OS - Press Row Podcast: Episode 41 - Madden NFL 25 with Gus Ramsey and Ian Cummings

[ryan36]

I think maybe the reason Ian was seen as "overly sensitive" was because he agreed with much of what was being said, and maybe he knew he couldn't do anything about it.

That being said, death threats would've clammed me up to. It's just a job. I do remember he said "ragdoll physics would never work," but that's understandable. When I'm working for a company I will make their counterpoint - AND believe it.

Perspective does wonders.

[ghettogeeksta]

Great interview! Ian is a cool guy he really tried during his tenure as Creative Director at Tiburon but too many things out of his control. Cam Weber seems like a stand up guy that will fight for more control. Hopefully management sees the way they have been doing things with Madden isn't working and trust the team more this time around.

[Brooke2011]

Great interview , always had a ton of respect for Ian. What I took from that podcast was ,if Ian by himself had no constraints , he could have made Madden a much better game. And that Madden next gen will basically be madden current gen ported over.

Wish you were back on the team Ian . Maybe down the line you can developer a football sim that gives madden a run for its money.

[rootofalleli]

Quote: Originally Posted by DookieMowf

I didn't listen to the interview so I may be taking this out of context, but I would hate to have to pay extra for patches. I already pay $60 for them to get the game right, I shouldn't have pay more for them to fix things wrong with the game.

Alas, $60 isn't working out so well. So far people are paying EA to get it wrong. No one wants to pay more, but maybe a subscription model would allow the devs to actually do good work. BrianU's first post lists an astonishing number of bugs/broken features. I don't think Madden will ever be good without changes to who makes it or how it's made. That litany of mistakes will grow every year as features are scrapped, rushed, hastily revised, and sloppily patched over because the people who set budgets and goals feel very little pressure to create something that isn't mediocre.

[Clemsonpanther]

What minute mark does Ian Cummings come on?

[roadman]

Quote: Originally Posted by Clemsonpanther

What minute mark does Ian Cummings come on?

Around the 48 minute mark.

[kjcheezhead]

Quote: Originally Posted by gr18

Many thought that while Ian's reign started off well ,it didn't reach the level as expected.In retrospect,he got it pretty darn close and they would've been better off building on '12 and thus would be further along. You wouldn't have thought that at the time.What has transpired over the last couple of years is a product with promise and great potential that is sloppier,frustratingly shallow for the intended framework and lending more of a pompous,deaf ear to the consumer. Of course,just about all the reviews will always look at 'innovation' with no regards to stability and are just about as oblivious as a company that releases a product with bugs that should be obvious if you test it.

I don't quite agree. I would say in retrospect madden 10 was under under appreciated for what it started. Madden 11 was when Ian caved to external pressures. The extra point was removed, pro-tak removed, locomotion brought back ice skating players, etc. 12 was the year of franchise, but these guys work on multiyear plans. They knew when they released 12 that CCM was replacing it.

My point is that 12 just happened to be a better game than the others, but the philosophy of bringing stuff in to rip it out the next year was already back at Tiburon.

Bigfndeal made a good point as well. This Ian admits to mistakes and likes backbreaker physics over IE. Creative director Ian was very anti-euphoria and defended protak as superior. Maybe protak could've been improved, we will never know because it only lasted 1 game. IE is a major eyesore at the moment, and more or less a cheap imitation of physics, it's the worst of the three options.

[JohnDoe8865]

Man, I really wish Ian and his vision for "Everything You See on Sunday" was still on the Madden team. Madden NFL 10 was the high point for this generation of Madden, no question in my mind. It seemed like Madden 11 and Madden 12 were side steps at best, and now I think it's clear why. If that team, that created Madden 10, had been able to follow up on their vision and go with a full three year plan starting with Madden 10, I think we'd be in a far better place in console football gaming.

As it stands, we got a sloppy mess of a Madden 13 last year, and this year seems like year two of a plan. I'm just not sure if the plan involves the vision that takes Madden where it should be. NBA 2K level of commentary and franchise depth, more options for owner mode, tight gameplay (Ian mentions that you can feel how bad the defensive locomotion is if you go back and play Madden last gen), and NFL worthy authenticity. Madden NFL NEEDS these things to become an elite sports game.

Problem is, the game sells without being anything close to an elite game. Sales are down on current-gen this year, but they'll make that up and then some on next-gen.