There are sports games, and then there is Madden. For years, Madden NFL has been the flagship game coming out of Electronic Arts, and it’s regularly the top selling sports game in the United States. So it goes without saying that we’re looking forward to this year’s edition, which just happens to be coming out next Tuesday. So with the specter of the games release just over the horizon, we sat down with Madden NFL 11 Senior Producer Phil Frazier to discuss the changes to the upcoming version of the game.
GamesEyeView: How closely do you work with the NCAA team on implementing ideas to both franchises? Are there any features from NCCA that you’d like to incorporate into future versions of Madden?
Phil Frazier: Each game has separate design teams but in cases where it makes sense we work very closely with NCAA. The biggest example is gameplay. Both products are of course based on the same sport so we have a team that sits in the middle of Madden and NCAA that focuses 100% on gameplay. For the 11 product year both teams wanted to focus on locomotion and blocking and since our priorities were in-sync, the shared gameplay team coordinated the effort.
GEV: Fair or not, one of the complaints we hear from gamers about sports games in general is that often they are “little more than $60 roster updates.” When you go into production of Madden every year, what goals do you set to differentiate each year’s game from the previous version to ensure that gamers are getting their money’s worth?
PF: We’ve seen this feedback and of course think it’s not fair. Our goals are really simple. Add innovative and fun features that make the previous product obsolete. We know we’ve succeeded when a fan tries to play an older version of the game and can’t because he’s missing one of our new features. We’re confident GameFlow will be that feature for Madden NFL 11. I personally call 99% of my plays with this feature and it’s made going back to previous iterations of the game frustrating. On top of this, Madden is a HUGE product when you look at the volume of features available. We also push ourselves to add meaningful improvements to all features that are popular with our fans. Online Team Play is a major new feature for fans that might like a more cooperative online experience. GameFlow fundamentally changes the way that you select plays. Gameplanning is a great tool for our hardcore playbook experts. Locomotion and completely new blocking are key changes to the gameplay engine. And the list goes on and on. We’ve touched almost every aspect of the game.
GEV: What goes into determining a player’s rating? Do you ever get complaints from players about how you rated them?
PF: Many factors go into determining a player’s rating. Our rating czar, Donny Moore, is our expert in this category. In addition to being a designer on the team, Donny stays current with player movement in the NFL. Donny also watches every single NFL game on Sundays as well as hours of game films provided by the NFL. In looking at film and a player’s general situation (surrounding talent, injury status, etc…) he develops the ratings.
We get TONS of feedback from players on their ratings. Players usually complain that their speed rating isn’t high enough. Donny has been called directly by many players lobbying for an increase in their player rating. The voice mails are priceless.
GEV: How does the specter of a potential lockout effect the release schedule of next year’s game?
PF: We’re keeping an eye on the latest news regarding the labor situation in the NFL but at this point we’re 100% focused on delivering a smooth launch of Madden NFL 11. While the game has been manufactured, we are working very hard to make sure our online services are up and fully functional for our launch on 8/10. The design team already has some great ideas for the future and we’re looking forward to incorporating some great feedback from our passionate community in the coming weeks.
GEV: What new feature or improvement are you most excited about this year?
PF: For me it’s GameFlow. The fact that I can choose to have plays called for me automatically, based on authentic NFL gameplans, has fundamentally changed my experience with the game. Being able to focus on execution has been great. That and the fact that games can now be completed in less than 30 minutes! A close #2 for me is the addition of Gus Johnson as our new play by play announcer. Gus has been great to work with and has added some great enthusiasm to the product.
GEV: Could you explain what the “Gameflow” feature is and how it will speed up the gameplay?
PF: GameFlow is really simple. Between plays you have the option to choose GameFlow or traditional playcall. If you choose GameFlow, a play will be chosen for you based on an authentic NFL gameplay. For example, if you play with the Saints and it’s 1st and 10, a play the real Saints are likely to call in this situation will be called for you. As you approach the line of scrimmage we draw the play on the field for you and your coach explains the keys to that play through your headset. By removing the step of manually picking a play, game times go from just over an hour to less than 30 minutes. The feature works on both offense and defense and is even designed to work in head to head games without giving away which play has been selected to your opponent.
GEV: For the purists, will team/player stats and injuries be addressed as the actual NFL season progresses, creating a more true to life representation of the league?
PF: We will continuously monitor team and player performance in the NFL and will incorporate our thoughts into roster updates. If a player gets injured for a significant amount of time, we’ll remove him from the depth chart using the same process.
GEV: How will the 3-on-3 Online Team Play work?
PF: Online Team Play allows three people to join forces on one team against another team of up to 3 human players. Each person on your team will control a ‘squad’. The squads on offense are QB, RB, and WR, and on defense they are DL, LB, and DB. Each human player assigns himself to a squad and owns that position during the game. Communication is key. If you don’t communicate with your teammates you will likely see points going to the other team. Online Team Play has proven very popular and fun during some early events. The level of yelling and screaming as you talk to your team is out of control.
GEV: This year for the first time the Madden cover athlete was determined by a fan vote. How was it to work with Drew Brees, and (jokingly) do you now fear for his health this season?
PF: Drew has been an amazing cover athlete. We’ve had the pleasure of working with Drew on a number of activities including the intro video for the game and he’s a true professional. He did an amazing job on camera and really helped us shape the final product.
Drew is an amazing player and being an NFL QB means he’s always got his hands on the ball. Being such a key part of his team’s offense there is always some level of risk when he takes the field. Drew has done a pretty good job of avoiding contact in recent years and we hope he can continue that trend.
GEV: Madden release day has very much grown into an unofficial holiday amongst the devoted Madden audience. Are there any plans to commemorate this years launch, such as product tie-ins, commercials, events?
PF: The biggest is probably Madden Gras in New Orleans. The event honors Drew Brees, our first fan-voted cover athlete and will resemble an authentic New Orleans-style event. There will be a parade with floats, commemorative beads, and appearances by many former NFL superstars. We of course have a fantastic commercial lined up that also features many NFL athletes enjoying Madden NFL 11 with real fans. It’s great to see the amazing level of support for our product.
GEV: Lastly, was there anything you wanted to put into this game, that for one reason or another, just didn’t make the cut? Can we expect any of these features in future updates or DLC?
PF: There are always many features that hit the cutting room floor. Since the NFL season doesn’t wait for Madden’s release before it gets going, we have to work hard to release the game on time each and every NFL season. In the end we were extremely happy with GameFlow, new locomotion and block, Online Team Play, our new play by play guy Gus Johnson, and many other feature improvements. From top to bottom we’ve touched virtually every area of the game. We do have some items that we’re considering via DLC later down the road.
We’d like to thank Phil Frazier for taking the time to sit down with us and answer some questions. We’d also like to thank Julie Foster and Rob Semsey at EA Sports for setting this interview up. Madden NFL 11 will be available on August 10th. We’re currently working on a review for you all, so stay tuned.
Great interview. Was such a pleasure working with the team at EA on this one.