Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

[Steve_OS]

GoMadden has posted an interview with Ian Cummings, Creative Director of Madden NFL 11.

GoMadden: "Why was it important for the team to slow down development of Franchise and Superstar modes this year? What kind of hurdles had to be overcome that were different from previous seasons?"

Ian: "In simple terms, what we have learned by listening to our community is that people are getting bored. The data backs this up in the fact that less than 10% of our Franchise gamers even make it past year 2, and less than 3% of our Superstar users make it past year 2. As the previous design teams rushed to get Madden NFL 06 and Madden NFL 07 to market, they were forced to make the decision of using rather old technology from PS2-days to create Franchise and Superstar. So as a design team we made the decision to not make any major upgrades to this very fragile (and difficult to update) system and instead focus more on online and gameplay and dedicate people towards planning and working for the future. We have already built one of the deepest console career modes in history with NFL Head Coach 09, and we learned a lot of lessons from that product, so moving forward I am really excited with what we can accomplish once we get a solid foundation and better architecture in place."

[davep]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

"In simple terms, what we have learned by listening to our community is that people are getting bored."

Yep.

[PantherBeast_OS]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

Good interview with Ian. This gives me hope that franchise mode next year is going to be much better then it was in the past. I'm looking forward to next year. I just feel that they are going to do their best to revive franchise mode and make it much better then it has ever been before. Good interview. Thanks for posting Steveo and thanks alot Ian.

[jfsolo]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

I hope I'm wrong, but my gut is telling me that it may not be until Madden 13 when we see the vastly improved Franchise mode. If so, that's when I'll consider buying another Madden game.

[Steve_OS]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

KEY POINTS

• Madden takes an official stance on "rocket catching," and advises players to learn how to defend it (ie: it's not going anywhere, despite early concerns). This is a big topic in the Madden community.

• Whether or not future Madden games use EA's Live Broadcast technology, will depend on how well it is received, and how often it is used in games like EA MMA.

• Staggering stats back up why Madden NFL has taken a more long-term approach toward franchise and superstar mode this season.

• Ian Cummings believes most "folks" would consider a first-person camera a gimmick, however they are of course mulling over the possibility in the future pending whether or not they can work out some issues a first-person camera system brings.

• Madden 11's Madden Ultimate Team card game mode will likely be expanded further at some point in the season, although details as to what that means are slim. Signals are that gamers will get even more out of Madden Ultimate Team later on than simply what is packaged in the release.

• A rather PC response to discussion of real-time physics, however it is still the first time (that I am aware of) that Ian has openly talked about its possible inclusion in future Madden games.

[The Yurpman]

I apologize if I'm getting the wrong "vibe", but essentially Ian is saying that we (the gamers) are complaining that franchise mode was lacking (hence the reason less then 10% get past year one), so instead of IMPROVING franchise/superstar mode EA just decided to forget about fixing it altogether and instead moved on to other things to work on? Boy that makes sense...

So I buy a new car and the steering doesn't work properly, hey at least in next years model the brakes will be outstanding!

[DLight03]

I apologize if I'm getting the wrong "vibe", but essentially Ian is saying that we (the gamers) are complaining that franchise mode was lacking (hence the reason less then 10% get past year one), so instead of IMPROVING franchise/superstar mode EA just decided to forget about fixing it altogether and instead moved on to other things to work on? Boy that makes sense...

So I buy a new car and the steering doesn't work properly, hey at least in next years model the brakes will be outstanding!

Note quite. What Ian is saying is that instead of simply making the same old small updates to franchise and superstar, they're going to uproot the system entirely and blaze a new path. To do that, they're taking a break from the mode this year, to get a head start on the new mode(s) for next year.

[Cryolemon]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

My vibe from that interview is that Ian doesn't believe a real time physics engine is possible on this gen of consoles.

[SoxFan01605]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

I apologize if I'm getting the wrong "vibe", but essentially Ian is saying that we (the gamers) are complaining that franchise mode was lacking (hence the reason less then 10% get past year one), so instead of IMPROVING franchise/superstar mode EA just decided to forget about fixing it altogether and instead moved on to other things to work on? Boy that makes sense...

So I buy a new car and the steering doesn't work properly, hey at least in next years model the brakes will be outstanding!

No, what he's saying is that because we are bored and dissatisfied with the mode as is, minor improvements wouldn't do much to push it forward.

Instead, it's pushing other stuff that is closer to being "there" (in Ian's/Ea's view, at least) and use what they've learned form research and NFL HC to push a deeper franchise mode in the future.

Whether or not that pans out or not is another story entirely, but I think that was the vibe of his response to that, not that it's being ignored or skipped.

As for Real Time Physics I think that he genuinely doesn't see it as truly viable right now...that's kind of been his tone all along.

[scitychamps87]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics with Ian Cummings

in terms of rtp this is sad. i really am a huge believer in ian cummings but his tone about rtp can be taken 2 ways:
1. negative : ian truly doesnt think rtp is possible and or worth it this generation,
2. positive : ian however did say that ea has looked into it and is playing very close attention to ea games that already have rtp. and also imo i think he really doesnt want to or cant (embargo) go into too much detail about madden nfl and the inclusion of rtp. his answer really wasn't too clear. so we'll have to see.


i personally hope rtp is included in some form for madden 12 or 13.

[berad88]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

A lot of those questions he answered very cautiously. Not showing any signs of leaning towards a yes or no.

I understand in his position he has to be very careful on how he deals with questions.

[swanlee]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

My vibe from that interview is that Ian doesn't believe a real time physics engine is possible on this gen of consoles.

Well it has already been done,it may not be possible for the Madden Engine to handle it but that doesn't mean it is not possible as another game has done it with great on field results.

[berad88]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

Right, I think the other guy ment that it is not possible on current consoles due to how many collisions happen at the same moment in football. In football there is constant contact somewhere on the field where other sports have moments of contact.

[swanlee]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

Right, I think the other guy ment that it is not possible on current consoles due to how many collisions happen at the same moment in football. In football there is constant contact somewhere on the field where other sports have moments of contact.

Huh? there is already a football game out with realtime physics, multiple hit real time tackles etc.

[XtremeDunkz]

Re: Madden NFL 11 Interview: Real-Time Physics and More with Ian Cummings (GoMadden)

dissapointed in that interview. So they are planning to expand ultimate team at some point this year but still can't add anything to OF? And they won't consider Live Broadcast important if EA MMA doesn't have success with it? I don't understand the way EA does things.