Ex-Madden director Ian Cummings explains why modern Madden/CFB feel so scripted and animation-based compared to the PS2 games. Full interview coming soon!

These are better examples of inconsistent momentum because animations have too much control. Just watch the crazy jitter and warping of the star icon underneath the ball carrier in that first video compared to our orange circle video! Shows exactly the core issue. #bringbacktheorangecircle I think it’s actually impressive how smooth they’ve been able to make it look in most instances given that underlying structure.

#bringbacktheorangecircle 🥹😤

Gotta fix the audio, didn't realize it was only playing out of the left speaker lol... I'll upload this clip to YouTube with it fixed

I Tried to interview him 5 years ago to talk about DDA and he said he could not speak on that because of the NDA he signed walking out the door

They must be expired by now.

Good. I really want to know why he just up and left out of the blue? I believe they forced him to work his animations around the code. He left the year UT was put in madden🤔

I asked him about that and a lot of other questions. Stay tuned for the full 3 hour interview. You could reach out and see if he'll do one with you after if there's something I didn't ask

I love hearing people Talk About shit they know about.

This is why sports video games have sucked for awhile

ApexIsFree / GideonPrime was the first YouTuber to notice this. This was a video from 14 years ago. He ALWAYS would complain about how the players felt like they were skating on ice and that the PS2 era footing and run propulsion matched real life more than the newer games

Full interview here:

Interesting. We knew the frost bite engine was the cause of the downfall.

That PS2 04’ madden was the best Madden to ever. I have not played Madden since that year on the console.

He talked about this years ago, that’s why we always laugh when EA tries to introduce “new” features. Also why the last good Madden was on PS2. Only thing they’ve improved is graphics, everything else is better back then.

Explains perfectly why every time I throw the ball to a seemingly open receiver, all of a sudden 2 defenders reach him midthrow to make it perfect double coverage 💀

I remember Marshall Faulk and Priest Holmes thrived with the old engine. The left joystick and the spin is all you needed

SD you came into madden during M19 you ain't know the battles Ian fought for man was in the trenches on operation sports and he said before Madden 11 his focus was core fundamental gameplay Real OGs respect @ThirdTimeIan for his dedication and service to the madden community

SOFTDRINK WHY DO YOU CONTINUE TO MAKE ME SO HAPPY ? 💔

It’s literally what animation are you gonna get and hope to god you don’t get sucked into animation And notice in older madden trailer they show more gameplay than presentation

Okay so the age old question why did they switch in the first place if the original was better?

I still think espn 2k5 is the best football game ever

FIFA devs made the Frostbite engine could you imagine lmao

@ScottOGallagher @ClintOldenburg true? What’s your rebuttal? Can it be fixed? Will it be fixed?

Did he say when they decided to change this?

@stlkid Yes, when they moved to the 360 and PS3 starting with Madden NFL 06.

@stlkid That’s when it was ruined. We need entirely new source code with dynamic player models in dynamic environments. Will never happen

@ItsHimothee @softdrinktv @stlkid Thankfully they are leaving the past behind. I am not trying to play madden 2002-2005 again. They had their time

@ItsHimothee @softdrinktv Running backs getting stuck running into the lineman and the turning ruins the ps2 maddens for me. Madden 09-12 for ps3 are the best maddens imo especially 10-11

@stlkid @THEWAYOFGJ @ItsHimothee @softdrinktv Madden 12 was Ass. It was a completely stripped down game. 11 and 13 were both much better.

@THEWAYOFGJ @ItsHimothee @softdrinktv M13 might be the worst sports game ever besides maybe nhl 15 and live 14. 12 was decent still had a decent franchise mode but not as good as 11 and 10

I think that described system makes sense for FIFA, because that is how soccer actually plays out. Your movement, logically speaking, must be incremental with each step -because- dribbling is tied to your steps. However, that system doesn't make sense for any other sport.

Your best work to date......and you've had a lot.

Over 20 years, Madden's stagnant physics engine (key issue here), persists due to no competition, limiting realism and innovation. Madden, avoids progress because it faces no real threat.

Sorry but it used to feel way more scripted back then. I’ll take the current problems over the old canned set of tackle animations.

There was a guy years ago that talked about the running animations heavily and compared like Madden 09 to Madden 03-04. His name was Prime Gideon or something like that. Running animations haven't been the same since 😮‍💨😮‍💨😮‍💨

YESSSSSSS FUCK YES. And mouth breathers will get on here and tell you you don’t know ball or just suck off EA LIKE WE ARENT EVEN PLAYIN BALL DAWG😂😂😂😂😂😭😭 oh my lord this made my soul smile

DDA and having X factors in ultimate team make the game feel very scripted too

So The Game Plays itself In a Sense, Explains Alot thanks

I’ve been wondering about this for years. The players felt different when you controlled them on PS2 - this perfectly explains it…and makes it even more frustrating it was changed in the first place

Prime example of what Ian Cummings was trying to explain

Yeah I was not surprised when he said that fifa invented this because it has the same problems since they introduced frostbite or whatever

This is why in 04/05 I could just run the ball, in practice even, for hours on end. The physics was so real, it was incredibly satisfying. Constantly unique results. Now it’s become one hundred percent reliant on timing your animations perfectly.

I think what he is saying is obvious to anyone thats been playing these games since the early 00's, but he explains it well and adds some very good insight into the discussion. A game like 2k has a plethora of problems, but I had to stop playing because its so animation dominated

Cant wait to watch this!

This is good work!