Madden NFL 13 - Out Now - Demo Out on 8/14

Hello everyone! Jean Adams here, and I’m happy to be posting my first blog as theMadden Art Director. This has been an incredibly productive cycle and I’m eager to share just a small portion of Madden NFL 13.

Let me start off by saying that we are definitely bringing some exciting visuals to the Madden community this year. From the crisply rendered details of the new NIKE uniforms and gear, to the field and sky which are more dynamic than ever before. These details will without a doubt deliver one of the most immersive Madden NFL games to date. Below are three of the many areas that we updated this year, and we can safely say that there is something new everywhere you look. Let’s jump right in.

Details Matter– One of the most exciting gear updates this year are the new NIKE uniforms. Everyone is talking about them, especially the revamped Seattle Seahawk uniforms. Most might think the changes are small, but when you take closer look you’ll notice that the patterns, color, pants, jersey mesh, collar, padding and other changes really add up.

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Check out the detail on those newly designed helmets and jerseys from NIKE! Oh, and those turf pellets still rock.

Gear fans like me will dig the new equipment that’s being added this cycle. We’ve included new NIKE cleats, long sleeves, facemasks and much more. These details might seem small, but it shows that were dedicated to getting as much realism in to the game as possible. I know Donny and the rest of the designers are going to enjoy adding this level of authentic detail to all of the players in the game.

Here are just a few of the new cleats that made it in to the game! The Alpha Speed, Alpha Talon, Hyper Fuse and Super Speed.

By popular demand! Here are some of the new facemasks that have been added to the game...

Mixing and matching the new NIKE uniforms, cleats, face masks, sleeves and other yet to be released gear will keep me and many gamers out there in edit player for hours.

Rendering Realism – As an Art Director it’s important to me that the game look as realistic as possible. The user should look at our game and compare it to what they see on TV every Sunday. When we started this cycle we knew Madden was already a good-looking game, but we wanted to reach an even higher level of quality.

We started by bringing NCAA’s HDR lighting and dynamic exposure system over, but applying it in a more realistic, true to broadcast way. The dynamic exposure will improve presentation by exposing the game similar to the way professionals shoot the action on Sunday. To be clear, this is just a way to allow more or less light in to our virtual camera so we can better display the great details in the game. A Multi-Vector lighting system was added on top of the HDR to represent a more realistic lighting model, especially at night when the artificial lighting hits the players from a lot of different directions.

Check out the great lighting. This is also a great example of the new replay camera angles that now include wire cameras.

HDR and Multi-Vector lighting really do make Madden NFL 13 look like a genuine game-day broadcast. This screenshot might fool a few people in to thinking that it’s straight out of an NFL replay.

The above shot shows how multi vector lighting fills in the player from multiple angles during night games. The highlights on the skin are even better examples.

a player moves through space. Each limb or area of the player that speeds up also triggers the effect.

The motion blur increase and decrease is often unnoticeable when the game is in motion. It just looks right.

We also wanted to improve the way the field is rendered to improve the quality of in the game presentation. What we didn’t expect is that one of the artists would take it to a whole other level and improve the degradation system for both natural grass and snow. I can’t wait to release screenshots of the new degradation system!

Above left is the dark, low resolution field surface that didn’t really resemble the real in-game reference. On the right is the new, more detailed and authentic field surface. Notice how sharp the lines are. The scale of the grass blades is much closer to real life. It’s huge difference in my opinion.

Here is another quick look from a wider camera. You can see that the top image doesn’t really resemble an NFL field surface.

Last cycle we had dynamic lighting that evolved and changed over time. It was nice but, the clouds always stayed the same. This year we partnered up with our friends on the Tiger Woods PGA Tour team and developed a system that would allow us to have dynamic sky domes. This mean that clouds now move across the sky, change color over time and more closely resemble a dynamic sky.

Multi-layered sky dome moves and changes color over time.

Visuals for Authentic Presentation and Depth – Everything we do on the art side is to support an authentic football experience and the broadcast presentation realm is no exception. This year we created hundreds of new presentation elements to support both our commentary team, and a new level of presentation depth that has never existed in Madden. I won’t go in to everything here - as there are hundreds of new art assets supporting presentation - but here are a few notable presentation upgrades.

Let’s start with the pre-game. Regular season games, post season and the Super Bowl will all have a unique presentation package that will bring some much-needed variety to our career mode. Below are just a few shots of our post season package.

Pregame Presentation will feature the team’s superstars, and there may be some other surprises as well!

Even before Phil Simms and Jim Nantz were approached to be our commentary team, the football graphics team had started to develop a character system that would be less generic than in the past. With this system we could create and apply unique animation to recognizable characters. It also had to support lip-sync so that we can bring those characters to life. Luckily, Madden was thinking of creating a 3D booth around the same time. I can’t wait until you guys see the final results.

Phil and Jim come to life in Madden NFL 13

Above is a quick look at the graphics package redesign. The Banner style is in the middle and the transitional wipes are below that.

Check Out the new replay. Can wait to share some of the new wire cam angles as well.

I’m happy to say that the game is getting better and better every week. So now I have to get back to work and help polish what is quickly becoming a great Madden NFL game. It was fun sharing what is still work in progress, but I hope that you all see the great potential. Please remember that we still have a lot more art and presentation to share with you including our front end UI. The rest of the team is also eager to share so please stay tuned.

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Fortunately the new presentation elements don’t just pertain to the on the field action. A new “home” hub menu system has been added that keeps you up to date with all of the latest news and happenings all across the Madden NFL Universe. The menu system itself has been overhauled throughout the game and provides a more streamlined “social media” feel that is easier to navigate and much more user friendly. The team has adopted a more futuristic approach to the menu system and animations which is both bold and appealing to the eyes as it brings all of the aspects relevant to sports gaming and places them all in one easy to understand and use hub. These changes are immediately obvious to any longtime fan of the Madden NFL series.

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It's April, and in the pro football world that means NFL Draft time, schedules being announced and mini camps right around the corner. The excitement is in the air as teams prepare for the Draft in hopes of finding their next franchise player. Meanwhile, here in Orlando, our Tiburon development team is working hard on another great siumlation of NFL football with Madden NFL 13.

Gameplay is an extremely important element to any great game, and in Madden NFL 13 we have made significant updates to give the user an even more authentic NFL experience. Over the past year, our studio has made some significant changes to the leadership team, and it all starts with General Manager Cam Weber. Cam has come to us from EA Canada and brought with him a new philosophy stressing the importance of gameplay. Under his leadership, our Core Gameplay Team has more than doubled in size. What that means is we have been able to incorporate the most changes to gameplay thus far in the current console generation. Cam, being a former college QB, has a passion for football and has really helped inspire our team to take gameplay to that next level.

One of the really cool parts of my job (and there are many…) is that in each of the past 3 years, myself and other members of the development team have had the opportunities to fly out to California and meet and watch NFL games with John Madden at his studio. During the 8 or so hours of watching every NFL game that day, we get to talk to Coach about different trends that are happening around the league. In each of the past three visits one common theme has emerged. Coach has pointed out to us about how much the NFL has changed into a passing league. Teams now pass to set up the run. You see teams throwing quick screens and swing passes in situations where you used to see runs. Offensive coordinators control the clock by calling high percentage completion passes. In fact, we saw three quarterbacks throw for more than 5000 yards this year, when it had only happened two other times in NFL history! With all these teams throwing the ball more and more, the Quarterback position has never been more important. So with all these factors and trends, it only made sense for us to place a major focus for Madden NFL 13 on completely overhauling and improving the passing game.

Throwing the ball has always been a big part of our game, but we wanted to do even more with it and make it an even better experience for the user. One of the old announcer clichés that you often times hear during a TV broadcast is about how a quarterback can “throw his receiver open.” The passing windows are so much smaller in the NFL with the best of the best going up against each other every Sunday, so it’s up to the quarterback to throw the ball to a spot where only his receiver can go and get it. With that in mind, we wanted to give the user the ability to throw the ball to different areas of the field by adding a new Total Control Passing Mechanic. This mechanic allows you to throw the ball into space by using the L-Stick. Now you may be thinking that this is the same as it has always been but the new system is more comprehensive than ever. We have completely re-tuned the pass leading with the L-Stick to give you more control to throw the exact type of pass you want.

Compared to the average guy, every NFL quarterback has a cannon arm. We are talking about the best 100 quarterbacks in the world here! But what really separates the elite guys from the clipboard holders is their ability to make all the throws by using different pass trajectories. Guys like Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady all have an uncanny ability to put just enough touch on passes to throw over linebackers but with enough speed to get the ball to their receivers in front of the safeties. So in wanting to duplicate how these guys throw passes in real life, in Madden NFL 13 we have added over 25 new pass trajectories/ball speeds for all the different passing zones. In previous years we only had one global ball speed which meant you had one trajectory for every type of pass. You could throw lobs, bullets, and medium type passes, but a lob would be the same on any type of route. For example, if you threw a lob pass on a swing or flat type route to a running back versus a streak to an outside wide receiver, you would get the same type of trajectory or what was commonly referred to as a “moon ball.” With these new pass trajectory zones, you will now be able to throw a much more realistic pass based on the route your receiver is running. For instance, if your back is on a swing, you just want to be able to throw him a nice dump off type pass where he can catch the ball in stride and turn upfield quickly. We’ve also slowed down bullets in certain situations as it didn’t make sense to have a ball thrown as hard as possible when the receiver was only 8 or 9 yards away. That made it very difficult for receivers to trigger catches and often times lead to incompletions. In these cases, a bullet pass in Madden NFL 13 will be much more catchable and thrown at a more realistic speed.

These changes to pass trajectories also allowed us to help the user have more control over the three types of passes you would want to throw: lobs, medium/touch, and bullet passes. To get a lob pass, simply tap the receiver icon. To get a bullet pass, hold the receiver icon all the way through the QB’s pass animation. Finally, to get a medium/touch pass press the receiver icon and then release before the QB gets to the end of his animation. The medium/touch passes will especially useful when trying to throw passes just over linebackers’ heads and in front of the safeties. This may take some practice to master so don’t be afraid to spend a little time “in the lab” in practice mode before jumping in to a real game. Even the pros go through training camp and preseason before the games really count!

Another important change to the passing game is the addition of over 20 new quarterback dropback animations. These dropbacks are critical to both the timing of the play as well as keeping the QB protected in the pocket. These new animations include 1, 3, 5, and 7 step variations from under center, dropbacks with pump fakes built in (you will see these on double move route plays like “Sluggo Seam”), and my personal favorite, brand new Screen Pass drops. The new under center drops are all designed to time up specifically with the routes by the receivers on the play. For example, on longer developing routes such as comebacks, deep posts and post corners, the QB will take a 7-step drop. As he gets to the end of his drop, the receivers should be just about ready to make their last cut which is when you would want to throw the ball if they are open. Again, these dropbacks are all designed to be based on how these routes develop and time like they do in the NFL. Screen dropbacks are also very beneficial to the user, as theylet you get the QB back quickly and then drift a few steps, allowing him a much better chance to get the pass off over the rushing defenders. We’ve also added some 1-step specific WR/Bubble screen plays where the QB will immediately turn in the direction of the screen receiver. These dropbacks are a staple of the Patriots offense in which Tom Brady loves to get the ball out quickly and into the hands of guys like Wes Welker, Aaron Hernandez and Danny Woodhead. We’ve also added Drew Brees’ patented backpedal drop where he loves to throw a little swing screen out to his backs on the perimeter. Another goal for us with the addition of these new dropbacks is to try and teach our users that they don’t have to try and take control of the quarterback at the snap to get him to do his dropback. If you let the QB auto-drop, he will take the proper steps for you while you can scan the defense and find the open receiver.

Another realistic improvement we have made is with the pass animations in general. We have added new, deep pass animations that replaced the longer, slower deep passes that seemed to take forever in previous games. We have also added several new rollout/throw on the run animations that will trigger when your QB is on the move. We’ve heard the complaints about the QB getting sacked or hit because of a set up instead of throwing on the run so we eliminated all those for Madden NFL 13. Depending on how fast you are moving, you will either get a set or on-the-run type pass. If you are moving at a fairly fast speed, you will definitely trigger a throw on the run animation. However, just like real life, there is a risk if you attempt to throw on the run all the way across your body. That is a definite no-no that drives coaches crazy! We have specially tuned how effective throwing on the run is for the All-Pro and All-Madden skill levels. The more realistic the throw (i.e. QB is moving towards his target in relation to his throwing arm) the more accurate the pass will be. It’s when you start throwing back across the field that you can get into trouble. Another animation addition to the passing game is new shovel passes. Shovel passes will only trigger when a receiver is short distance away and facing the QB. These shovel pass animations will help aid the user in getting rid of the ball quicker and in a more realistic manner. We’ve even added the underhand flip shovel pass that Brett Favre famously pulled off in a snow game several years back.

Quarterback pocket movement is another important element to having a successful passing game. To help make the feel of moving around in the pocket more realistic, we have slowed down how fast the QB can move while in the controlled pocket state. In previous years faster QBs were able to outrun chasing defenders without having to go into the scramble state. This was not realistic, so we made sure that you can only move at a certain speed while in that controlled QB state. This will allow users to move within the confines of the pocket in a more realistic manner, and also keep the QB in a balanced state and ready to pass at any moment.

Another addition to pocket movement is the inclusion of 8 brand new avoidance moves when in the pocket. We had avoidance moves in four directions in previous years, but these 8 new ones are not only much better looking and faster, but they give you a greater chance of breaking out of a sack. When you see defensive pressure coming, you can simply flick the R-Stick in any direction to trigger an avoidance move when you are standing in the pocket.

Pump Fakes are good ways for quarterbacks to both escape pressure and to get a defender to bite on a double move route- just ask Ben Roethlisberger. In Madden NFL 13, we have replaced several of the older pump fake animations with smoother, faster and better-looking animations. These new pump fakes are for both in the pocket and when scrambling outside of the pocket. You can pump fake to a specific receiver by holding LB and the receiver icon to try and get the defender to bite on a double move route like Hitch and Go’s, Slant and Go’s (Sluggo’s), Stick Nods, etc. To have the best shot at getting a defender to bite on a pump fake, try to pump as the receiver begins his first cut of any double move route.

Another major change in Madden NFL 13 is the fact that timing now matters when throwing to receivers. At the beginning of every pass play you will immediately notice that not all of your receivers pass icons will be fully lit up. Receiver icons will remain dim until they would be expecting a pass in a realistic time frame based on their route. You don’t see Peyton Manning throw the ball to a tight end that is covered right off the line and is running a deeper route. The idea behind this was to eliminate users from being able to snap and immediately complete passes to receivers right off the line of scrimmage without the receivers actually seeing the pass thrown. So depending on the receiver’s route, there will be a window when the icon will light up and when he can expect a pass. Certain routes (such as flats, swings and bubble screens) will have the icons light up right away, while other longer developing routes (Streaks, Deep Posts, Corners) will light up later on during the route. We have also added special rules to override certain situations to allow receivers to look earlier than normal. These rules include if a defender over them in man coverage blitzes, immediately after a press animation (like Cover 2), and as they come through zones and are between defenders. Now just because an icon lights up, that doesn’t mean is the receiver is necessarily open. You’ll still have to read the coverage and throw the ball to the correct player based on what the defense is doing. The dim icons also do not mean that you can’t actually throw the ball to a receiver either. It simply means that if you throw the ball when the receiver isn’t expecting it, he won’t go for a catch unless you actually click on and user catch.

All these passing changes are great, but they don’t work if the receivers don’t make catches! We didn’t want to leave out the receivers in this overhaul of the passing game, so we decided to add a brand new catching system. This new system allows us to eliminate catch holes completely so you won’t see balls flying over receivers’ heads without a catch attempt. This new system also makes it much easier to tune existing animations and allows us to make each and every catch look just like you see in real life. But the biggest part of the new catching system is the addition of over 430 new catch animations! These new animations give the game a completely fresh look as many of the catches that you have seen for years have all but been eliminated and replaced with newer and better-looking animations.

An additional aspect of the new catching system is the change to user catching. Many users have expressed frustration about how hard it has been to take control of your receiver and actually complete a catch. This is an area of the game that really separates the elite from the rest of the pack in the online world. This year we have slowed down the control when clicking on a receiver and made it much easier to take control when the ball is in the air to help position the receiver to make the catch. However, hardcore players shouldn’t be alarmed as we have had several community day members that were experts in this area give us their stamp of approval. The goal here was to try and get more users to not be fearful of clicking on and trying to make a catch.

Of course, with all these changes to the passing game you are probably wondering what about the defense?! Well, we’ve made some major changes on that side of the ball as well. To help defend against the new Total Control Passing and new catch system we felt it was important to focus a particular area of the defense that has been neglected the past few years: Defensive Alignment. We have taken to heart the feedback about the flaws in our current alignment system. Over the past few years our design team has also met with several defensive-minded coaches from around the NFL including head coaches Rex Ryan, Jim Schwartz and Mike Smith, as well as Jets defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. In each and every one of those meetings they all talked about the importance of alignment and how critical it was for defensive success. With all that in mind, Designers Mike Scantlebury and Anthony White completely revamped our alignment system with brand new realistic lettering of receivers and rules for every type of formation and set. You’ll no longer see mismatches where your outside linebacker will be in man coverage on a slot receiver while the cornerback is on the other side covering a tight end. Defenders will now align according to the offense and make sure that have they have best defensive matchups possible.

Another key change to the new alignment system in Madden NFL 13 is the fact that defenses now do a much better job of disguising their coverage based on their pre-snap reactions. In previous years it was fairly easily to tell if the defense was in a man or zone coverage. One of the ways to tell was to send a back or receiver in motion and if someone followed it was man; if no one followed it was a zone. However, in this year’s game, if you call a zone and a receiver goes in motion, the defender that would be assigned to him in man coverage will follow. The defense will swap zone assignments as the receiver motions across the formation while giving no clues to the offense as to what defense they are in. This change will be huge in helping confuse the offense and a great way to slow down the passing game. We had several community day attendees tell us how important this will be in this year’s game.

The next big defensive change, and I’m about to make a pretty bold statement here, is the elimination of Psychic DBs! Yes, I said it. Our goal with our new Read and React Defensive AI system was to lock these guys up and throw away the key. Defenders will now play like they do in real life and only make a play on the ball or cut with receivers if they actually see it happen. The new Read and React Defensive AI System ties directly into what I talked above with the receiver not being able to play catches unless they see the ball, so it works for both sides of the ball. This change will affect both the offense and defense in different ways, but nobody will be able to catch or swat unless they see the ball first. However, if the user has manually taken control and attempts to make a play on the ball, they will still have a shot at success. With this new system there was yet another reason (as if there weren’t enough already) that we needed to make sure our defense was aligned correctly before the snap.

The third part of every NFL team, the Special Teams, also got a little love. With the help of our new Design Intern (and former New England Patriot and Washing Redskin offensive lineman) Clint Oldenburg, we tuned both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball for the punt teams. Punt returning has been improved by adding a third wedge blocker to the return plays to give the returner a little extra time to try and get some yards. Clint also pointed out that our punt formations were a little off so we tweaked those to be more in line with how NFL teams line up.

Playbooks are always a big deal to our game and that is no different in Madden NFL 13. I’m just going to mention a few new formations here since I have already rambled on long enough. For those of you still with me-I appreciate it! With teams now using the tight end position in the passing game, you are seeing more and more formations with the tight end split out wide as well as two tight end sets. The tight end position has evolved with guys like Rob Gronkowski, Jimmy Graham and Jermichael Finley bursting onto the scene; along with the vets like Tony Gonzalez, Antonio Gates and Jason Witten that have been getting it done for years. Gun Ace Wing TE and Empty Ace Patriot are two sets in the Patriots’ playbook that take full advantage of Gronkowski and Hernandez. Another new set that will be popular among users is the Gun Heavy Panther. This is one of the goalline sets that the Panthers used to help Cam Newton rush for a remarkable 14 TDs in his rookie season. These just a couple of the new offensive sets that you will see in Madden NFL 13.

For new defensive formations I asked playbook guru Anthony White to make a special guest appearance to give me some details on what we have added and here is what he said:

“For the defensive side of the ball for Madden NFL 13 we put a major emphasis on creating new defensive sets that more accurately reflect the personnel that teams use for pass rushing purposes. We wanted to avoid situations where a team’s best/primary pass rushers are either dropping into coverage or not on the field at all on passing situations. We added 14 new defensive sets that that use different personnel groupings that mimic each team’s real life tendencies.

“When breaking down the game film that the NFL provides us, the fronts and schemes are similar, but the personnel is what varies greatly from team to team. This goes hand in hand with the new defensive alignment system in Madden NFL 13 that ensures the defenses are properly aligned with best on best. Now teams will have their best personnel on the field in the front lines of the defense as well. Here’s the list of the new defensive sets with a brief description of what they are.”

Nickel Wide 9 – Nickel formation in which both defensive ends are aligned further outside in what’s called a “Wide 9” technique. Line techniques tell defensive linemen where in the defensive front to align. The defensive ends use a 4 point stance.

Nickel NASCAR – Nickel formation exclusive to the NY Giants which places Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, and Mathias Kiwanuka on the defensive line. This puts more speed on the field for the Giants.

Nickel 2-4-5 DT – Nickel formation in which the DT replaces the RE on the defensive line.

Nickel 3 D Ends – Nickel formation that uses three defensive ends and one defensive tackle

Nickel 4 D Ends – Nickel formation that uses four defensive ends

Nickel 3-3-5 Sam – Nickel 3-3-5 formation in which the Sam linebacker is aligned in a standup position where a left defensive end would normally align.

Nickel 3-3-5 Even Sam – Same as Nickel 3-3-5 Sam with the difference being the Sam linebacker aligns in a three point stance.

Nickel 3-3-5 Will - Nickel 3-3-5 formation in which the Will linebacker is aligned in a standup position where a right defensive end would normally align.

Nickel 3-3-5 Even Will – Same as Nickel 3-3-5 Will with the difference being the Sam linebacker aligns in a three point stance.

Dime WR – Dime formation used by the Patriots in which wide receiver Julian Edleman is playing a slot defensive back position.

Sub 2-3-6 Sam – 2-3-6 formation in which the Sam linebacker is aligned in a standup position where a left defensive end would normally align.

Quarter 1-3-7 – Quarters formation in which both defensive ends are replaced by standup outside linebackers.

4-3 Over Odd – 4-3 formation used by the Patriots that aligns in an “Odd” front which gives it the look of a 3-4. The left defensive end some plays is standing up and in other plays he’s in a three point stance.

46 Bear Under – A new 46 formation in which the right defensive end and two defensive tackles align over the guards and center. The left defensive end and right outside linebacker align in Wide 9.

We’ve also updated the hot routes for both receivers and running backs. The slant out is gone and has been replaced with a more realistic whip/zig out. Running backs will also have brand new hot routes that are more in line with the routes that you see them run in real life. These include swing routes both to the right and left, a wheel route and a block and release route. The wheel and block and release routes will go to the side he is lined up on, or to the right if he is lined up directly behind the QB.

Finally, another big improvement that we are excited to announce is the during play controller alignment with NCAA Football 13. There was nothing more frustrating than thinking you were either pump faking or throwing the ball away only to see the opposite action happen. So in Madden NFL 13, the post-snap button controls will be the same in both games.

Well that’s a few of the things that we have been working on here at Tiburon for Madden NFL 13 but certainly not all that is in store… There are plenty of other great additions that we will reveal later on. Until then, if you made it all the way through this, I thank you for your patience. The NFL season will be here before you know and before that starts, you can pre-order Madden NFL 13 now and it will hit the shelves on August 28th!

Larry Richart- Gameplay Designer

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As a "Voice for the Community", I've heard it all in regards to what needs to be fixed in Madden NFL 13 and by far the biggest concern that most players have are "super linebackers" and their innate ability to bat down a pass intended for a WR 15 yards behind him. Well, worry no longer as EA SPORTS has implemented a trajectory system in Madden NFL 13. No longer are all the passes the same speed, same line, same height, etc … Now as a QB, you have 'Total Control Passing' and by using the L-Stick you can throw the ball over a linebacker’s head and hit that TE on a post route. Zip it to a HB in the flats, back shoulder a hitch route, or put some air underneath the ball when trying to lead a WR up the field for a big play. You always hear NFL TV analysts say "The QB threw him open ..." now you can do the same thing in Madden NFL 13 by leading your WR to open spots on the field. If you have a WR on a 10yd out but the DB playing the flat is lurking, throw it up the field and lead the receiver away from trouble. For instance, throw behind Michael Crabtree to protect him from a big hit from Ray Lewis on a drag in a zone, or lead Darren Sproles up the field on a wheel route against a slow linebacker.

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Hello Madden Nation this is Markus “Emmdotfrisk” Frieske with the EA SPORTS Game Changers and Tradition Sports Online and I’m here to talk about what’s new with Audio in Madden NFL 13. More and more information on Madden NFL 13 is being made available, and those that know me know how much I value a realistic football experience, and how much I pay attention to the little details of sound.

As a member of the Game Changers I am fortunate enough to attend the Madden NFL 13 community events at Tiburon Studios in Orlando. Every community day I attend I am further impressed with the interaction and communication we are able to establish and maintain with the Madden NFL development team. The year-to-year strides we are seeing in the Madden NFL franchise are a direct product of the feedback from the community and the development team’s ability to accept constructive criticism to truly commit to delivering the most authentic football experience possible.

Part of that authentic experience includes the audio improvements in Madden NFL 13. Hearing is one of our keenest senses, and can help us judge situations and scenarios which we may not be able to evaluate with our eyes. There is no question that there needed to be huge investments into the Audio design of Madden NFL 13 in order to bring a higher level of realism into the game, and what is more real than actual sounds from the NFL? I’m excited to share details about the partnership with NFL films, which greatly enhances the sound design. This brings real, authentic sounds of big hits, player grunts, collisions and QB cadences from mic’d players in the NFL. It’s really immersive to hear the actual voice of Aaron Rodgers and other top quarterbacks call out cadences throughout the game.

Another big addition to Madden NFL 13 that demanded attention from previous titles is the presence of the crowd. In previous years, only 4 microphones were used to record crowd audio fluctuations. This year, an amazing 24 microphones were used to capture the ups and downs of the roaring crowd in the NFL. Those gamers who love to play with the surround sound or a high-definition headset on will notice an incredible difference where you can feel the emotion of the crowd. There is nothing sweeter than scoring a clutch touchdown in the final minutes of the game in front of a hometown crowd, and with this year’s improvements you can feel like you are right there celebrating with your team.

One of the community’s constant requests was better commentary. The addition of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms adds a more dynamic feel to commentary from game to game. Whether it is a rivalry game, preseason matchup, or playoff contest, you will hear the two of them interact so fluidly that if you close your eyes, it feels like you’re listening to an actual NFL game. With the addition of Nantz and Simms’ non-stop interaction throughout the entire pregame show, every experience sounds incredibly realistic. I’m excited to hear all the ad-lib scenarios, players and situations they will banter about throughout every game.

From a community standpoint we are very impressed with the drastic improvements in the commentary, audio, and sounds in Madden NFL 13. I encourage you all, when you first put Madden NFL 13 into your console, to turn up your headset or surround sound to hear all the new authentic sounds and commentary in the game.

Make sure to check out the Audio webcast and read more from the EA SPORTS Madden NFL 13 blog to learn more about the improvements in the game. Stay tuned June 4th for the “Gameplay Part 2” and “Connected Careers” playbooks.

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Hi Madden NFL fans, I’m Matt Bialosuknia, Audio Producer for Madden NFL 13. I’m proud to have been a part of EA SPORTS for almost 7 years and counting, working in several cool roles from Development Director, to Producer of videos, art and presentation content for our football products. Madden NFL 13 is my first year as audio producer and I am incredibly fortunate for the opportunity, as I have a passion for audio both personally and professionally. I am so excited to share with you our new audio presentation features. It was our team’s goal to pursue best in class broadcast audio presentation for Madden NFL 13.

In our Presentation Playbook released a few weeks ago, we revealed our new broadcast commentary team of Jim Nantz, providing play by play commentary, and Phil Simms providing color commentary. Jim has worked with EA SPORTS on the Tiger Woods PGA Tour franchise, and is the voice of the Masters, the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship, and most importantly to us, the NFL on CBS. Phil Simms is, of course, the Super Bowl XXI MVP QB of the New York Giants (as a lifelong G-Men fan, this was a dream come true!) and Jim’s broadcast partner on the NFL on CBS. Jim and Phil have been working together as an elite, award-winning NFL commentary team since 2004, and have incredible chemistry both on and off camera.

That team chemistry is what inspired us to pursue them to provide fresh, new commentary for Madden NFL 13. To capture the chemistry, we recorded them together, at the same time, in the same studio for many of our sessions. Our process was to write scripts with situations and sample lines, but 99% of what you’ll hear in Madden NFL 13 is unscripted. We wanted Jim and Phil’s true style and character, and that came out in their improvisation. We would set up with scripts that provided the in-game situation, pump crowd noise into their headset microphones, and they created absolute MAGIC. In directing them, the mantra was always, “Say it just like you would on Sunday.” They put a ton of passion into their commentary and had a blast working and recording together.

We recorded the majority of our sessions at CityVox, a great recording studio in Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. I personally made it a point to travel from Orlando to New York for every session.We would connect our new audio script writer Chase Becotte (formerly of Operation Sports) and new audio artist Jacques Rossouw (formerly ofFIFA) into the session via Skype to listen in and help direct line suggestions remotely. Madden NFL 13 also includes the talents of Jeff MacPherson as speech director. Jeff is the speech director for our entire EA SPORTS label and is also the primary speech director for FIFA. We’ve recorded approximately 82 hours of fresh commentary for Madden NFL 13, yielding us well over 9,000 unique new lines.

Madden NFL 13 utilizes new audio tech developed at our partner studio in Vancouver that is also used on the NHL and FIFA franchises. We integrated that tech last cycle and we were able to use it to its full potential on Madden NFL 13. This software allows for a cleaner, more streamlined workflow, which in turn lets the audio artists easily add more features and polish to the game. In short, it boasts some of the most cutting-edge commentary technology tools in the industry, allowing the audio artist to spend more time adding content to the game and less time concerning themselves with the tech.

The next new audio improvement is Madden NFL 13’s new sound design and mix. Led by Aaron Janzen, the new Madden NFL audio director (via Fight Night from our Vancouver Studio), and Dale Stump, our senior audio artist, Madden NFL 13’s audio presentation takes a great leap forward. We’ve added a brand new 24 track recorded crowd for an even more emotional, exciting NFL broadcast experience. The story of the game is now more vividly told in the highs and lows of the crowd; from a home team touchdown where the place is rocking, to away team interceptions which drain the life out of the stadium.

Madden NFL 13 utilizes our exclusive partnership with NFL Films to the fullest by adding authentic, exciting new elements to our mix –including authentic QB cadences, on-field player chatter, and NFL Films’ sound effects library. NFL Films is regarded as the best in the business for sports capture, presentation and storytelling. Due to our exclusive license with the NFL only the Madden NFL franchise, and no other sports media group, has access to these elements.

During the NFL season certain players wear wires (wireless microphones on/under their uniforms), and through these the on-field action comes to life. The audio content and quality captured by these microphones provide an up close and in your face perspective of the action and interactions between the lines. Madden NFL 13 brings authentic QB cadences for some of the most prominent current QBs in the league – guys like Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Cam Newton, and Ben Roethlisberger. When playing as these teams, you’ll hear these field generals shouting direction to their offenses when the ball is snapped, audibles are called, huddles, and other game situations in their own, genuine voices.

Furthermore, we’ve added brand new sound effects – authentic wire-recorded hits, tackles, sacks, catches, and grunts. These are sound effects you can feel – from the QB getting leveled behind the line, to a running back pushing through the D-Line to the endzone; not to mention the crush of the offensive and defensive lines making contact.

The final new audio feature in Madden NFL 13 I’d like to share is our new Madden NFL theme music and soundtrack. We were inspired by the most recognizable themes of sports and felt that this franchise deserved to have oneas well. We worked with composer and arranger Colin O’Malley to create an iconic, memorable Madden NFL theme that’s exciting and gets the blood pumping and adrenaline flowing. Colin has worked with EA SPORTS previously, contributing excellent work in his collegiate score for NCAA Football 12. In addition to his work with EA SPORTS, Colin composes and scores for documentary and feature films.

The score will anchor our new presentation, starting with pregame and carrying through the entire experience, with variations at quarter breaks, halftime, and postgame. The full experience provides a cohesive, high end, composed network broadcast presentation.

Also new for Madden NFL 13 is a scored soundtrack. EA Trax have been replaced with a new playlist of composed pieces for each of our new game modes. From the Main Menu to deep into the selection of game modes, these high energy tracks will underscore the excitement of the new Madden NFL 13 experience.

To sum it up, Madden NFL 13 has truly taken audio presentationto the next level. Audio is such a huge part of the gaming experience and we’ve blown it out. From the new commentary team of Nantz and Simms, to new authentic NFL Films sound design elements with fresh 5.1 and stereo mixes, to an iconic new theme and soundtrack, fans will have a lot to be excited about in Madden NFL 13’s audio presentation.

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E3 is upon us, which means I finally get to talk about the “big secret.” Over the past few months I’ve watch as you’ve speculated and debated what it could be. As the Designer for Infinity Team, I am very proud to announce that Madden NFL 13 will be shipping with the all-new Infinity Engine and the real-time physics that you’ve been requesting for so long. More than just a new engine, it’s physics you can feel.

Let’s start off with a brief introduction to the engine. The Infinity Engine is a system that augments animation based on contact with other players or objects on the field. This system dynamically follows the action on the screen to keep your attention squarely on the action. It is a system created to add more variety, emergence, and an extra level of authenticity to Madden NFL 13.

Team and Goals

The Infinity Team is made up of an all-star team of engineers who have backgrounds in mathematics, interactive entertainment, and physics (3 Physics PhDs to be exact) from EA Tiburon as well as EA Physics in Guilford, England. We set out on a multi-year plan to deliver something that would fundamentally change the way football was played. Even with all of the talent on the team we didn’t know if we would be able to release any features this year, but we all knew it was a goal worth striving for. Towards the beginning of the year it became apparent to us that if we pushed hard enough we would be able to implement the first stages of our plan in Madden NFL 13. For this year we chose to focus on primarily on character physics interactions, muscle strengths and tensions, and a balance system.

Interactions

Interactions will never be the same again. Characters will now move and react to contact organically, creating unlimited visual and functional variety to your gameplay experience. A quarterback who gets his arm grazed throwing a pass will now have his throw affected. A running back that falls on a pile and never actually touches the ground will get back up and keep running. Other players now have the ability to disrupt two-man animations to create unforeseen outcomes. The sheer amount of variety in our interactions still amazes me. I wish I could tell how your interactions will play out but due to the emergent nature of the system, I just can’t. Just play smart football. In previous versions of Madden NFL many of the outcomes were predictable, and players could tell based on what animation was triggered what the outcome of the play would be. Now, thanks to the Infinity Engine every interaction is unique and instead of putting down the controller when a tackle starts you’ll find yourself continuing to interact with the game in the hopes of extending the play. I will be looking forward to the cool moments you discover when you pick up the game in a couple of months.

Balance System

Balance is another key area we worked on. Every character in the game has a balance score that we calculate based on several factors including physical attributes, actions, and where contact is made. This balance system takes these factors into account and causes characters to stumble and fall in appropriate directions with appropriate momentum. All of this seems straightforward; HOWEVER, when you consider the fact that falling forward into someone else can stop you from hitting the ground and may actually help you recover, things get very interesting. For me there are two very important things to remember with this system:

1. Watch where you run- Wait for holes to open up rather than crashing through characters that are in your way. Watch your feet so that you don’t stumble over fallen characters. Make smart cuts and hurdle when necessary.

2. Fight for every yard – Forget the days of predetermined two-man tackles. You need to continue to run and find ways to stay on your feet.

One of the coolest things about the balance system is how it affects players based on their body type. It’s a lot of fun to devise new defensive strategies by trying to take out the legs of smaller players who may not be able to recover from a stumble as well as a guy with longer legs. Suddenly it makes sense to go after a guy like Maurice Jones-Drew differently than you would Calvin Johnson.

Tensions

Muscle Tensions are the third area of focus. We are still in the process of tuning this area of the game, but the basic idea is that we can tune tensions based on player actions. This lets us craft spectacular blindside hits, and also allows characters to rotate realistically when they are hit while jumping. Functionally, we are also tuning actions such as hit stick tackles, protect ball, and truck animations to make the character very tense. This, in combination with the interaction system and the balance system, will allow you to affect the outcome of your tackles based on if you choose to use the hitstick or not. It will also affect overall balance while running and creates an interesting risk/reward mechanic of slightly better balance at the cost of speed if you choose to protect the ball while running through the line.

Well that’s what we’re working on this year. It’s a foundation for the future that we are very happy to share with you. Enjoy!

Victor Lugo

Gameplay Designer

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Hey Madden NFL fans-

I’m Josh Looman and I’m here to tell you about the most exciting thing to happen to career modes in sports games in a very long time. It’s called Connected Careers and it’s going to set the standard for career modes for at least the next decade. Our goal is simple…after you play Connected Careers, you’ll never be able to go back to the same old bland franchise or single player mode that you see in other sports games.

We’ve been working on Connected Careers since the beginning of the Madden NFL 12 development cycle and are so proud to finally be able to show it off. We’ve been given overwhelming support from our GM Cam Weber and Executive Producer Roy Harvey, and once more career modes are a priority for the Madden NFL franchise.

I’ve been pitching this mode in some capacity for the last four years and it’s great to see it finally become a reality.

Before I get to the details, I have to admit that I had a few good laughs over the speculation about Connected Careers when the mode was first teased a few months back on our website. I had fans on Twitter asking me if it was a new season mode that was entirely controlled by Kinect and I even had one guy ask me if it was a new addition to Madden Ultimate Team. I appreciate the passion, but most of the guesses were pretty far from the truth.

So what is Connected Careers? Without further ado, let’s get to the details…

Getting Connected

At the heart of it, Connected Careers is about connecting you and your friends, in the ultimate career mode, online or offline.

I know this might be a little hard to wrap your heads around and that’s understandable. When we announced it at the first community day, the reaction was one of pure shock. Afterward, I still had community guys coming up to me and asking questions about the salary cap being added to online franchise. When I explained that online franchise was dead and was being replaced by Connected Careers, they reacted like it was Christmas morning.

This is an entirely new mode. Franchise Mode, Superstar Mode and Online Franchise Mode are gone. They’ve been replaced by one complete mode that is deeper (in the first year) than those other three modes combined.

This new mode seamlessly combines Superstar, Offline Franchise and Online Franchise into an online/offline career mode that allows you to play as practically any player or coach and live out your NFL dream.

It’s got everything you expect and a ton of features that you aren’t going to see coming.

Let’s run through the basics:

Salary Cap and real contracts? Check.

Full offseason featuring the Draft and Free Agency? Check.

Rookie Scouting? Check.

Play for 30 years just like offline franchise mode? Check.

Play with 32 humans in a league? Check.

Something tells me that you’ve got a huge smile on your face right now.

Honestly…we’ve thrown in everything but the kitchen sink and while it took a lot of sweat, blood and tears to get here, we’ve done it in one year.

Ok, let’s start talking about individual features.

Getting Started

Just like you’re used to in Online Dynasty or the newly retired Online Franchise Mode, the first time you boot up Madden NFL 13, you’ll have the choice to start a new league as the commissioner or join a league that another commissioner has created.

As you advance through the process of creating or joining the league, you’ll have to make some choices.

Want to create a new player or coach from scratch that looks like you, thanks to GameFace? You can.

Want to play as any active player or coach in the NFL? You can. You’re no longer limited to only playing as a rookie in this new mode.

Or even crazier…Want to play as rookie versions of legendary coaches and players like Jerry Rice, Joe Montana, Barry Sanders or Bill Walsh? You can.

Pretty cool, huh?

So yes, this means that you have the ability to start a career with Tim Tebow, Tom Brady, Calvin Johnson, Ray Lewis, etc. The list goes on and on.

You can even start a career with Greg McElroy if you want. It’s your choice.

If you choose to create a new player or coach, you’ll be asked to select a player type as and then you’ll choose a backstory as a player or coach.

Your player type determines what you look like and what your initial ratings are. Choose to be a power back and you’ll look like Brandon Jacobs. Choose a big red zone threat wide receiver and you’ll look a lot like Megatron.

Your backstory modifies your initial ratings even more and determines what your expectations are from the start of the game. If you select ‘Undrafted Player’ as your backstory for instance, you’ll start with lower ratings but you’ll also have lower expectations.

We’ve talked a lot throughout development about Connected Careers being the first true sports RPG, and your ability to choose multiple roles and then have your player type and backstory define your strengths and weaknesses makes this new mode feel more like an RPG than any sports game you’ve ever played.

Goals and XP

As soon as you begin your career, you’ll notice that you’ve been given goals to reach. In fact, every player and coach in Connected Careers, whether controlled by a human or not, is given goals. In fact, there are over 1100 goals in Connected Careers.

There are three types of goals:

Season Goals

Season Goals focus on one stat for players (like season passing yards for Quarterbacks) and have four tiers. Tier one is the lowest tier and tier four is the highest. If you only hit tier one, your ratings will drop as a player and you’ll get fired if you’re a coach. If you hit tier four, you’ll earn a nice chunk of XP to use when progressing your player or coach. As I mentioned above, your backstory determines the XP you earn and how difficult your goals are from the start of your career.

Weekly Goals

Weekly Goals are around every week of the season and allow you to earn XP for meeting goals like rushing for 100 yards, scoring a touchdown, etc.

Milestone Goals

Milestone Goals are around all the time and cover everything from breaking records, winning awards, winning Super Bowls or meeting career stat milestones. You earn XP from meeting any of these goals.

Meeting these goals earns you XP, just like you’re used to earning in traditional RPGs. You’ll use that XP to buy progression packages that increase your ratings or traits. You have full control over what you progress and when you progress it. Want to save your XP to make your player faster? Go ahead. Want to upgrade your awareness as soon as you can? It’s all up to you.

Building Your Legacy and the Hall of Fame

In the past, there were only two ways to compete head to head in career modes. You either matched up on the field or you tried to win the Super Bowl so that you could prove to the rest of the online franchise that you were the best team in the league.

In Connected Careers, you have the ability to compete in a new way.

Everything you do in your career contributes to your Legacy Score.

If you break the record for rushing yards in a single game, your Legacy Score will increase.

If you win the Super Bowl, your Legacy Score will increase.

Make the Pro Bowl? Your Legacy Score will increase.

Win the MVP? Your Legacy Score will increase.

At any point in your career, you can go to a screen that compares your Legacy Score to anyone else in your league. From active players to Hall of Famers, you can always see how you stack up against everyone else. If you’re a quarterback, track your progress against legends like Joe Montana or rookies like Andrew Luck or RGIII. If you’re a coach, compare yourself to Jim Harbaugh, Chuck Pagano or even Vince Lombardi.

And while your Legacy Score is a great new way to compete, it also determines whether you make the Hall of Fame or not. There’s a different threshold per position, so it might be a little tougher to make the Hall of Fame as a wide receiver these days than it would be as a running back.

Unlimited Replayability

And now for my favorite feature in Connected Careers.

We know that keeping a league going for multiple seasons is tough. People get bored and get tired of playing with the same coach or player and because they have no alternative, they just quit.

We’re giving you the ability to legitimately stay in the league for all 30 years and we’re doing it in a cool way.

Let’s say I start my career as Josh Looman, brand new coach of the Detroit Lions. I play three seasons and win two Super Bowls. In year three, I draft a running back in the 2nd round that turns out to be the next Adrian Peterson, but I’m getting bored being a coach and really only care about turning this new running back into a star.

I press a button, retire my coach and go back through the creation process, beginning my career as the newly-drafted Adrian Peterson clone.

All without restarting the league.

Retire as many times as you like and choose a new character. Want to try playing as a tight end five years into the league? Go ahead. Everyone else in your online league can continue their careers without any issues.

No other game has ever done anything like this. We jokingly referred to this feature as Reincarnation during development and I think you can see why it provides unlimited replayability for you and your friends in your online career.

Big Surprises

In Connected Careers, we wanted to make sure you always felt an overwhelming sense of immersion, and we’ll do that by keeping the league dynamic and fresh along the way so that you never felt like you were playing the same league twice. Here are a few of the surprises you can expect while playing the mode:

Dynamic Scouting Storylines

We wanted to make sure that scouting meant something in Connected Careers, so we’ve created storylines for specific players in each draft class that can dynamically change throughout the season. This creates an emotional connection with the players you scout throughout the year and gives them personalities that you can identify with. You can play the same draft class multiple times and you’ll never have the same experience twice. I can’t wait to see the look on your faces when the next Andrew Luck decides to come back for his senior year and actually pulls himself out of this year’s draft class and shows up next season!

In the Draft, Trey Wingo will recap each story as the player is picked to really drive home that connection.

Again, no other game has ever done anything like this. We’re changing everything.

Don’t Call it a Comeback

Every now and then a player or coach might retire and come back the following season. Who? When? How often? You’ll just have to find out for yourselves.

Don’t Call it a Comeback: The Sequel

Sometimes a player or coach who is not even in the rosters at the start of the game might come out of retirement in your league. Cue jaws dropping. J

Extended Injuries

Players can get hurt in Connected Careers and those injuries can sometimes last into the offseason or possibly into the following year.

Lower the Boom!

Players can retire in Connected Careers at any point in the offseason. You might think you had a great draft until you find out that your starting running back is hanging up his cleats for good and you need to scramble to find a replacement.

Game Over

In Connected Careers, you can get fired as a coach or released as a player. If you are not hired or signed by the end of the offseason, we’ll force you to retire your character. As mentioned above, you can always go back through and create a new character and keep going in the league.

Fair and Balanced: News

Connected Careers features a dynamic news system that reacts to everything that happens in your league AND everything that happens to you. If someone wins the MVP, you’ll see news about it. If Tim Tebow is traded, you’ll know right away.

And the coolest part?

We’ve got a virtual Twitter feed in game that provides personal, dynamic reactions to everything in your league. The virtual Twitter features more than 13 actual media personalities that react to things in their own unique way. Don’t be surprised if you see virtual Skip Bayless question whether you should have really been given the rookie of the year award in Connected Careers. No other game has ever done anything even remotely resembling this.

The Kitchen Sink

The list of other features is too long to break down piece by piece in this blog. Here’s a quick overview of everything else:

Team Specific Overall Ratings

Every team rates players based on their individual philosophies. Gone are the days of every single team thinking that the same running back is a 90 overall rating across the board. The Saints now prefer smaller receiving backs while the 49ers lean toward backs that can handle the load. This brings a whole new layer of strategy to the Draft, Free Agency, Trades and Scouting. You might think a rookie quarterback is an 80 overall but the Bears may think he’s a 76.

New sub overall ratings

Connected Careers features new overall ratings that take into account physical skills, intangibles, injuries, production (stats) and size. Teams weight these differently, so a team that prefers smart players might not put a lot of emphasis into size.

Manual and In-Season Progression

For the first time in the history of Madden NFL, you have the ability (as a coach) to progress your players whenever you want. CPU teams will progress their players throughout the regular season for the first time since the Xbox/Ps2 days. Oh by the way, potential has been removed from the game. Any player can become a star in Connected Careers. There are no limitations. And yes, we’re tuning it to make sure that doesn’t happen to CPU teams.

CPU Proposed Trades

CPU teams will propose trades to each other and to human controlled coaches.

Offseason Free Agency

Offseason free agency was designed with online leagues in mind, so it’s now a stage based event that allows you to offer a player a contract and then advance the stage. If I had to guess, this will lead to plenty of overspending in online careers.

Salary Cap

We have a fully functional salary cap that increases every year. Just like you’re used to in offline franchise mode.

Social Features

Keep track of your league on the web and check in on Twitter or Facebook to see all the news that’s happening around the league.

The Draft

We’ve got a fully functioning online draft that features special commentary from Trey Wingo about players that have storylines.

Cut Days

Cut Days allows you to sign up to 75 players in the offseason and then cut down in the preseason. We’ve removed the generated players and made the feature much simpler.

New Stat Engine

We’ve got a new stat engine that we built from the ground up that uses real team playbooks and tendencies to deliver the most accurate stats in Madden NFL history.

New Practice Mode

We added a new practice mode that allows you to play game scenarios (similar to Madden Moments) each week to earn some extra XP. This will help when you’re just starting out or if you want to grind to progress faster.

Trades

You can offer trades to any team or human user as a coach. As mentioned above, we also have CPU proposed trades.

So that’s it. Is your mind blown yet? I can’t think of much else to say and it’s time for me to get back to work.

When the game is released, I’ll be glad to discuss Connected Careers at any point on my Twitter account at http://twitter.com/Josh_Looman. Follow me for any updates throughout the year, too.

Thanks for reading and I really hope you enjoy playing the biggest addition to Madden in a decade!

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Hello Madden NFL fans, I’m Dave Searles (RedZoneD25) from the EA SPORTS Game Changers, StickSkills.com and Tradition Sports Online. June 4th has been marked down on my calendar for weeks, and I’m excited to finally talk about the all-new Connected Careers in Madden NFL 13. For those who know me (or don’t), I have always been partial to the career modes (specifically, Franchise Mode) in previous games, and I place a premium on both long-term enjoyment as well as a realistic simulation of the day-to-day life of playing for or managing your own NFL team.

As a member of the EA SPORTS Game Changers, I was invited to participate in multiple Madden NFL 13 Community Events at EA Tiburon. More than anything else I was blown away by the entire Madden NFL development team’s willingness to listen, communicate directly and oftentimes implement ideas brought up by the attendees via the Madden community. Markus “Emmdotfrisk” Frieske said it best in his Audio Community Blog, “The year-to-year strides we are seeing in the Madden NFL franchise are a direct product of the feedback from the community and the development team’s ability to accept constructive criticism to truly commit to delivering the most authentic football experience possible.”

In years past, there were three main avenues for career mode enthusiasts like myself to live out their virtual dreams: Franchise Mode let you build a legacy through the means of running a team, and Superstar Mode allowed you to blaze a trail as an NFL player. If you wanted to be strictly a manager, and leave the on-field action up to the powers that be, that’s where NFL Head Coach 09 came in. Connected Careers contains elements of those three types of play, yet is so much more than simply putting all three modes under one menu. What Connected Careers is at the core is an experience built from the ground up allowing a user to play however they want, with the same capabilities shared between the offline and online versions for the first time ever. Specifically, let’s discuss the finer aspects of what you can expect from Connected Careers on August 28th.

Being a head coach in the NFL is no easy task. The bar should always be set high, and building a dynasty isn’t an overnight process. Thankfully, the all-new XP system reflects that. XP is gained in a variety of ways, from completing practices and playing games, to meeting Weekly and Season Goals. Players can then use these progression points on attribute increases for anyone on the team. This new progression system brings me to one of the most debated features in recent Madden NFL titles, the hard-capped Potential rating. Take a deep breath and repeat after me: Potential is GONE! I was thrilled at the idea of taking a 7th round quarterback and building him into a capable starter, and it’s finally possible to do that.

As a player, you can enter the NFL by being a High Draft Pick (higher expectations in your goals), Mid Round Pick (average expectations), or Undrafted (lowest expectations). What you select affects your entire career since your Goals are a direct result of your expectations. You still get to increase your attributes via XP, but you don’t automatically start anymore. Therefore, it will be tough to get to the top of the depth chart if your chosen team has an entrenched starter already. Those who prefer to use a real player can choose from the entire NFL’s supply of talent, so just imagine the sort of expectations placed on the shoulders of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and the like. Whether you are coaching or playing, a main goal is to end up in the Hall of Fame, and one of my favorite aspects of Connected Careers is the ability to see how you stack up against both current players and NFL legends as you aim for the ultimate accomplishment in professional football.

A big difference in Connected Careers is that your job isn’t always secure. If you’re a player who had high expectations yet only minimal results, you could very well be cut. If no team wants to sign you then you can retire your current player and start anew. If you’re in charge of a team and you don’t meet your goals, you could be fired and have to rebuild your reputation in a different city. For years I have seen the community ask for a legitimate reason to play through practices and pre-season games and Madden NFL 13 embraces these elements, providing true incentives and consequences, and taking the experience beyond game day.

From a personal perspective, I’m incredibly excited about Connected Careers. I have always felt that while the old Franchise Mode was fun at the core, it took a decent amount of brain work to make your NFL feel unique. The XP system in Connected Careers ties you to your players in ways we’ve never had before, letting you dictate the flow of progress. Combining that new level of control with numerous other additions in depth, immersion and authenticity, Connected Careers and Madden NFL 13 are jam-packed with more to keep players busy than I’ve seen in my entire time as a football gamer.

Be sure to check out the official EA SPORTS Madden NFL 13 Webcast and Blog on Connected Careers for even more information on what’s new this year. If you have any questions for me directly, you can find me on Twitter (@RedZoneD25) and remember to check back on July 9th for the Madden NFL 13 Ultimate Team Playbook. Thanks for reading!

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Hey everybody, Jeff “RynoAid” Setzer here from Tradition Sports Online to break down a brand new game mode for EA SPORTS Madden NFL 13 called “Connected Careers” or “CC”. To me, Madden NFL is a competitive, social game that thrives on matchups, rivalries and measuring yourself as a virtual coach amongst your peers. When I was growing up this was done through the traditional means of gathering your buddies in one dorm room or apartment and grinding through weeks of a Madden NFL Franchise in one night, ultimately to see who was “King of the Couch”.

Now that I have a family and my friends are spread across the country, those good times have been lost... until now. Madden NFL 13 Connected Careers will bring that familiar experience to the internet as EA SPORTS is set to revolutionize how we all play the game. CC will connect you and potentially 31 other coaches across the country into one fully functioning, unimaginably deep football gaming experience.

Offline Franchise, Online Franchise and Superstar mode are all gone. EA SPORTS has replaced them all with Connected Careers, which will put you in control of how you want to play Madden NFL 13. Be a coach or a player, play online or offline, it's all available in CC. Also, fully integrated draft, free agency andsalary cap are all a part of the experience this year. The tools have been put in our hands to fully realize the "online franchise" experience.

When starting a Connected Career you have several options. If you want to get on the field as a player, this year you will be able to import your Gameface and create yourself as a potential NFL star. You can also choose to be a current player or take control of a Hall of Famer and see if you can replicate their historic career. If you want full control of the team, you can also choose to be a current coach or create yourself in that role. And the great thing is, you can mix both modes within the same CC... that's right, I did not stutter. You can mix and match how the guys in your CC play the game. You can all be coaches, you can have some coaches and some players, you can even lock it down to QB’s only. You’re in control.

Once you decide the framework, let the fun begin. Online Franchise meets RPG; that’s about the best way to describe it. First of all, potential is dead. No more pre-determined ratings structure. You, as a coach, will get to decide how each player progresses in their career. XP (Experience Points) now become your life blood. I don’t want to delve too deep here because Dave Searles (RedZoned25) has broken it down for you in an additional blog, but the basic concept is that players will earn XP for their performance on the field. You can then allocate that XP towards ratings boosts across the different ratings categories.

You will also earn XP as a coach that will allow you to define the direction of your team. You can spend XP on all sorts of booster packages that target a myriad of situations or characteristics of a team. For instance, say your star QB is due to be a free agent at the end of the year. You can purchase a package that will give you more favorable odds of re-signing him. You can also buy packages that enhance your progression and a certain position or talk a guy out of retirement. There are literally dozens of way you can customize the growth of your team.

And trust me, it’s YOUR team. Styles really matter in Madden NFL 13. The style of offense you run, the type of coach you proclaim to be, all impact how players fit into your scheme. Players are rated dynamically based on the team for which they play. That’s right, a 3-4 OLB will no longer be plug and play into a 4-3 scheme without taking a potential ratings hit. It also makes trading more interesting. You have no idea what that player you have on your trading block looks like to the other team. He could be a 71 OVR WR for you, but he jumps to a 75 OVR in another coach’s scheme. It is the new aspects of the game like this that give you that unique organic feel to player movement.

Scouting has also become a much deeper part of the whole experience. With CC you are allocated a certain amount of scouting points each week that will allow you to slowly unlock attributes and ratings of college seniors throughout the season. You will also be able to follow storylines for players throughout the year leading up to the draft. This is not your typical Madden NFLdraft class however. There are a ton of variables this year that can impact any of the potential rookies all the way from week 1 of their senior year through the pro combine. Poor performance, injuries, decisions to play baseball, and other variables like these will impact the players you are scouting. There are no guarantees anymore when it comes to strategizing for the draft. The draft will be online as well and yes, you can trade draft picks. This is sure to be intense when it’s time to enter the war room against 31 other guys.

EA SPORTS Madden NFL 13 will also come alive across your social media channels. The development team has contracted with multiple media and sports personalities to provide an internal Twitter feed that will focus on events and happenings in your CC. Adam Schefter, Rich Eisen and Skip Bayless are among a host of faces you will see commenting on the moves you and your buddies make as you go through CC. This feed is not just for internal use, however. It can also be setup to push the content to a real functioning Twitter account that all the coaches can follow to get real time updates pushed out to their mobile devices and computers. This just adds one more level of immersion to your CC.

To be honest, there is so much more depth to Connected Careers than I’ve ever seen in a football game, it’s still hard for me to get my arms around all the features after spending three days with it. It’s the biggest thing to ever happen for the online football gamer. As a member of a gaming community that has been anxiously anticipating updates to franchise mode, specifically online franchise mode, we can all relish in the fact that CC for Madden NFL 13 will deliver with all the depth, realism and connectivity we could ask for.Hello Madden NFL fans, I’m Dave Searles (RedZoneD25) from the EA SPORTS Game Changers, StickSkills.com and Tradition Sports Online. June 4th has been marked down on my calendar for weeks, and I’m excited to finally talk about the all-new Connected Careers in Madden NFL 13. For those who know me (or don’t), I have always been partial to the career modes (specifically, Franchise Mode) in previous games, and I place a premium on both long-term enjoyment as well as a realistic simulation of the day-to-day life of playing for or managing your own NFL team.

As a member of the EA SPORTS Game Changers, I was invited to participate in multiple Madden NFL 13 Community Events at EA Tiburon. More than anything else I was blown away by the entire Madden NFL development team’s willingness to listen, communicate directly and oftentimes implement ideas brought up by the attendees via the Madden community. Markus “Emmdotfrisk” Frieske said it best in his Audio Community Blog, “The year-to-year strides we are seeing in the Madden NFL franchise are a direct product of the feedback from the community and the development team’s ability to accept constructive criticism to truly commit to delivering the most authentic football experience possible.”

In years past, there were three main avenues for career mode enthusiasts like myself to live out their virtual dreams: Franchise Mode let you build a legacy through the means of running a team, and Superstar Mode allowed you to blaze a trail as an NFL player. If you wanted to be strictly a manager, and leave the on-field action up to the powers that be, that’s where NFL Head Coach 09 came in. Connected Careers contains elements of those three types of play, yet is so much more than simply putting all three modes under one menu. What Connected Careers is at the core is an experience built from the ground up allowing a user to play however they want, with the same capabilities shared between the offline and online versions for the first time ever. Specifically, let’s discuss the finer aspects of what you can expect from Connected Careers on August 28th.

Being a head coach in the NFL is no easy task. The bar should always be set high, and building a dynasty isn’t an overnight process. Thankfully, the all-new XP system reflects that. XP is gained in a variety of ways, from completing practices and playing games, to meeting Weekly and Season Goals. Players can then use these progression points on attribute increases for anyone on the team. This new progression system brings me to one of the most debated features in recent Madden NFL titles, the hard-capped Potential rating. Take a deep breath and repeat after me: Potential is GONE! I was thrilled at the idea of taking a 7th round quarterback and building him into a capable starter, and it’s finally possible to do that.

As a player, you can enter the NFL by being a High Draft Pick (higher expectations in your goals), Mid Round Pick (average expectations), or Undrafted (lowest expectations). What you select affects your entire career since your Goals are a direct result of your expectations. You still get to increase your attributes via XP, but you don’t automatically start anymore. Therefore, it will be tough to get to the top of the depth chart if your chosen team has an entrenched starter already. Those who prefer to use a real player can choose from the entire NFL’s supply of talent, so just imagine the sort of expectations placed on the shoulders of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and the like. Whether you are coaching or playing, a main goal is to end up in the Hall of Fame, and one of my favorite aspects of Connected Careers is the ability to see how you stack up against both current players and NFL legends as you aim for the ultimate accomplishment in professional football.

A big difference in Connected Careers is that your job isn’t always secure. If you’re a player who had high expectations yet only minimal results, you could very well be cut. If no team wants to sign you then you can retire your current player and start anew. If you’re in charge of a team and you don’t meet your goals, you could be fired and have to rebuild your reputation in a different city. For years I have seen the community ask for a legitimate reason to play through practices and pre-season games and Madden NFL 13 embraces these elements, providing true incentives and consequences, and taking the experience beyond game day.

From a personal perspective, I’m incredibly excited about Connected Careers. I have always felt that while the old Franchise Mode was fun at the core, it took a decent amount of brain work to make your NFL feel unique. The XP system in Connected Careers ties you to your players in ways we’ve never had before, letting you dictate the flow of progress. Combining that new level of control with numerous other additions in depth, immersion and authenticity, Connected Careers and Madden NFL 13 are jam-packed with more to keep players busy than I’ve seen in my entire time as a football gamer.

Be sure to check out the official EA SPORTS Madden NFL 13 Webcast and Blog on Connected Careers for even more information on what’s new this year. If you have any questions for me directly, you can find me on Twitter (@RedZoneD25) and remember to check back on July 9th for the Madden NFL 13 Ultimate Team Playbook. Thanks for reading!

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We’ve been working on Connected Careers since the beginning of the Madden NFL 12 development cycle and are so proud to finally be able to show it off. We’ve been given overwhelming support from our GM Cam Weber and Executive Producer Roy Harvey, and once more career modes are a priority for the Madden NFL franchise.

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Hi Madden NFL fans, I’m Patrick Bellanca, designer for Madden NFL 13. The start of the NFL season is almost here and Madden NFL 13’s August 28th release date is rapidly approaching, which means it’s time to talk about the Madden NFL 13 demo. The demo will be available as a free download on Tuesday, August 14th! This year’s demo is your first chance to experience the Infinity Engine, our all-new real time physics engine, and a sneak peek at a couple of home, away, and throwback Nike uniforms.

The Madden NFL 13 demo offers two Play Now matchups. One features the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants visiting the San Francisco 49ers in a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship game. The other involves the Seattle Seahawks traveling to the Washington Redskins, who are of course led by rookie QB Robert Griffin III. And before you step onto the field for either of these matchups, you’ll get to check out the redesigned pregame presentation. That includes a broadcast TV-inspired segment that features some top players in the upcoming game you’re about to play, and is followed by Jim Nantz and Phil Simms in the booth talking about the story of the game.

On the field, you have access to everything that’s new in Madden NFL 13. This includes Total Control Passing to accurately place the ball anywhere on the field as the QB; the Ball Hawk mechanic to aggressively play the ball in the air as a defender; play action abort to cancel out of a play action when sensing pressure as a QB; use of Kinect (Xbox 360 only) to control pre-play audibles and adjustments with your voice; and of course the Infinity Engine that brings physics you can feel on every play.

We’re also going to be giving away free copies of Madden NFL 13. For a chance to win, complete a Madden NFL 13 demo game and share the results (from the end of game menu) across Twitter with the hashtag #Madden13Demo. One lucky winner every day will take home a VIP edition of Madden NFL 13 complete with some bonus swag.

We also encourage you to use the Madden NFL 13 demo to create yourself with a Game Face for use in the full version of the game on August 28th. This year marks the first time you will be able to put yourself in the game as a player or coach using your Game Face before leading a virtual version of yourself to gridiron glory. Visit http://www.easports.com/gameface for details.

The demo has a lot more too, like the new Main Menu Action Grid, new theme music, improved lighting with HDR, motion blur, an instant replay overhaul, and more. To sum it up, Madden NFL 13 is the most complete overhaul this series has seen in a generation, and we think fans have a lot to be excited about. And, of course, it all starts with the Madden NFL 13 demo on Tuesday, August 14th.

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