Ian Cummings interview in GameInformer Magazine (November)

[dlratatat]

GI: Thanks for turning the game speed for online games to slow. What other gameplay changes are you planning on releasing in patches?

IC: We will continue to tune the game and fix exploits that come up based on what we gather from community feedback. There will be many things addressed-from things like blocking AI to lessening the amount of holding on field goals...we have a lot planned for the next few months to extend the life of Madden NFL 10 via title updates. It really is the beauty of the new consoles that we can further tune the experience based directly on feedback to keep our fans happy for an even longer period of time than previously possible.

GI: I really like the receiver jams at the line of scrimmage, but it seems like once a receiver gets bumped off his route, he forgets about his responsibility or quits running his route. Why is that?

IC: I honestly don't recall them stopping or not running their route...I'd need to see an example of this in action. Typically it just disrupts their timing, and that is by design.

GI: What were the little touches that you wanted to get into the game this year but didn't have time for?

IC: There are a few things that just didn't make the cut (as always is the case in game development), but to me there are a few polish items that I am upset we weren't able to get fixed, mainly around audio.

GI: Why can't I handle substitution packages in between games in franchise or online franchise mode? It's a pain moving a WR into the slot for each 3WR set while keeping him in the 2WR sets when the playcall clock is ticking.

IC: This has been requested before, but as always, it comes down to priorities due to the short development cycle. We'll continue to explore adding this in the future.

GI: The AI playcalling in Superstar mode hasn't changed since it's been added. Why not?

IC: It actually has changed. Teams call plays based on their strengths and weaknesses like never before in Madden. It always has been a whishlist item for the team to utilize their "superstar" more in play selection, but it has always been a tough decision to make the play calling unrealistically weighted at the risk of them going away from their real-life tendencies.

GI: Why are their no realistic stadium sounds in this year's game? No Vikings horn or Lions roars?

IC: As I mentioned in the previous question, this is one area that we weren't able to spend as much time on as we had originally hoped. It is definately a priority for the future.

GI: Teams still abandon the run way too early, even the run-heavy teams like the Panthers. How do you decide when a CPU team passes or runs?

IC: CPU playcalling uses a mixture of real life data and adaptive AI. A team like the Panthers will start out with it's play calling percentages exactly mirroring real life. If they are really not succeeding in the run, they will try to mix it up more. Personally, I've seen many posts talking about how they love the fact that teams stick with the run even when they are down, more so than ever before, so I don't exactly know how widespread the above issue is that you mention.

GI: Simming games works, but if I play a game I can't get Madden to mimic realistic defensive stats. Are there sliders and game clock settings you recommend for true stats?

IC: Typically, 12-minute quarters on All-Pro difficulty will provide the most realistic stats. Slider settings are subjective, I don't even want to comment on those really. To each his own!

GI: Linebackers still make way too many plays in the passing game, probably one pick per game. Why is this still a problem?

IC: I'm personally not seeing that many...so it could just be in differing styles of play. But this question does make me want to think about it so I'll check into our game longs and see if it truly is a widespread issue.

[Jono078]

Lol... That was more of a grilling session than an interview.

Basically went;

GI: Grill
IC: Defend

[WeAreAllWitnesses]

I've had Linebackers lead my team in picks before. I've seen them make fading away, one-handed miracle picks. That's a problem.

But yeah, that interview felt like Ian was sent to the Principle's office.

[Cusefan]

Game Informer does a weekly piece with Developers of games that pretty much grill them. This was nothing though, the Farcry 2 piece really pointed out some of the obvious flaws with the game.

[bigsmallwood]

Ian seemed more defensive rather than interested in providing a deeper answer.....its always the typical, "we have a short developement cycle...."

I think other sports games have MORE than shown us what can be done in one year...Look at the presentation of NCAA B-Ball 2010......and thats right inside of the EA complex lol

[DickDalewood]

Quote: Originally Posted by mm boost

Wow, what a ridiculous answer...to each his own? Ha, what a joke! You guys don't even tell us how to effectively tune the sliders, but instead he says he don't even want to comment on them? Are you serious?

Sliders affect everyone differently. What works for one person might not work for another... hence the very reason for the sliders in the first place.

He said exactly what he should say; 12 min quarters mimic realistic stats the best, and tune your sliders to fit your personal needs from there.

[TeamBuilder]

Quote: Originally Posted by bigsmallwood

Ian seemed more defensive rather than interested in providing a deeper answer.....its always the typical, "we have a short developement cycle...." I think other sports games have MORE than shown us what can be done in one year...Look at the presentation of NCAA B-Ball 2010......and thats right inside of the EA complex lol

That is a huge part of the problem. Instead of taking the game and tuning it up and fixing it, they add all these new bells and whistles. I would love for Madden 11 to just be an improved version of everything wrong with Madden 10.

[huskerwr38]

Quote: Originally Posted by DickDalewood

Sliders affect everyone differently. What works for one person might not work for another... hence the very reason for the sliders in the first place. He said exactly what he should say; 12 min quarters mimic realistic stats the best, and tune your sliders to fit your personal needs from there.

yes, but we aren't sure how the sliders work exactly. The sliders effect the game in different ways...we want to know more in depth about the sliders. I even asked Ian on twitter if we can get a guide about what sliders do and he said it's on my list of things to do. But Madden 11 will be on it's way out by then.

[huskerwr38]

Quote: Originally Posted by TeamBuilder

That is a huge part of the problem. Instead of taking the game and tuning it up and fixing it, they add all these new bells and whistles. I would love for Madden 11 to just be an improved version of everything wrong with Madden 10.

I would LOVE that too. Hell I would like it if they just put in the things that were promised to us in Madden 10 like stadium specific sounds, like J-E-T-S! Or WR actually TRIED to stay in bounds!

Also, it seems Ian is oblivious to a lot of the problems in Madden like the LB being a HUGE part of the int and pass knockdowns. How can you not realize this?

[da ThRONe]

Quote: Originally Posted by TeamBuilder

That is a huge part of the problem. Instead of taking the game and tuning it up and fixing it, they add all these new bells and whistles. I would love for Madden 11 to just be an improved version of everything wrong with Madden 10.

I strongly disagree! I feel like there is no fluff in Madden 10. Are there flaws ofcourse but if there where bells and whistles added they were well needed.