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Today we start a new series called “Fixing:”, In which we will take a popular game title and brainstorm ways to make it a better game. In this first installment; we will discuss the Madden NFL series. The Madden NFL series is one of the most popular and globally recognized titles each and every year by gamers and non-gamers alike. As popular as Madden has become; it is still far from a perfect game and has flaws the same as every other annually released sports title. We see improvements each year to both the offense and on the defensive side of the ball, however, we have yet to see something truly innovative be brought to the table in terms of Special Teams play. Let’s dive into some ideas throughout the community as well as some of my own.
(Note: Some of the ideas presented in this article ARE NOT my own. They are the result of internal brainstorming sessions amongst a group of people which I will not identify unless they specifically want to comment. The ideas that ARE my own will be presented as such.)
Let’s face facts, field goal kicking in Madden is extremely easy. Whether it’s a 50+ yarder or a chip shot… if your kicker has the leg it’s an easy 3 points. In the NFL it isn’t quite that easy. Truth be told, in Madden we don’t have our jobs to worry about or a multi-million dollar organization to keep happy so if we have a 59 yard chance and we have a kicker with a strong leg… game on! No matter how you slice it, we must find a way to make field goal kicking percentages mirror those of the NFL. It’s not as simple as a new kicking mechanic, timing based mechanics have to work both offline and online. When there is latency involved (like there is in any sports game), that scenario becomes a tricky proposition.
Remove User Control
When I say take a page from freestyle/tournament Madden play, most of you will roll your eyes. But in nearly all organized tournaments, when your opponent kicks a field goal you MUST put your controller down to avoid any type of glitch/block attempt. Well that is exactly what Zac Neal (one of my fellow Game Changers) has suggested. Both users “put the controller down” as in make field goal attempts an AI controlled sequence based strictly off of Kicking Power, percentages, weather, wind, and traits. Sound crazy to you? Let’s dig a little deeper into what this could entail.
We could completely remove the accuracy rating and replace it with Short, Medium, and Long Accuracy. How these accuracy ratings could be figured might be based off of their successful attempts from each distance. If a kicker such as Matt Pater converts 60% of his 50+ yard field attempts then he would convert about the same percentage in the game. Now obviously other factors would go into that such as wind and weather conditions. Those of course would be up to the user to monitor. Kickers with higher consistency ratings would get the benefit of weather and wind affecting them less than other kickers in the league. Really there are many scenarios we could discuss (long snappers and holders could have an effect as well) as long as we could get expanded ratings into the game.
This also goes along with the defensive side of special teams. Blocked kicks are rare in the NFL but need to be represented in the game. Allowing the user to position players in an attempt to block kicks doesn’t work as it becomes an exploit. Blocked kicks and punts need to mirror the NFL in terms of frequency. This again should be a percentage and attribute based occurrence. Once again removing user control on both sides of the ball would help. For punts, remove user control for both sides until the punt is caught by the returner. This will anger those who go for the cheap returns by taking a blocker out of the blocking lane and use them as a lead blocker. But that tactic has been proven as an exploit so … no big deal… remove it.
The bottom line is that while we all crave user control, there are some instances where removing it will enable developers of all sports titles to bring the actual realism we require in our sports gaming life. I am a big proponent of user control but the end result should ALWAYS be a realistic approach. Doing this won’t alienate buyers and will actually move the game one step closer to a realistic experience while also eliminating one of the many irritating aspects of online play.
Have a better idea? Let us hear it!
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