Madden NFL ’10 for Wii took the Madden NFL franchise in a new direction for Nintendo Wii console, introducing a new visual style, a whole bunch of new game modes, and quite a few other innovations.
Development
I worked on most aspects of the game, overseeing and actively working on development of many of the new features: -
I solely developed the ‘Spotlight Moments’ feature, which dramatized the big moments in any game, by slowing down the game )a huge technical challenge), changing to a “hero shot” camera which accentuates the situation, and using a special gameplay mechanic to allow the player to impact that critical game situation.
These special moments include situations such as when a receiver is making a break for the end-zone with only a single defender within range, when the special mechanic is to perform a running action with the Wii motion controller to outrun the defender to the endzone; or when a receiver is attempting to catch a long pass, but a defender is within range to intercept or block the catch, when the special mechanic is to battle against the other player using the on-screen pointer, and the player with their pointer closest to the ball when it comes within range will catch the ball.
These special moments create a whole new level of immersion and focus on these pivotal game situations.
I also solely developed the new Wii-mote pointer-based passing mechanic which allows the player to point to the receiver that they want to pass the ball to. This new key gameplay element allows the player to more instinctively select the receiver that they want to pass the ball to, by just pointing at him, rather than having to remember specific buttons.
I also worked on the extending the ‘Call Your Shots’ system, which previously allowed the user to draw new routes for their offense players, to include assigning coverage zones for their defense players.
Madden Showdown was a new game mode which allowed up to 4 players to play in a competetive party mode, where two players at a time would compete head-to-head in short football games, either 11-on-11 or 5-on-5, and introduced some fun gameplay tweaks. The mode also introduced a fun betting system which allowed the players not involved in each game to score points by predicting the outcome of each game. This new mode received much critical acclaim, and the fans really seamed to have fun with it.
In addition to all of the above I also worked on the other new game-modes, and the new pointer-based user-interface, making full use of the Wii consoles point-and-click functionality.
Screenshots
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