First Look: Madden NFL 12 Presentation

It's an October Sunday in sunny Tampa, Florida. But this is no ordinary Sunday, it's game day! The clock strikes one o'clock and without warning, you hear the canons being fired from the pirate ship. That can only mean one thing. It's time for the Bucs to hit the field.

Two rows of cheerleaders form a lane and led by Captain Fear and a group of flag runners, Tampa Bay storms the field. The player introductions conclude with the face of the franchise as the PA announcer says: "Your quarterback, from Kansas State, number five, Josh Freeman!"

The crowd erupts as one final canon shot booms throughout the stadium. Raymond James Stadium has never felt so alive. The 'Madden' franchise has never felt this alive.

This emotion is exactly what you get with Madden NFL 12 and it's not exclusive to the Buccaneers. Every one of the 32 NFL franchises has a very custom, unique, and most importantly AUTHENTIC pregame introduction. I was lucky enough to sit down with art director Mike Young it didn't take long to understand the goal for this year: nail every single detail.

How detailed are we talking? Young and his team studied for hours to make sure nothing was missing during pregame introductions. "We even matched the different (shapes and sizes) boxes that teams use for their pyro" Mike said.

The presentation enhancements for Madden NFL 12 don't just stop with pregame improvements, that's just the beginning. Each game will begin with a gorgeous, over the top, exterior blimp shot of the stadium. Even the surroundings of the stadium are true to life. For example, Browns Stadium is right on the North Coast Harbor and yes, there is even a barge docked in the water.

Madden NFL 12 also brings you a customized EA SPORTS television broadcast style. What I mean by that, is that banners, overlays, and stats are presented very similarly to what you'd expect to see on a true television broadcast, but EA SPORTS has tweaked that and made it something very original. Along with that TV broadcast style, comes specific camera angles that you might recognize. Kickoffs, field goals, and a few other areas of the game all use the same camera angles that you would see on game day.

The overall graphics for the game also received a major boost. The detail that goes in to each and every player is truly remarkable. Also, very noticeable in the build I played was the field degradation and get this, helmet degradation! That's right, those beautiful, shiny, unblemished helmets you see in pregame are quickly replaced by marks and scuffs the players get during each collision. Very impressive to see.

Well that's all for this time. There's still plenty more information to come in the weeks and months going forward. I would love to hear your thoughts and impressions. Please feel  free to comment or shoot me an @ mention to www.twitter.com/JStein2469. Madden NFL 12 comes out August 30th.

First Look: Madden NFL 12 Gameplay

Hey Madden fans! My name is Jake Stein. I'm a member of the EA SPORTS Game Changers program and recently was invited out to Tiburon for a hands on look at Madden NFL 12. The hardest part of this blog might be where to begin, but here we go!

The very first thing that jumps out to me when playing Madden NFL 12 is the enhanced tackling system. The central gameplay team gave themselves a goal at the beginning of the development cycle: eliminate suctioning, warping, and sliding. The way this goal was achieved can be summed up in one sentence; collision doesn't take place until contact is actually made between ball carrier and defender. This can be felt in multiple aspects of the game from how the O-line and D-line interact, to wide receivers diving for balls that they would normally just speed up to catch, but most of all, you feel this with tackling.

Call it Pro-Tak 2.0, call it whatever you want. The point is this; you aren't down, until you're down! Let me provide a few examples that I was able to see in only a few short hours of playing. LeGarrette Blount, running back for the Bucs, is running up the middle. He receives a tackle that would normally have begun a canned animation of the ball carrier losing his footing, putting his arm down, and picking up a few extra yards. What happens now in Madden NFL 12 is I broke the tackle, started to lose my balance, but this time after a few yards (and no other defender around to finish me off), Blount regained himself, giving me complete control over him once again. Amazing!

This next example still brings a smile to my face. I was on defense, playing as the defensive tackle. Ball is snapped and I start my rush by swimming over the right guard. I now have a clear path to the quarterback. He tries to escape but it's too late, my quick penetration and speed has resulted in a sack, but the play isn't quite over. Before I can completely bring the QB down, a fellow defensive lineman comes in and triggers yet another tackle animation, this one jars the ball loose and I recovered the fumble.

What I can't stress enough with this new tackling system is the smoothness that it operates with. Everything seems so fluid, so natural. One thing that I know frustrated gamers in the past was not being to re-engage in a ball carrier who you could tell was about to break out of a gang tackle. I can assure you, those days are gone come August 30th.

The next big leap in Madden this year is the improved AI, specifically zone defense. Players no longer are restricted to playing just a certain part of the field, regardless of the routes being run. They now can adapt on the fly. The best way I can showcase this is with another example. I called Cover 2 and my opponent came out in a spread formation with one running back. The back was running a wheel route behind the two receivers on the left that were clearing him out. Ronde Barber bumps the running back coming out of the backfield but instead of just turning him loose after that, starts running with the back and makes an over-the-shoulder interception. Barber knew he had no other offensive threat to account for and stuck with his man and made a play on the ball.

Tuned up defenses and better tackling does not automatically equate to offenses being at a disadvantage. Defenses playing true to form allows the offense to take what the defense is giving them. I can't tell you how many times I said to Justin Dewiel, Senior Community Manager for EA SPORTS, "That's where the ball should go. That guy should be open against that defense." Routes such as the 'deep in' and 'comeback' were two routes that I had a lot of success with and that wasn't the case in the past.  Another thing that sticks out and makes a huge impact on the game is the addition of dive catches. Nothing makes the receiving game feel more realistic than seeing your guy lay it all out for a ball and sometimes make the catch, and other times just miss it!

Lastly, I want to throw out some props to the Madden team. They have already updated the game to include rule changes for the upcoming 2011 NFL season. Kickoffs were appropriately moved up to the 35 yard line and all scoring plays are subject to a booth review. After I scored a nice, tip toe along the sideline, touchdown, the booth review cut scene triggered. I looked at Justin and asked, "Did you challenge that?" And that's when I remembered the rule change. Attention to detail and it's only April can only be a good thing!

May I throw in one last quick tidbit? A long-time community requests has finally made its way into Madden NFL 12: custom playbooks. You will be able to go through every playbook in the game and pick out the plays that best fits you and combine those all into one playbook of your own. And better yet, you can take custom book online!

Thanks so much for reading my impressions on gameplay. Even more details will be emerging as the weeks and months go by. Feel free to leave a comment or even shoot me an @ mention to www.twitter.com/JStein2469. Madden NFL 12 comes out August 30th.

Major presentation and graphical upgrades

Hi, I’m Mike Young, Art Director of Madden NFL 12.  In this blog I’m going to outline Madden’s major presentation and graphical upgrades.  In reading reviews of Madden NFL 11, we weren't satisfied with "Madden looks good as ever”; we wanted to give you those big time “wow” moments.  Everything we focused on is true to the NFL and what YOU the fans have been begging for!  We believe Madden NFL 12 is our biggest leap forward ever, and I think you will agree once you’ve seen what we have in store.

Pregame

The first major addition to presentation is a totally revamped pregame package, including authentic player entrances for all 32 NFL teams.  All of the run-out details are featured, including tunnels, inflatables, pyro, cheerleaders, mascots, flags, vehicles, and animals.  Whether your team has a no frills introduction like the Steelers or an over the top entrance like the Broncos, we have the details covered. The five foot Auger Hawk “Taima” in Seattle, the giant inflatable Bear in Chicago, the Miller Light Club in Dallas, the huge inflatable Viking ship in Minnesota, the chopper with a sidecar in Indy, the Cowboys cheerleaders and the Warpaint in KC…it’s in the game.  In addition to having  the accurate details for each team’s entrance, the presentation of these run-outs is superb.  Every scene has been filmed just like they would on game day by two of the best cinematographers the NFL Films has to offer.  (More on this later)

Lighting

Lighting has also been totally overhauled this year.  New to the game is Linear Lighting.  This was a big hit in NCAA Football 11 and now Madden NFL 12 is linear.  The benefits are obvious in the images below.  True NFL colors are now a reality.  In the past, colors would shift values and hues in unpredictable ways; now they match what you would see on an HDTV.  The second benefit of linear lighting is we can now accurately depict high contrast broadcast lighting while preserving rich details in the bright and dark areas.  In comparing Madden NFL 11 and 12 below, you can clearly see the huge difference this makes in the visual quality of the game.

In addition to linear lighting, we have brought back progressive lighting and it is better than ever.  Watch as the sun moves across the sky and shadows creep across the field.  There are now accurate sun positions for every stadium.  In franchise mode you will see accurate start times, factoring in time zones and the shortening day as winter progresses.  Other details like brand new skies, revamped helmet materials, a real time ball lighting solution, lens flares, bloom, and new stadium light flares help make this the best lighting in Madden NFL to date.

Authenticity

Authenticity is always a big focus for the art team and this year we took things to the next level.  Player proportions have been overhauled including a new dynamic head and neck scaling system that makes extreme body sizes like 6’4” 264 lbs Brandon Jacobs and 5’6” 190 lbs Darren Sproles accurate for the first time in Madden NFL.  In the past Sproles would have felt like a child because his head would be too small while Jacobs would not feel as big because his head was too large.  In addition, we now have the ball scale 100% accurate.  Before it was 20% too large and looked like a beach ball.  I can't emphasize enough how great a difference these things make in presenting an authentic NFL look.

For those of you who love equipment, we’ve heard you and we have added tons!  Flack Jackets, back plates, the green dot, four new helmets—including new models from Rawlings and Xenith—more than 20 new facemasks and more shoes—including Adidas and Under Armour for the first time.  Uniforms have been reworked for a new level of authenticity that includes wrinkle details, material textures, and colors.

Of course, there is more to getting your favorite player right than what they look like, and that is why we’ve added new player specific animations, such as new running and throwing styles, so Mike Vick runs like Mike Vick, and Tim Tebow throws like Tim Tebow. More authentic player celebrations have been added as well, including Aaron Rodgers’ signature Championship Belt pose.

Thanks to our partners on NCAA Football, we also have 3D grass and it looks fantastic.  In addition, the players will now feel like they are actually interacting with the field.  We have added a new photorealistic uniform degradation system that includes helmet scratches and grass stains.  On top of that, players now kick up grass, divots, pellets, water, or snow depending on the surface.  The interaction is not limited to just feet either.  Dive head first into the end zone with DeSean Jackson and send snow and the pylon flying.

For those of you who love stadiums we now have the rights to Soldier Field so expect this to look great.  We have also added flags to the tops of stadiums including the legendary 12th Man Flag in Seattle.

True Broadcast

One of the things I think Madden fans will be most excited about is our broadcast presentation.  Our mantra was “Go to the experts.”  You don't want a game developer’s version of an NFL broadcast, you want the real deal.  We studied with multiple CBS football directors by having the entire presentation team studying inside the truck with unlimited access.We even got input from our own Hall of Fame broadcaster and namesake John Madden. Highlights include real broadcast camera locations for every stadium, all new stadium exteriors (seen more than 10 times per game on SNF), virtual cameras, virtual director logic, and new broadcast graphics designed by the geniuses behind MNF, SNF, and ESPN’s Sports Center.

The improvement I am most excited about is our virtual cameras. Using EA's proprietary camera capture technology, DCAM, we were able to create scenes as shot by actual NFL Films cinematographers. DCAM is very similar to the technology used by James Cameron to film virtual scenes in Avatar. For Madden NFL 12, we filmed 100 unique scenes in 4 days to produce close to 700 new cameras. You, like everyone else, will notice these right away.

NFL Films have revolutionized the way we watch football over the years. We've consulted with experts in their field in the past, but could never truly put their work in our game. Now with DCAM, we've been able to capture their precise movements and create truly authentic cameras. Now the steadicam work you see in Madden NFL 12 will match precisely what you see in broadcasts and in NFL Films productions.

Overall, this year is going to feel completely fresh with all new cameras, new scriptables, new replays, and new broadcast graphics.

NFL Films Cinematographer Dave Dart filming the trophy presentation at the Super Bowl in Madden NFL 12.

That’s all for now, I hope it gets you excited for Madden NFL 12.  I look forward to going more in-depth on some of these features in the coming months.

All New Collison System In Madden 12

Hey there, Madden fans.  Welcome back for another great year of Madden NFL Football!  With the NFL Draft upon us, it’s a sign that the NFL season will be here before you know it.  That is, of course, if the owners and players can work something out before the season begins.  But, have no fear Madden Nation, no matter what happens this year with the real NFL , Madden NFL 12 will have a full season ready to go come August 30^th.  The development team here at Tiburon has been hard at work and we are excited to talk about some of the new gameplay features and improvements that we have been working on for Madden NFL 12. 

Don't forget to check out the Gameplay Playbook here for more information.

There’s an old cliché in football that has seemingly been around forever:  Defense Wins Championships.  That, however, hasn’t always been the case for the recent versions of Madden.  So thinking about what we wanted to do for Madden NFL 12, we decided that it was long overdue to give the defensive side of the ball some love and attention. 

 One of the areas of the game that we felt needed some major improvements was tackling on defense.   The amount of warping, sliding and suction that occurred during tackles was painful and frustrating to watch over the past few years.  With that in mind, we created an all-new collision system in which tackles will only trigger once contact is actually made with the ball carrier, which of course is how tackles occur in real life.  With suction, warping and sliding being removed from the game, you will no longer see ball carriers get sucked into tackles by engaged defensive lineman when trying to run through a hole.

This new tackle collision system also allows us to factor in momentum.  In previous versions of the game, there were situations where a ball carrier and a defender would be running full speed at one another only to see them collide and fall gently to the ground as if it were a regular tackle that played from a foot away.  This year in Madden NFL 12, momentum will be factored into play and will be an important part of which direction the tackle will carry the ball carrier.  The momentum of the tackle will be figured by a variety of factors including the size and weight of the players involved, the speed at which the players are moving, and the direction the tackle triggers.   For example, if you have a smaller back like Chris Johnson running straight ahead and he gets hit head-on by a bigger defender like Ray Lewis, more than likely, Lewis’s momentum will cause Johnson to fall over backwards. 

This all-new collision system would not work properly without adding several new tackles.   Our terrific animation team has added more than 100 new tackles including 40 new gang tackles.  These new animations give the game a completely fresh look on the defensive side of the ball.  These new gang tackles tie in with the momentum system to help create some of the most authentic tackles that we have ever had in Madden. 

Another new feature that we have added to the new tackle system is a tackle button.  The old dive button has been replaced with this new tackle button.  This button will help the guide the defender towards the ball carrier.  With suctioning and warping no longer in the game, this button will be very important in helping the user wrap up and bring down the ball carrier. The key here is the timing of when this button is pressed. As a user, you will have to position the defender close enough to the ball carrier so that when you press the tackle button he will be able to lunge towards him and wrap up.  If you press the tackle button when you aren’t in position, you will likely lunge and miss the ball carrier completely.  You will also be able to dive with this button if the ball carrier is ahead of you and want to try for a shoestring tackle. The new momentum-based collision system along with the addition of a new tackle button and brand new animations, will give the defense a brand new look and feel in Madden NFL 12.

 Another area of defense that we focused on was a total revamp of zone defense.  This was another part of the game that needed some attention, as many of you-- and including me--have been hesitant to call zone defenses in the past few years.  We've added brand new zone AI logic so defenders have a much better idea of what their responsibilities are for whatever zone assignment that are assigned.  Hook zone defenders will now leverage receivers as they run through their zone and point them out to their teammates as they move into another one.  Deep zone defenders will also play more aggressive as they won’t sit back and wait for the ball.
 
With all these zone AI improvements on the field, we've also made some major improvements to the playbooks and playcalling.  We went through every defensive play in the game to make sure zone assignments lined up correctly and were evenly spaced.  Zone blitz plays were also tuned so that they will be much more effective at getting pressure on the quarterback.  Along with this play tuning, we’ve also added some new formations including: 4-3 Over Plus, Sub 2-3-6, Sub 3-3-5 Odd, 6-4-1 Goal Line (that is to be used exclusively versus the goal line offensive formation) and few others that you’ll have to wait and see down the road.  We also added several new authentic plays that were drawn up directly from the NFL coaches’ film.

CPU defensive playcalling will also be much improved as we have added some new AI groups to allow the CPU to be better prepared for specific formations such as Empty sets (no RB's), Overloads and the Wildcat.  We have also spent some time of fixing some of the alignment issues that have been in the game for several years, as well.
 
Now it may seem like with all this time that we have spent helping the defense get better that we totally forgot about the offense.  Well, I can assure you that is definitely not the case.  One new feature that is exclusive to Madden NFL 12 is the ability to pump fake to a specific receiver by holding the L-Trigger + the receiver icon.  You may be asking yourself what is so cool about this.  Well, here's why...
 
During our motion capture shoot we captured brand new wide receiver cut moves with an emphasis on double move routes.  Double move routes are very common in the NFL and when they are utilized correctly they can lead to a big play for the offense.  Within these new double move cuts is a pump fake window that will sometimes get a defender who is in man coverage to bite on the first part of the cut.  For example, the sluggo route (slant and go) that has been in our game for a few years now never had a fakeout chance for the defender since it didn't have a specific cut or the new pump fake window.  Without these two things the route was pretty much useless.  Now, in Madden NFL 12, we have added a new sluggo cut that allows you to try and set up the defender and go down the field for a big play.  We've also added new In/Out N Up cuts, Hitch/Curl N Go cuts and Post Corner cuts.  All these new cuts have pump fake windows and a chance for the defender to be faked out if you time it correctly. 
 
Before you start worrying that these new cuts will break the defense because people will be pump faking on every play in hopes that a defender will bite and give up a huge play, we've made sure that the more you pump fake, the more likely that it won't have an effect on the defender.  Other factors for whether the defender will bite include: his man coverage rating versus the receiver's route running rating, as well as the skill level that you are playing on. Defenders will be much less likely to bite on the higher levels as compared to Rookie and Pro.
 
Another new feature to Madden NFL 12 is a new Dive Catch mechanic.  You will now be able to trigger user controlled dive catches (if timed properly) by pressing the X button/Square button.  We’ve added brand new dive catches that can trigger from a variety of angles if you press the button at the correct time.  Another major improvement to catching is that we have reduced the amount of warping/sliding on catches by adding several new catch animations.  These new catch animations, or what we call sprint catches, were motion captured with receivers running at top speed to make the catch.  With these new catches being triggered at full speed, we don’t have to artificially speed up older catches that were needed previously in order to match a catch.  These catch warping fixes help address an issue that was especially prevalent on drags and crossing type routes.
Blocking has also been positively impacted by the all-new collision system.  Defenders will no longer be sucked into a block.  This is huge because for years we have all seen the crazy videos where defensive lineman who are in position to make the tackle, get warped into an offensive lineman only to see the ball carrier run right by him for a huge gain.  So now, just like tackles, the block cannot trigger until collision is actually made with the defender.  This not only helps the game from a visual standpoint, but it helps make the game feel more realistic, as well.  
 
Offensive playbooks have also received some major updating with the addition of more than 200 authentic new plays along with several new formations that are exclusive to Madden NFL 12 including Gun Empty Eagle, Gun Normal Y-Flex Tight, Weak H Close Flip, and Gun Y-Trips Cowboy.  These new plays and formations, just like the new defensive plays and formations, are the exact plays you see on Sundays, as they have been created directly from the NFL coaches’ film. 
 
Another improvement we have made to Madden NFL 12 is with Run Styles. We have three Run Styles this year:  Long stride, Normal stride and Short stride.  Taller players with long strides, like Calvin Johnson, will use the Long stride run style.  You’ll notice these players will have a long gait and take fewer steps to travel the same distance as the Normal and Short stride style guys.  The “vertically challenged” players, such as Maurice Jones-Drew or Ahmad Bradshaw, will use the Short stride run style.  They will use quicker, choppier steps as they sprint past defenders.  The Normal stride run style will be used by almost everyone else.

We’ve also added five different Ball Carrying styles for Madden NFL 12.  First, we have the standard Default Carry style, which the majority of players will use.  Next is the High and Tight Carry style, like Michael Turner, for players who like to keep the ball closer to their bodies.  Then we have the Loose carry style that players such as Adrian Peterson, Terrell Owens and Hakeem Nicks use where they keep the ball away from their bodies while they run.  Fourth we have the “Loaf of Bread” Carry style which is like a quarterback scrambling or a DB returning a pick six ala Deion Sanders style.  Finally, we have the Awkward Carry style which you will see being used by big defensive linemen, who really have no business running with a football except if they are lucky enough to pick up a fumble and head for the end zone.

These new Run Styles and Carry Styles are another way to really help differentiate the look of different players in Madden NFL 12.

Well, that’s just some of the Gameplay improvements that we have been focusing on here at Tiburon over the past few months.  Thanks for taking the time to read this blog and I hope it has made you as excited as we are for Madden NFL 12!  Now it’s back to work to make sure we finish strong…

-Larry Richart
Designer, Central Gameplay