Every year, EA Sports adds a few different things into Madden, their NFL franchise. This year the big thing is Dynamic Player Performance. It’s a pretty radical update to the traditional attributes used in the Madden franchise. In the past, players in the game are given scores on things like agility, speed, throwing power, etc. While those stats get the job done, they make the game a little stale — and unrealistic.
The Dynamic Player Performance system makes players more like real athletes. Some are better late in the game. Others tend to play extra aggressive. Two of the best examples of these types of unique athletes are the Steelers Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu. EA Sports is using both as great examples of their new attributes system:
From Kotaku:
To give an example, Young uses Ben Roethlisberger, quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
“We spent a lot of time on Big Ben; I never felt like he really played like Ben, to be honest,” Young said. “But now he’s got a trait—’senses pressure’—and it’s set to ‘oblivious.’ He will end up taking so many hits and sacks because he’s now sitting back there playing the schoolyard ball he likes. ‘Tuck and run’ is another trait, and Ben’s is set to ‘sometimes,’ so every once in a while he will take off on a broken play. It starts to feel like it’s Big Ben, not just a large guy who doesn’t play like Ben.”
Another Steeler, safety Troy Polamalu, will play very aggressively, going for “hit stick” tackles and interceptions that can change the course of the game. On the flip side, that puts Polamalu at risk of over-running a play or getting dusted when his try for the pick-six comes up empty.
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Whether you get into video games or not, it’s pretty cool to see this much thought going into the process. They have both players pegged pretty well I think.
