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by
Joe - jgand@pcfootball.net
8-16-04
Madden 2005
producer Jeremy Strauser was gracious enough to take time out of
his extremely busy pre-game-release schedule to answer some
questions compiled by visitors to our forums. We would like to
thank Mr. Strauser for once again addressing the queries of the
members of the PCFootball.net forums.
We would also
like to send Mr. Strauser, as well as all of the employees at
Tiburon our thoughts and our prayers. We hope that they, as
well as all of their family members and friends were able to
survive the devastation of Hurricane Charley.
Greetings
from all the gang here at PCFootball.net.
We
know that at this time of year you are probably very busy
putting the finishing touches on Madden 2005 before sending it
out the door. We would like to extend our congratulations to
you and your team on what we are sure will be a job well done.
We
are aware that the PC version of Madden won’t be out until
September 7th, so to that end we have some questions about the
game that we hope will whet the appetite of our community.
Thank you in advance for taking the time out of your busy
schedule to respond to our inquiries.
No
problem. Fire
away!
The
last five years have seen a disturbing trend of tech jobs
moving overseas. Do you think there is a danger of this
happening at Tiburon, or will Madden (an American Football
game) still continue to be made in
America
?
Electronic
Arts – Tiburon works hard each year to make sure we provide
the best football product out there with Madden, NCAA, and
NFL Street
. We hope to
continue working on these products for years to come.
We have used external developers on PC and GBA, with
the newest external developer (Exient) being based in the
UK
, and while they have done an excellent job, we picked them
for their technical expertise regardless of location, and
still handled design/production at our offices.
Will
we be able to make uniforms from the ground up?
We
still provide very detailed customization options in Madden
NFL 2005. The
uniform creation process is a lot like it was in 2004.
You can completely customize the helmet art as well as
the team logos.
Is
it possible to make custom game plans optional in multi-player
for those who don't like cheaters and for those who trust
there online opponents?
This
isn’t possible in Madden NFL 2005.
This is definitely something to consider for the next
version of the game.
Will
you be able to use custom teams in Franchise mode, and will we
ever be able to use them in Owner Mode?
One
of the big changes made to Franchise mode was the fact that
you can no longer turn the Owner Mode feature off.
There is no longer a separate Franchise Mode for those
that don’t want the Owner Mode features.
At this time, you cannot use custom teams in Franchise
mode. This seems
to be an important feature to some so we will definitely
consider it for future versions of the game.
There
are a lot of sites out there that create different teams and
rosters using Madden. Files are created to play with teams
from the XFL, USFL, WFL, and the NCAA. What does your team
think of sites like ours and football-gaming.com that has so
many different teams to choose from for the game, and do you
or your team ever download any of them?
We’re
happy that so many people enjoy the game enough to want to
provide sites like these.
The mod community is very large for the PC gaming
community and important to the long-term success of any
product.
We’ve
been hearing a few details about Madden 2005 here and there.
One of the new features we’ve heard about has been the
“hit stick” where you would be able to use the right
analog stick to deliver a crushing tackle, a la the body check
feature in NHL 2004. How well has this been working in
testing, how much of a difference will this make in defensive
play overall and how does this work into other defensive
“Playmaker” features?
Well,
it's been tested, re-tested and tuned all cycle long.
We've got it to a point where it is effective and fun
to use, but not so much that the only tackle you will see is a
hit stick tackle.
It
makes playing defense a lot more fun because you don't just
run into the ball carrier to tackle any more, you flick the
stick and try to really lay the wood.
It will definitely increase the chance for a fumble if
you time it right and you've got a good tackler to begin with,
but not too much so that it won't turn into an exploit.
This
is just one of the many elements that we’ve added to make
defense more effective. Defensive
Playmaker allows you to completely edit your play at the line.
Defensive Assignments allow you to match-up defenders
against specific offensive players.
DB AI was improved significantly as well.
Defenders make the right choices and will play much
more aggressively than ever before.
These and other defensive changes really make defense a
factor now.
According
to the Official Playstation Magazine, the new version of
Madden will also feature day fading into night as well as
changing weather conditions. Will we be seeing the same
effects in the PC version, and what video cards will support
these new bells and whistles?
Yes,
the changing lighting and varying weather conditions are
supported in the PC version.
The best part is none of these effects are video card
dependent.
At
the Game Developer’s Conference, we all heard about
Microsoft’s new basic programming platform, XNA. Supposedly
it is going to give everyone a common environment for
developing games, and even someday online play between PC
gamers and XBox gamers. What do you think this might mean for
the future of Madden, and how has the Madden development team
reacted to this news?
We’ve
only started to experiment with XNA, so we’ll have to see
what that holds for the future.
We’re very excited about this, and with being able to
launch Madden online play on the XBOX Live service for the
first time this year.
Later
this summer, the ApeXtreme is supposed to debut. It will be a
DVD Video Player and PC Gaming Console that will allow you to
simply pop in your PC title, and play it as if you were on a
PS2, XBox or Gamecube. Given the possibility of over 2,000
titles readily available for this new platform, what do you
think are the chances for its success in the marketplace?
We’ve
heard about this new devices as well and are definitely
interested in checking it out.
We focus all of our energy on the software side of
things so we can’t speculate on it’s success.
Besides
Apex, Alienware is also getting into the PC console market
with their own machine that will be powerful enough to run
Doom 3 and Hal-Life 2 in all their glory. Given these new
platforms and the advent of XMA, do you think that your
competitors like Microsoft, 989 Sports, Midway and Sega might
throw their hats back into the PC gaming ring depending on how
successful sales are?
Hard
to say, we have been pleased to support the PC football gaming
community through recent history.
We’re excited about the new hardware on the horizon.
With this new hardware, we’ll be able to innovate in
even more ways when it comes to cutting edge graphics in a
football game.
Everyone
involved with gaming knows about the theft of the Half-Life 2
source code. Do you ever worry that the same thing could ever
happen at Tiburon with the code for Madden?
Of
course, we’re paranoid about things like this and take
security very seriously to try to avoid things like this.
A
question for us roster creators. We’re all assuming that all
of our artwork from previous versions will be able to be used
in Madden 2005. Are we right, and how easy or difficult will
it be to create custom rosters this year? Will we see more of
the same as we had in Madden 2004, or will it be a case of
“and now for something completely different?”
Yes
you are right. Custom
art will work exactly as it did in 2004.
The roster system is the same as well.
We did add the ability to edit player positions as
well.
What
is the progress on an online franchise feature, and if it is
not available this year, what tips can you give us that would
make online franchises easier to deal with for owners, league
commissioners, etc?
Online
Franchise didn’t make it into Madden 2005.
We’re always evaluating new things for future
versions and I’m sure this will be on that list.
To keep things easier for the owners, etc…, we’ve
kept the game logs the same.
You shouldn’t have to change your current methods for
handling an online league/franchise.
We
are assuming that the accelerated clock will be back in Madden
2005, but what other features will we be seeing from previous
Madden incarnations?
We
generally don’t remove features unless something new takes
its place. Most of
the features that existed in 2004 are still present in 2005,
including the accelerated clock.
The
Madden Challenge seems to be a big hit with the fans, but it
only features the PS2 version. Given the development of XMA
and the possibility of PC and XBox gamers playing each other
online someday, what are the possibilities for a PC/XBox
version of the Madden Challenge Tournament happening
eventually?
This
is definitely something to consider down the road.
Right now, the PS2 community is our largest group and
the game play is really cross-platform, so we use the PS2 as
the platform for the Madden Challenge.
We've
been hearing some good things about the new "storyline
feature" in franchise mode for Madden 2005. Will the
stories that are depicted in this new feature, game re-caps,
team rumors, etc, be able to be saved to a text or html format
so that they could be used on online franchise sites?
Storyline
Central is a great new feature and really helps in the
presentation of Franchise Mode. With
local and national newspapers, a PDA, and the EA SPORTS Radio
Show, we’re bringing everything that’s happening in the
Franchise right to you. Unfortunately
we do not add Storyline Central elements to the franchise logs
this year. This is
definitely something we will look to add down the road.
Whenever
we go to the Madden homepage, we see all of the platforms save
for the PC and PS1 versions. Should we be worried that those
platforms won't come out this year or are we just being
paranoid?
The
PC and Playstation platforms are listed on the Madden page
however we keep the contents locked until the game is about to
ship. Check back
often (Madden2005.com) to get updated information on all
platforms. The PC
and Playstation products will be shipping soon, no chance that
they won’t.
Will
we be able to use created teams in "owner mode"? If
not in the 2005 version, what are the chances that we would be
able to use them in "owner mode" in future versions
of the game?
Unfortunately
there will be no created teams in Owner Mode on PC.
We agree that this would be an important thing to have
so we’ll consider it for any future versions of the game.
The
guys over at NCAA 2005 have done some great things with
respect to the dynasty mode. Specifically disciplining players
if they get out of line to keep the NCCA off your back. Will
we see something like that in a future version of Madden with
players violating the NFL drug policy, DUI's, or any other
activity that is considered outside the law?
We
agree that the new sanctions feature in NCAA is a great
addition to their product.
We obvious have to be careful when dealing with
subjects like you mention, especially when it comes to real
players in Madden vs. NCAA.
Additionally, we work closely with the NFL and Players
INC, so we have to make sure their input is fully considered
on subjects like this.
Right
now contract negotiations in franchise mode are pretty basic
with a price and length of contract. Could we see incentive
clauses and prohibited activities (skydiving, pickup
basketball, riding a motorcycle, etc) included in a future
version of Madden?
We’re
always looking for ways to improve all elements of the game.
At the same time, we need to make sure these elements
don’t become too complicated for our new fans.
This is a great idea and is sure to be considered when
designing Franchise in future versions.
If
you go into certain gaming magazines you will spot some
advertisements for colleges where you can learn how to create
games. Ads for UAT, Fullsail and The Academy of Art University
can be found in PC Gamer for example. What would you recommend
to anyone who is looking to get into game development or
design as a starting point?
If
you are interested in a career in game development, these new
schools are definitely a good start.
Though not a requirement, these schools give you the
ability to get some good experience using skills that are
required in this business.
We search for and hire talented individuals every day,
in all sorts of disciplines: programming, art, design,
testing, etc. Check
out http://jobs.ea.com to
stay current and try to get your foot in the door.
Again,
thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk
with us, and we hope that this edition of Madden is successful
as the others, if not more so.
Thanks.
We hope Madden 2005 not only meets, but exceeds your
expectations, we’re very proud of how it is shaping up.
*Editor's note: this is not an "interview". This was not
conducted live, or in real-time. There was no back-and-forth
interaction, nor forum for follow-up questions. What we did is
compiled the best questions submitted by our forum members,
emailed the list to Mr. Strauser, and he answered them and sent
them back.
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