Madden 09 blog on play call screen changes
May 6, 2008 by pastapadre
A producer blog has been posted for Madden 09 which goes over the new play call screen in what it displays as well as the options within it. Included in that is replays and challenges, displayed stats, return of formation subs, and bluff mode when choosing plays.
It is always great to shoot for the stars when designing, but usually reality sets in at some point and the design ends up getting pared back due to technical limitations. In this case however a combination of creative thinking and hard work got us to a point of over delivering on this feature. I am very proud of our team for beating the tech issues that we were facing and helping give us a play call that screams Next Generation! Take a look- I think you’ll love this!
You can read the full blog and view several new screenshots of the play call screen here.
Thats cool man.Shaboo
I guess this is better than a background showing the stadium with a slow framerate
Cool stuff. I like not having to pause the game to make changes or view stats.
interseting with some of the bluffing and sub options. I really like the fact that it’ll be more interesting than watching the blimp view while your opponent picks a play or adjusts packages…the stat and replay cards will be saweeeeet!!!
Good stuff, an elegant design solution that makes the game more accessible to newbs without dumbing it down for vets. Well done, guys.
notice the three stripes on the patriots socks this year..
yo what is this ea can never get player models right in 06 and 07 they were way too big 08 i admit were not that bad but these are way too small vince wilfork looks a good 190 pounds?!?!?!? anyway i know its early and the small feautures are being released but ea sports need to fix the important things like player models,linebackers reacting to passes far from them, no penalties like face mask and make the penalties look real every call looked so bad
people complain about signature throwing styles when in reality most QB’s have pretty much the same “over the top” motion…except for Rivers and VY. Most young signal callers have to adjust their throwing motions for the next level. What they should concentrate on is player likenesses like Wilfork being waaaaay too skinny. When I play NBA2k, I know who the players are w/o looking at #’s or names. GB’s Hawk, Pitt’s Polamalu, Buff’s Lynch all have hair styles that alone seperate them. Some guys have sleeves and others don’t. Tattoos,etc,etc,etc.
Aweasome!
umm…it took them 3 YEARS to give a “next gen feel” to the play calling screen….so when are they going to start working on giving the gameplay/animations a next gen feel?
one thing i just remebered and regy brought it up they dont give players tattos in next gen buy in last gen they do exactly just one of many reasons why i have 360 and ps2
thank u football gods they brought back the bluff play selection where each button represent a play.I hated sitting next to a person playing and i had to go through plays fast to make him guess what play im picking.I like what im reading when it comes to this.I hope all these features will be there an not strip.
for online play^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Since the game isn’t officiated, coaches should be able to get away with just about any formation. Heh.
this is something EA has done right. it looks good, does not dumb the game down, and still allows them to reach a broader audience.
i just hope that the gameplay/experience makes the game worth buying. i want to see long hair, sleeve tats, refs, some sort of progressive injury system, some sort of progressive fatigue system. and… i want the gameplay to feel like the NFL, and not suck like it did last year pre-patch.
Still, EA did well here. hope the rest isn’t hype.
BA. love how they went back to the basics with the play calling, how each play has it’s own specific button. good job EA. My buddies and I used to have to look away from the screen every time we picked plays because the old bluff didn’t work for us sometimes.
Does it bother anybody else that after a play is over and in that (PIP) window it show only the offense stats? Why is there no mention of who made the tackle?
This is what it should look like in my opinion :
Example - Peterson with the carry for 5yds, tackled by A.J. Hawk.
So if there is a gang tackle we know who made the tackle, or just in general so we know who is making the play.
This is something that has been a long time coming, and I like the changes from what I’ve seen. The whole after-play interface is a refreshing change - like Pasta said in an earlier post, the less we have to hit ’start’ button, the better.
KMart2180 wrote:
“cough” in 2k5 “cough”…but yeah I like what im seeing in the new playcall screen, looks nice. But about this gameplay thing, we’ll see.
Hey, I’m a big NFL2K5 fan, and thought APF was pretty damn good too. No one would ever accuse me of being a EA proponent or Madden Lemming
I will say I really like this playcalling screen, and along with the new lighting engine, and removal of the radio announcer the game will present itself pretty well
I’m assuming gameplay is gonna be about the same …
Online: I wish that all gamers have to achieve a certain amount of skill points before you can use the big time teams. Like in Call of Duty, you have to rank up to use better guns or perks. How come you cant have like a ladder system or star achievement, before guys can just run to the Pats. You have to use every team online, get a certain achievement with the team, and you unlock a new level of teams. For one there would be more team usage, and less “I win or I quit/dc gamers”. The love for the game would show online. Gamers might discover teams that they like instead of always ‘copying’ trends. You guys might like my Jets this year…
Maybe gamers will try harder or grow balls and stick it out with their real favorite team.
Its amazing how every stadium is filled every week, but you come online and you face the Vikings four times in the morning and three more times in the evening. I’ve never played the Texans online. lol
Darn! I liked the old one!
Playcall screen on advanced should just default to having all the plays highlighted with different buttons. That is a great feature and should just be the default.
I like having the stats on the playcall screen but I hope it doesn’t take place of having these stats appear during the game. I still very much want in game stat overlays.
Hopefully, the transition between post-play and the playcall screen is smooth, as is the transition from playcall screen to the new play.
Funny, how they highlight the “innovation” of having formation subs right on the playcall screen. That used to be a standard on last-gen.
Really a lot of the things they implemented should have been in the game from the beginning, since they were in the last-gen. Most of it is just EA bringing something back and claiming it is a new feature again.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they are there. I just think they should have been there all along. Regardless, Madden has a long way to go.
yeah, it’s a cool deal. A small thing, but I always thought it was kind of cheating to be able to pause the game (and the play clock) to make subs when in reality these have to be made real time. Now I have the option to try to get this in. A small victory for me anyway.
Also like that I can see the replay.
Wow! That blog sure does have lots of exclamation marks! That must mean Madden 09 will be great! I can’t wait!
Oh wait! Yes I can!
This is good stuff. I am hoping there are still in-game overlays with player stats. Doesn’t have to happen after every play but when players hit a milestone, either career or single-game wise….
For example, Shaun Alexander gets his 1,000th yard for the Bengals (you heard it here second), that a screen of him lining up for the next play with his YTD stats reflecting his accomplishment.
Oh, just over eight weeks and counting for NCAA Football…Hard to believe…
Man i wish this game had OTP. You think this could be an addition, or would they of told us this by now Pasta?
wow why are they using the most overrated rb in nfl as a demo. adrian peterson is not as good as people say he is
lol you people complaining are hilarious
How will this option work online or offline in multiplayer mode? If you look at the screens it only looks like this PIP is for single player, because it doesnt give the other multiplayer a chance to call their offense or defense.
Can someone please explain?