We recently had a chance to ask Rex Dickson, Creative Director for Gameplay for Madden NFL 15, some burning questions we had. Here is what he had to say:
1.) Are there any deficiencies your development team noticed in Madden 25 that you specifically wanted to address in Madden 15?
While we worked on hundreds of different aspects of the game this year, there were three primary areas we wanted to focus on in Madden 15. Graphics/Visuals, presentation, and defense. We think players are really going to see the difference this year in how our players look, how the game is presented and how much fun it is now to play defense.
2.) Many claim the running game in Madden 25 is overpowered, has the development team addressed this in Madden 15?
We’ve taken steps to improve defending the outside run game, as well as defensive coverage AI. These problems were solved in a variety of ways; new defensive user mechanics, new pre-play adjustment, outside run beaters in the defensive playbooks and general game tuning. We have also made investments in our adaptive AI feature to create a much smarter computer opponent who will recognize if you run outside too often and call defenses to shut you down.
3.) What kind of graphical enhancements can we expect this time around?
The game has made a huge leap this year in the graphics department. Player/Coach likeness has seen a major overhaul along with more variation and unique player body styles. The lighting in the game has been completely reworked and looks better than ever. There are also a wide variety of stadium and environment improvements. The new zoom camera pays off these visuals by displaying the players at the highest levels of detail normally reserved for replays. Across the board this year, Madden NFL 15 looks like a truly next-gen game.
4.) How have you improved the defensive game?
There are many improvements across the field on defense this year. It all starts with the defensive line and the new Pass Rush mechanics. Pass Rush moves have moved off the right thumbstick and are now performed on the buttons. An all-new player ring with feedback components gives clear user feedback around the new mechanics. Tackling has also been overhauled from the ground up. We have added a defensive tackling mechanic to aid users in directional facing and distance to perform tackles successfully. Coverage AI has also seen a complete rewrite and will play more realistically than ever before. You can also expect to see a variety of new defensive pre-play adjustments and finally, new plays throughout the defensive playbooks.
5.) What can we expect from the new halftime show?
The new halftime show dynamically stitches together highlights from the game with voiceover from local NBC sports anchor Larry Ridley. His speech is also dynamically stitched together over top of the highlights so that each halftime sequence is unique to each game. There are also new pre-game, post-game, and quarter transition sequences in presentation this year.
6.) Have you made any adjustments with the passing game?
One of the top requests from our community has been the desire to see a greater separation in QBs due to accuracy. Pass accuracy plays a huge role in the NFL and now it will in the game as well. We tweaked our system to make it so not every single throw is either perfectly on the numbers or way out of bounds, there’s more nuance and passes that are slightly offline, but potentially catchable. Once we implemented this system, we saw hundreds of new catch animations triggering all over the game, primarily due to the changes in the placement of the ball that the inaccuracy system creates. This system also creates a huge separation between the QBs. You can forget about the days of subbing in the fastest QB regardless of accuracy because accuracy definitely matters now. Peyton Manning and Tom Brady now feel elite while lower rated QBs can really struggle at times.
7.) Last year we saw some significant changes when it came to audibles and making in-game adjustments, what changes can we expect this year?
Even more significant changes this year! The biggest change to the adjustment system is something our online community has been very vocal about, having a more authentic audible system. There is now a very short delay where the QB physically calls the audible before the user can input another one. This eliminates the problem of offenses putting in rapid-fire pre-play adjustments before the defense has the time to respond.
8.) Has your team experienced any limitations when it comes to developing Madden 15 for next gen consoles?
The only limitation right now is time. We have so many great ideas for the next-gen consoles but you can only do so much before it’s time to ship the game. We have some incredible things planned for our fans in the future, Madden NFL 15 is only the beginning!
