What’s the Future of the Madden Franchise?

No matter if you just don’t like EA SPORTS or you are mad about things that have been taken out of the Madden NFL Franchise this year, I think we can all agree that things are always changing with them. Now some of us like me feel like this development team in particular have an actual vision for this franchise and a plan on how this franchise will proceed in the future.

I can honestly say that before I never really felt like they had a plan, that I never knew what they were going to do next year. I’ve always came to that next year surprised at what they’ve done. This time around though I’ve already have had talks with developers of Madden NFL 13 and what they are already working on for 14 and beyond. Those types of interactions with devs never took place in my previous visits to the EA Studios in Tiburon. I was never confident that those people would even be in the same position that they were in before, but I feel really good about the team that they have put together right now. I really like Vic Lugo (Designer of the Infinity Engine) and had a lot of time to talk to him and he has shared some of the ideas he’s been working on for the future of Madden and they are things we’ve all been asking for. Things that are breakthroughs that us hardcore gamers are looking for. He’s shown them to me, had me try things out, had me give my suggestions and feedback on those things. I can’t guarantee that everyone will love Madden NFL 13 or Madden NFL 14, but I am confident that whatever product they put out if judged unbiasedly will be the best version on that console. What I mean is Madden 13 is going to be better than 12. Madden 14 is going to be better than 13 and future Madden games will be better than the one before even when switched to the new console. My only fear for this franchise is that guys move on and this team doesn’t stay in tact. I think the addition of former MLB: The Show Producer Kolbe Launchbaugh will pay off big dividends next year. I’ve talked to him and he has some real high ambitions for the future of the franchise.

In the following video, I got a chance to talk with Madden NFL 13 Executive Producer Roy Harvey and his vision. Check out what he thinks about the future of the franchise.

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Tags: future of madden, madden 13, roy harvey

About the Author

Shopmaster Shopmaster is a die-hard hardcore Madden Player. He also serves an EA SPORTS Game Changer that provides the community with help and information regarding Madden.

http://www.facebook.com/kevin.heasley1 Kevin Heasley

great interview shop
http://twitter.com/CruzacsVoice Jon Koenig

Grr. This guy is wordy, and shows excitement and glory in his eyes… but he really didn’t tell us anything. I realize he obviously couldn’t give specifics.. but, I guess it just left something more to be desired.
tweety21

Sgibs play with Madden 13 kinda ruined it for me..He was doing the same old glitch plays from 12 and they where still working
tweety21

Shop did you find out if a custom cam or fair play rules in the works for future Maddens?
- Shopmaster
  
  I can’t talk about any specifics.
gmitch23

I really think they should focus on little things to enhance the emotion and realism.
Surrounding Atmosphere- The sidelines could use
some life. I want to see players moving out of the way when the play runs out of
bounds. Teamates would catch each other and not opponets. If my guy breaks a
long run down the sidelines, I want to see my coach screaming alongside waving a
towel. The players heads should follow the ball so they dont just stand there
doing the same animation over and over.

Goaline and short yardage-the o-line and d-line
should pile up like it does in real life. Ball carries should sometimes reach
for the goaline/first down when being tackled. (at the risk of fumbling)Heck, even reach out for it sometimes on 3rd down.

DB/WR- been said many times before but they need to
jostle down the field. WRs should occastionally outright beat the DB even if in
the correct defense (just like in real life) There should be more realistic fade
route battle on both sides in the red zone. I want to see the Db’s get upset
when the drop the easy pick, hear the crowd go awww and gasp on close plays. WR should drop open passes sometimes, I cant remember that happening unless it was a RB. Heck I’ll even take some bobbled catches/drops.

Commentary- should recieve updates so it stays
fresh and up to date. Maybe even a second crew for Sunday/Monday night games.

Injuries-should be seen when it happens and players
should show concern by helping players off the field or taking a knee when they
are being tended to. (also would be a good time to throw in a cut scene of the
injury or another game) the crowd should go quiet until the player is to his feet then clap. (that should be easy, the crowd gets pretty quiet as it is)

Penalties- stats should be taken of teams real life
penalty percentage and have a flag thrown for penalties we may not actually
notice during game play according to how disciplined the team is. This would
enable more types of penalties to get called at a realistic level. Maybe we’ll think twice before playing with the Lions.

Build on the Infinity Engine- players should reach
out and try to grab ball carriers running by or reach for the QB when being
blocked. Not necessarily make the tackle but alter his direction. Even offensive
players should “reach” for the defender when missing a block. Foot planting has
to be a no brainer. That would make running the ball so much more fun. Foot planting could potentially remove the need for a juke button. A bad step in the wrong direction would get a defensive player shook out of his socks. This would also make agility a lot more relavent, maybe even more important than the all might speed rating. The most sucessful runners in the league make thier living by using quickness to make tacklers miss.Oh and
signature running animations, Adrian Peterson really uses his upper body when he
breaks long runs while Darren Sproles runs with a stiff upper body while his
legs are going extremely fast.
Just my thoughts. This probably isnt the best place to post this but here it is. This should be the future of Madden.
gmitch23

I really think they should focus on little things to enhance the emotion and realism.
Surrounding Atmosphere- The sidelines could use
some life. I want to see players moving out of the way when the play runs out of
bounds. Teamates would catch each other and not opponets. If my guy breaks a
long run down the sidelines, I want to see my coach screaming alongside waving a
towel. The players heads should follow the ball so they dont just stand there
doing the same animation over and over.

Goaline and short yardage-the o-line and d-line
should pile up like it does in real life. Ball carries should sometimes reach
for the goaline/first down when being tackled. (at the risk of fumbling)Heck, even reach out for it sometimes on 3rd down.

DB/WR- been said many times before but they need to
jostle down the field. WRs should occastionally outright beat the DB even if in
the correct defense (just like in real life) There should be more realistic fade
route battle on both sides in the red zone. I want to see the Db’s get upset
when the drop the easy pick, hear the crowd go awww and gasp on close plays. WR should drop open passes sometimes, I cant remember that happening unless it was a RB. Heck I’ll even take some bobbled catches/drops.

Commentary- should recieve updates so it stays
fresh and up to date. Maybe even a second crew for Sunday/Monday night games.

Injuries-should be seen when it happens and players
should show concern by helping players off the field or taking a knee when they
are being tended to. (also would be a good time to throw in a cut scene of the
injury or another game) the crowd should go quiet until the player is to his feet then clap. (that should be easy, the crowd gets pretty quiet as it is)

Penalties- stats should be taken of teams real life
penalty percentage and have a flag thrown for penalties we may not actually
notice during game play according to how disciplined the team is. This would
enable more types of penalties to get called at a realistic level. Maybe we’ll think twice before playing with the Lions.

Build on the Infinity Engine- players should reach
out and try to grab ball carriers running by or reach for the QB when being
blocked. Not necessarily make the tackle but alter his direction. Even offensive
players should “reach” for the defender when missing a block. Foot planting has
to be a no brainer. That would make running the ball so much more fun. Foot planting could potentially remove the need for a juke button. A bad step in the wrong direction would get a defensive player shook out of his socks. This would also make agility a lot more relavent, maybe even more important than the all might speed rating. The most sucessful runners in the league make thier living by using quickness to make tacklers miss.Oh and
signature running animations, Adrian Peterson really uses his upper body when he
breaks long runs while Darren Sproles runs with a stiff upper body while his
legs are going extremely fast.
Just my thoughts. This probably isnt the best place to post this but here it is. This should be the future of Madden.
http://twitter.com/CedDTP Cedric Veazie

I like Roy Harvey & his vision for Madden NFL Football. Madden has a bright future ahead.