


	Hey DCEEB, could the consistency rating determine progression (and regression) better than other systems used in the past?

I really do not know. I guess it could, but I would think it would have to be combined with potential. If your potential is A+ but your consistency is a D+, then you won't progress to that potential as quickly as you could if your consistency was an A+ as well.

Does potential x consistency = progress?

# 184 mestevo @ 07/06/15 02:40 PM

Id prefer them be decoupled. Potential is ability that requires the coaching and opportunity to be realized, while consistency is the ability to perform and maintain that performance. Lower the consistency then the taller/deeper the peaks and valleys. Confidence mixes in to impact both perhaps?

Good luck today.

# 185 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mestevo


	Id prefer them be decoupled. Potential is ability that requires the coaching and opportunity to be realized, while consistency is the ability to perform and maintain that performance. Lower the consistency then the taller/deeper the peaks and valleys. Confidence mixes in to impact both perhaps?

Opportunity.

That is key right there. How can you maximize your potential if you are stuck 5th on the depth chart and get limited reps in practices/training camps? This is a big reason why guys like Charles Johnson seem to get better. He was buried behind a good WR corps in Green Bay and by the time he was signed by MIN off of CLE's practice squad, he began a rise into the starting role at MIN.

So glad you mentioned that. If we have a nice practice structure, we can distribute reps and spread that opportunity or use it to advance a premier player.

# 186 jpdavis82 @ 07/06/15 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCEBB2001


	Opportunity. That is key right there. How can you maximize your potential if you are stuck 5th on the depth chart and get limited reps in practices/training camps? This is a big reason why guys like Charles Johnson seem to get better. He was buried behind a good WR corps in Green Bay and by the time he was signed by MIN off of CLE's practice squad, he began a rise into the starting role at MIN. So glad you mentioned that. If we have a nice practice structure, we can distribute reps and spread that opportunity or use it to advance a premier player.

Hopefully you can convince them to add practice squads!

# 187 Yukon46 @ 07/06/15 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	Hopefully you can convince them to add practice squads!

I hate that you have to use words like Hopefully and convince...

Practice Squads should just be in the game !

# 188 Gman 18 @ 07/06/15 05:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jpdavis82


	Hopefully you can convince them to add practice squads!

Considering the community has been requesting the addition of practice squads for YEARS in these forums and on other sports forums/social media, I don't see how just one guy is gonna suddenly convince them to implement them into the game

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

# 189 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 05:17 PM

OK guys just got done with my discussion with Rex Dickson and a few other guys on a conference call.

First of all, Rex said he had no problem with me posting anything regarding these "early discussions" on this forum, so here we go.

One of the first things that is apparent is that they are very open to taking in new methodologies for rating players in the game. Ideas like crowd sourcing via the Madden community came up. It looks like they want to do away with having one guy do all of the ratings.

It seemed to be mostly a Q&A session as they are brainstorming ideas on how to do this in the future. It looks like they would be more interested in using me as a consultant for which to draw base ratings for. Those would then be tweaked to ensure that they don't break the game. The big thing that was apparent is that their priority is making a competitive game over having accurate ratings. It looks like they are willing to sacrifice some accuracy, derived by real world data, for competitive gameplay.

I told them I was very open consulting and being a part of the discussion to better match the gameplay to more accurate ratings. This would require me to work with the people who develop the on-field mechanics closely. Since these discussions were very early, but will likely have an effect on their Madden 17 cycle, it looks like I won't have any more information until late August at the earliest as they will be researching a multitude of paths to take.

Questions?

# 190 4thQtrStre5S @ 07/06/15 05:21 PM

I figured there would be a need to fit ratings within the program engine itself...I think it is great that they are looking for a group of people to work on ratings because they really are a big part of the game...

HOw did you feel about the interaction and plans for the future? Do you feel that there is a positive outlook for the sim community?

I believe it would be a benefit to have your input with EA

# 191 4thQtrStre5S @ 07/06/15 05:29 PM

Do you believe your ratings could be scaled to meet the requirements needed to avoid breaking the game, while still maintaining their ability to represent player's quality in relation to other players? Thus being able to separate great players from average players..

# 192 4thQtrStre5S @ 07/06/15 05:31 PM

Oh, and will we ever find out how sliders truly work?

# 193 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	I figured there would be a need to fit ratings within the program engine itself...I think it is great that they are looking for a group of people to work on ratings because they really are a big part of the game... HOw did you feel about the interaction and plans for the future? Do you feel that there is a positive outlook for the sim community? I believe it would be a benefit to have your input with EA

Honestly, I think that because their number one priority seems to be "competitive gameplay" between users, that they are better off setting every position on every team to 99 in every attribute category...ok, that's a bit tongue in cheek but...

The fact that realism and authenticity was 2nd on that list should answer your question.

# 194 4thQtrStre5S @ 07/06/15 05:42 PM

This comment, "competitive game over having accurate ratings," seems to support my belief that the idea of EA is to ensure that anyone can pick any team and play online and still be able to win...It seems logical, though many in the community believes that you have to use the Seahawks or Patriots or Packers to compete, but I do not see EA wanting the game to be limited to a few teams to be competitive...

Am I wrong in thinking this way, and do you believe it is a bad idea to want to make all teams competitive, ratings wise?

EDIT: lol you just answered my question.

# 195 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	Do you believe your ratings could be scaled to meet the requirements needed to avoid breaking the game, while still maintaining their ability to represent player's quality in relation to other players? Thus being able to separate great players from average players..

Yes of course it could be. It does right now, in my opinion. Ask the people who have played with ratings and see if they work in the game as is.

One thing Rex did say was that they are wanting to open up the separation in ratings more, ie: more variance in the elite players to average players - something I have already done with FBG Ratings.

# 196 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	Oh, and will we ever find out how sliders truly work?

No idea, but I think that they purposely don't allow us to know exactly what every attribute does for a reason - allowing the user to play around with that stuff to find out what works for them. I kind of like not knowing what EXACTLY everything does, but at the same time, want it to be an option in case I really want to fix something that needs to be fixed.

# 197 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	This comment, "competitive game over having accurate ratings," seems to support my belief that the idea of EA is to ensure that anyone can pick any team and play online and still be able to win...It seems logical, though many in the community believes that you have to use the Seahawks or Patriots or Packers to compete, but I do not see EA wanting the game to be limited to a few teams to be competitive... Am I wrong in thinking this way, and do you believe it is a bad idea to want to make all teams competitive, ratings wise? EDIT: lol you just answered my question.

To me, anything that goes against accuracy in replicating the NFL in a video game is wrong...so...I guess that is why I do FBG Ratings in the first place.

# 198 4thQtrStre5S @ 07/06/15 05:47 PM

I can see EA's position...Why would I want to play as the Jaguars if I am going to lose regardless of skill, because the team is that bad?

# 199 jeremym480 @ 07/06/15 05:47 PM

I'm sure I know the answer, but was there any discussion on the ability to edit ratings within a CFM so that people who play offline can use ratings like FBG throughout the life of their CFM?

# 200 DCEBB2001 @ 07/06/15 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4thQtrStre5S


	I can see EA's position...Why would I want to play as the Jaguars if I am going to lose regardless of skill, because the team is that bad?

Maybe to prove that you are a better player of the game and can beat someone with a better team anyway?

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