The Producers of Madden a deeper look & a sneak peak at Madden 09!

http://maddenmania.com/forums/showthread.php?t=166987

Unless you have been living under a rock for the past three or four months you know who I.Cummings is. Everyone reading this probably has read his numerous blogs on the EA website so he needs no introduction and I will jump right into it.

Ian came into the room about an hour or so after we arrived at the studio he sat down and started messing with the PS2 version of Madden. I put the sticks down walked over introduced myself and started dropping questions and concerns that myself and the community has with Madden.

Our conversation started like this-

Game is looking and playing nice Ian, but you know I have some questions. He was like I"m all ears so I started dropping the bombs and was very surprised at the answers I was getting.

Formation specific depth charts? 09

Smart routes and smart zones? 09

The radio announcer you know everyone hates him are we going to see him again in 09? No

Are there any plans for a revamp in the area of presentation? Yup

I continued to ask Ian a lot of questions like the ones above and all the answers I got where very informative, and detailed. So I grabbed a chair sat down and we really got down and dirty about Madden 08 and ideas for Madden 09.

Our discussion lasted for about an hour or so during that time we covered plenty of topics. Online leagues/franchises, new ratings for the QB position, what really went down with Madden 06, VJ Leblanc even stopped by and we talked about the new blocking engine and the 3-4 defense. There was a ton of information exchanged during our extended conversation so I will break it down into bullet points and go from there. (I think it will be easier that way)


-Expanding the player ratings- I can't remember how we started talking about the new ratings in the game, but we discussed this issue for a substantial amount of time. I?m a big fan and a true believer in that the more ratings you have the more dynamic the game play can be. With that being said what he told me was like music to my ears. Ian first stated that they had over 200 ratings on the board for Madden 06! I stopped him and said can you repeat that and he did so I wasn't hearing things. I was shocked at his answer over 200 ratings I was thinking to myself damn I guess I set my expectations to low. (I wasn't expecting to hear this at all.) Then he went on to tell me what really happened with Madden 06 but, that my friends is topic for another discussion and my last article.

As most of you will be able to tell after your first game of Madden 08 this year the game is light years above Madden 07 next gen and Madden 08 on the PS2 in terms of pure game play. (No disrespect to D-Cas and the rest of the current gen development team, but, only so much on the PS2 and Xbox. That?s why you guys do not see any of the new ratings in current gen Madden this year. Those systems just don't have the power for it.) I'm not talking about smart routes, slide protection, and stuff like that I"m purely talking about game play, and not pre-snap adjustments. I'm talking about what happens when you hike the ball until the whistle is blown to signal the end of the play.


Madden boasts a robust set of new ratings from this year and last year. Unlike last year all of them actually mean something in the game and you can now see a difference in play by S.Smith in contrast to S.Holmes. Ian explained this to me by drawing a chart which I will try and explain to the best of my knowledge on how it was explained to me.

What he basically said was with the old rating system there was a certain number of things that could happen on any given play. But with the addition of new ratings, branching animations, and dynamic gang tackling. That number grows ten fold. Ian drew a chart to help demonstrate how this dynamic game play was possible and why you will see so many more animations in the game this year as well as so many more possibilities on any given play. I would love to explain it the way he did for me, but it won't make that much since if I can't show you the chart. So I will attempt to explain this best way I can. (Sorry Ian if I butcher this)

Let?s talk numbers I think thats the best way to make a feeble attempt at this. For this example lets use the WR position the play is a deep crossing route. Due to the limitations of the PS2 and the ratings system for Madden 07 there are only a couple of things that can happen on this play. Why is that well lets look at what factors or ratings are involved in what happens on a deep crossing route in current gen Madden.


PS2/XBOX Game engine
PS2- Awareness, Speed, Jumping, Catching, and Agility

So thats 5 factors that are involved on any given pass play, but that?s only one part of the equation.

Every rating in the game has a range from 0 to 100. For this test lets assume that for every 5 points of increase you will see a different animation, a different jumping height, a noticeable difference in speed and a noticeable difference in that players agility etc...........

So that gives us 20 different levels of animations that are possible at any given time during this route.

Ok so now we have our key, let?s recap there are 20 different levels based on our increments of 5 in a 0 to 100 range. Also there are 5 different ratings that come into play for the WR position when he is running a route and trying to catch the ball. So 5 X 20 = 100

If that?s how the current gen system works then you have a possibility of 100 different animations and or possibilities that can take place during a WR deep crossing route.


Moving on to Next Gen

360/PS3 Game engine
360- Awareness, Speed, Jumping, Catching, Agility, Route Running, Catch in Traffic, Spectacular Catch, Release, and Elusiveness


Same as before every rating above has a range from 0 to 100 just like in current gen. But there are some additions to the ratings system 5 of them to be exact. Just as before lets assume for this test that for every 5 points of increase you will see a different animation, a different jumping height, a noticeable difference in speed, a noticeable difference in that players agility etc...........

Lets add it up 10 X 20 = 200 if that?s how the next gen system works then you have a mathematical possibility of 200 different animations and or possibilities that can take place during a WR deep crossing route. Double what was possible in current gen. So the game play has opened up and it?s not as scripted as before, more things can happen in any given play because there are more things that the engine has to take into account for now.

This is why you couldn't tell a difference in the play of M.Harrison vs. B.Finneran on the PS2 & Xbox versions of the game in the past. But in Madden 04, 05, 06, and 07 B.Finneran was actually a better WR than Harrison was in the game. The only ratings the engine had to calculate were speed, height, and jumping ability. Because Brain was so tall the game gave him access to the jet pack animation. But and this is a huge but those jet pack animations where not interruptible they where scripted animations that could not be interrupted you also couldn?t hit him in mid air. That?s how we ended up with the dreaded jet pack in 04. So enter Madden 08 and now the game has to account for 24 more attribute additions that are in the game. The total now comes to 42 total ratings up from 18 total ratings in current gen. (That number will continue to grow in 09)

Bottom line the more player ratings that are in the game = the more dynamic and unpredictable the game play can be.



-The QB position- I asked Ian if there where any plans to expand on the ratings for the QB position since every other position has been giving new ratings and A.I. rewrites in the last two years. He replied first that they did tune the QB position in 08, (and it shows) then he stated that more ratings for the QB position are in the books for 09. You remember the ratings from Head Coach. Throw accuracy short, medium, and deep, throw on the run etc?. Ian is trying to get all of those ratings in the game and then some. I was very happy to hear this indeed.

Then he brought up a new possible feature to help make a QB?s awareness mean more for user controlled QB?s. He asked what I thought about it and we discussed how it could work. The feature would be that QB?s with high awareness ratings will have this pocket presence type thing. (Or pocket presence would be an all new rating in itself) In basic theory ?pocket presence? (that?s what I will call it for this article) would mean that the controller would start to shake when your QB started to feel the pressure. P.Manning would have excellent pocket presence, but a rookie QB like J.Russell not so much.

That was the easy part and I will ask you guys the same question he asked me. If you are using P.Manning should the controller start to vibrate right before the sack or should it start once a defender starts closing in on Manning. Now before you answer think about this if it vibrates too soon you end up getting happy feet and Manning rarely gets happy feet. On the flip side if it vibrates to late then well you get the picture. I was stumped and we continued to talk about this for a little while longer before moving onto other subjects. (This exchange gave me a new appreciation on how hard it is to from the drawing board with an idea to putting it into the game and making it balanced.)

 

If you read any of Ian's producer blogs you will remember that he would ask us what we thought about particular issues. He did the same thing with me he actually took notes on what we talked about. Contrary to popular belief the producers do care about what the hardcore community wants. Of course we can't get everything in the game. Although if we are organized and can come to a general consensus on what features are most important to us year in and year out. They will attempt to get those features in the game.


Honestly I brought up a ton of stuff to Ian about possible features and fixes to Madden not many of the ideas where new to him. Case in point smart routes, smart zones, formation specific depth charts, slide protection. If it could have been in 08 trust me it would have been in there, but due to time constraints it was not possible. (Some of that stuff is already in the very, very early builds of 09) (Also they just don't want to port everything over some things they want to revamp and give a fresh coat of paint with that next gen feel)


-Online Leagues & Online Franchises- I asked Ian what where some of the biggest issues and areas of interest for Madden 09. The first thing out of his mouth was online and presentation. Due to the natural progression of the game we should expect a major jumps in those two areas for next years game. We spoke quite a bit about online and I tried to convey the fact of how important it is to have a dedicated website. Full stat tracking, online sliders, etc........ One thing that we might not see for a while is spectator mode. Apparently that feature is a real b&tch to program so don't expect it anytime soon.

Ian asked me which one did I think was more important I replied leagues. They have to be fully featured and work right there really is no point to have an online franchise if its buggy as hell. We continued talk about online and how important it is to have a large feature set. (But they are going to look at doing online franchises first because if you can do a franchise online then you can most definitely do a league. D.Ortiz brought up this point later on in the day)

-New Blocking Engine- We eventually got around to the new blocking engine and I expressed my overall appreciation on how well the blocking was done this year and concerns about the 3-4 defense and the lack of true NT in Madden. (You can in fact run a successful 3-4 scheme in the game this year, but I still think it needs some work.) NT in the game like J.Williams, V.Wilfork, and C.Hampton should command double teams on almost every down. (They do in real life) Only a couple of ELITE centers in the game can handle those guys one on one.

If at the very least highly rated NT in the game should control their gap and dominate at the point of attack. Allowing LB's around them to make plays About that time VJ Leblanc (next gen blocking producer) walked into the room how ironic is that. So he immediately joined in on the conversation. He stated that that the new blocking engine is only the beginning and assured me it will continue to expand on the new blocking engine that was introduced in Madden 08. VJ broke it down on how he totally rewrote the blocking logic in Madden this year you will actually see LT kick out in protection and things of that nature.


All in all I got to spend a little over an hour talking to I.Cummings about Madden 08 & 09.

I did my best to act as a voice representing the hard core community and I was very elated to see that nothing that I brought up caught him off guard. If anything his replies and willingness to listen caught me off guard. I know some of us think that if we ever got the chance to talk face to face with the producers on Madden that we would teach them a thing or two about football. (While I don't share that sentiment) I came away with way more knowledge and understanding of video game football than when I walked into the room with. If anyone learned anything during that conversation it was me. I.Cummings was very informative and he answered all of my questions. Some thing that was a little surprising was for every question I had for him he had two of them for me.

Good things don't last for ever so he eventually had to leave and he went back up to the 6th floor and started working on 09 stuff. (With a pad full of notes that he had been taking during our conversation if that doesn't let you know they care I don't know what does.) It was a great exchange of ideas, comments, and concerns I was very impressed by Ian's knowledge of football, willingness to listen, and his commitment to making Madden the most Sim can it can be year in and year out.

I would first like to publicly thank D.Ortiz for joining us on community day he was on vacation and didn't have to hang out with us but he did anyway.

Ortiz came into the room and immediately jumped on the sticks with everyone.
I walked over introduced my self and asked him whats the big ticket item for Madden 09. In a heart beat he replied online franchises (then there was a long pause by everyone in ear shot of this) online franchises thats right. He actually brought it up before we did. (He said isn't that what you guys want)So we continued to talk and he expressed the need for a revamped online system and online franchises. I asked him what about online leagues and he replied if we can get online franchises in there we can get leagues in there as well. (made sense when I thought about it)

There you have it guys right from D.Ortiz's own mouth after our initial shock was over he continued to express that its our game. Just like us they are die hard football fans anything we want in the game. (If its possible and not a bad idea to start with) can and will be put in the game if we are organized and can show that its what the majority wants. The current way we do wish list is outdated and far to tedious to actually get anything done from them. So look for some major changes in how that aspect of the game is done. (Actually its already started)

Ortiz continued to talk and it became very clear that something happened in the relationship between the publishers and the producers. These guys have been going to bat for us since day one. I'm not going to repeat everything he said, but trust me they are just like us. If we like a feature they want to know about it we don't like a feature they want to know about that as well. But in a respectful manner. (No one wants to read flamming posts with no content)

Case in point the radio guy hes gone if they could have did something with him in 08 they would have. Me and Madscientist from MaddenMatrix.com expressed to Ortiz the need to have robust online profiles. That include depth charts, formation subs, and audibles. He was like sure ,but you won't be able to save depth charts schemes for multiple teams. We where like one or two is all we need.

Ortiz continued to elaborate on how important the relationship between the producers and us are. If we can show them whats important to us in a chart/ graph or some thing that he can take to those board meetings with him. He will do it and has been doing it. Its a fight between the publishers and the producers every year. The good thing to report is that the publishers are finally starting to see our side and the producers side of things. D.Ortiz, I.Cummings, and the rest of the gang can't just say well we want to put this in the game and that in the game. I wish that was the case, but it isn't everything has to be approved by some dude wearing a suit and tie who could probably give a damn about online franchises. Madden has a budget a big ass budget and someone has to decide who gets this amount of money who gets that amount of money.

My last question to him was how long do you guys work on the game during any given time. He stated that depends so I asked during crunch time how long do you guys work on an avg. day? While I can not repeat what his answer was trust me its longer than you or I work on any given day in the year.

Ortiz stayed with us for a couple of hours and even played Bobby Storm for push ups and lost. (I have a picture of him doing push ups, but I'm not going to put him on spot light like that) We all had a great time talking to Ortiz, playing Madden and expressing our concerns and overall joy of the game play with him. Ortiz really wanted to convey to us that its our game and they want it to be as sim as possible. He with out a doubt left a very good impression on everyone.

 

I know the majority of you are like who in the hell is A.White well you can call him Mr. Automation, M.Wildcat or a genius. This is the main man behind the play books and getting those crazy formations like the wildcat, emory and henry, and Nevada Pistol in the game. Now there are other parties involved who works on the play books with him, (no disrespect) but Anthony is the main man.

Do you guys remember the game spot article a couple of years back when the play books got that first major overhaul that article was about him.

If you noticed the play books in Madden are getting more and more like their real life counter parts. In Madden 09 expect to see a major jump in how robust the play books are because he is strictly working on Madden Next Gen from now on.


The first thing we talked about was R.Ryan and the Ravens defensive scheme. I was not ready for the bombs he was about to drop (If your a raven fan your going to love this) I first expressed my concern over the ravens play book and lack of formations and blitz packages that they use. He was like yeah I got some real big plans for the ravens play book next year I"m hoping to get a defensive play book for every team in the NFL eventually.


He then told me that R.Ryan had just left the studio a couple of months ago thanks the the NFL license EA can have coach's come and give feed back on the play books and even show Anthony some new plays even before you see them in real life. Him and Rex talked a ton about A.Thomas and mostly how the scheme works. He is even working on a system that would allow the Ravens to move around pre-snap without any manual user control. Can you say auto motion in the Ravens defensive play book. You won't just see it in the Ravens play book either the Broncos do a ton of shifting on defense as well. Anthony wants to make it so that J.Lynch comes down into the box on his own depending on the play.

Another thing thats already in Madden 08, but will be a big play book focus moving ahead in the future is to have truly unique play books with their own verbiage as well.

Instead of every play book having a single back formation and it being called that he is working on having the true verbiage that the team uses for that package. For instance if you look into the Colts play book this year you will see the single back double TE formation. But P.Manning, and T.Moore calls it DEUCE in their offense and thats what its called in Madden 08. Its the Colts version of that package and it has Colts only plays in it as well like PA 218 Marvin and Double China. The Colts also have DICE and DICE slot formations in the game. If you look around in some of the other play books you will see team specific formations and packages like PANTHER TRIPS. Remember J.Fox would put J.Peepers at WR from time to time last year well its in there. Just keep hitting X until you see DE wideout.

This is only the beginning if he can get approved for it (I will explain in my next article) expect to see a lot more of this. I had a blast talking to Anthony and his plans for future play book additions. (Talking to Anthony was like that first time you went online in Madden you thought you where the sh%t then you lost 46-7 and you realized you aren't the best player in the world I thought I knew a little bit about NFL schemes and play books turns out I don't know sh*t lol)He went back up stairs to continue working on the play books for 09.

But before we left he came back down with this stack of DVD's in his hand around 30 or so. It was all the game tapes form last years season. The NFL sends out these DVD's to all 32's teams. Its not the broadcast view though, if you have ever watched a lot of ESPN inside training camp. You have seen that overhead sky view all of the videos are taken from that view point. The NFL sends A.White all of them.

He also had this folder which contained drawing diagrams of plays that the Bengals ran last year. (He drew the diagrams himself after watching the game film) now he also gets the information on how many times the Bengals ran this formation last year and what plays that they ran out of it. Then this information is compiled and put into the game. So that when you are playing against the Bengals the cpu play calling will resemble what M.Lewis called last year on a week to week basis. If the I formation is ran 30% of the time on first down well in Madden its going to be run 30% of the time on first down.

Anthony's football IQ was literally through the roof I had a blast talking to him at in Orlando. He has one of the most tedious jobs at EA working on Madden. So what can you guys expect to see in the future possibly from a play book stand point. Truly unique team defensive play books for every team in the league, difference cadences and verbiage for different teams out of the same formation, auto motion on defense , and more package options in the play call screen. I have no idea how much stuff Anthony will be give the go ahead for to put into 09. Politics comes into play with every single dollar that is spent on developing Madden. If this is the type of stuff you like to hear and see in the game then let us know and we can rely the message to the producers. Who then can turn around and present these issues with the black suit and tie guys.




Final Impressions and thoughts from spending time with producers of Madden.


I came away from these interviews and conversations feeling completely satisfied with the team that is making Madden and their skills to put out the best game possible each year. I wish everyone could have been a fly on the wall during those conversations it was truly an eye opening experience and many of my preconceived notions where put to rest. Madden is in the right hands and is heading in the right direction. But these guys are not miracle workers. They are however very skilled in their areas of expertise and care about what we say more than the sales numbers each year. To them its our game and they have finally started to get the black suits to understand that.

D.Ortiz, I.Cummings, A.White, D-Cas, VJ Leblanc and the rest of the EA team has really big plans for Madden 09. But they had to get the game play to wear it is in 08 now we get the sides and desert I eluded to in my last article. The two main areas focus for 09 is online and presentation and I can say with supreme confidence that the guys I talked about above are the right people for the job. Think what ever you want about them personally everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But if its one thing these guys are not its lazy that couldn't be any further from the truth.


'09 looks like it is going to be the best Madden of all-time if they get everything in the game or '10 will anyway.