GameCenter - December 2017 - 50

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PARTING SHOTS

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MICHAEL YOUNG
CREATIVE DIRECTOR, MADDEN NFL 18

WGC: Longshot features multiple paths
for Devin. What was the impetus for not
making this a linear story?
Michael Young: One of my bigger influences
over the past couple of years was definitely the
Telltale games - in particular, the ending of
season two of The Walking Dead. I was gutted
by a decision I made. So, we asked, could
we achieve the same type of emotion with a
sports video game? That was the challenge,
and the life-or-death option wasn't there, but
sometimes failing at your dream feels like life
or death.

"One of my bigger
influences over the
past couple of years
was definitely the
Telltale games - in
particular, the ending
of season two of
The Walking Dead."

VITAL SIGNS
OCCUPATION
CRE ATIVE DIREC TOR
GAME HIGHLIGHT S
MADDEN NFL 18, MADDEN NFL 17,
MADDEN NFL 16

WGC: Like many friends, Colt and Devin
complement each other well, even as they
have contrasting personalities. How did you
develop that relationship to be the crux of
the story?
MY: When I first pitched the story to Scott
Porter [the voice of Colt], his initial concern
was that Colt would just be a clown. Devin's
character is in a dark place at times; Colt does
well at adding levity to the story, and he's fun,
and he represents a child-like Devin sometimes.
But at the same time, he has his own
intelligence. So, even early on, you see that Colt
is like the brains of the operation. He does the
strategy, and I think it was important they both
add value to the relationship instead of it being
one-sided. So, not only do their skillsets as a
quarterback and a wide receiver compliment
each other, their personalities do, too.
WGC: How did you balance having
Madden-style gameplay and telling this
emotional story?

50

I

n all the years that Madden NFL has been
around, it's never had a story mode. Until
now. The new Longshot mode tells the
tale of Devin Wade, a prospective star player
who fell on hard times but is trying to right his
life through the game he loves. We sat down
and chatted with Michael Young, creative
director of Madden NFL 18 and co-writer of the
story, to learn more.

MY: It was a challenge because in early
playtests, different people [liked] different
things. For some people, they thought Act I
[was] impeccable, but it has the least amount
of traditional gameplay. And if you didn't have
that, would you care about the rest of it? You
need to know who Devin and Colt were and
why they are the way they are to justify the rest
and care about the ending. It was an iterative
process, and I hope we got it right enough
for the [greatest number] of gamers possible.
We're asking Madden players who might not
have played a Life is Strange or a Telltale game
to suddenly accept a narrative-heavy story.
WGC: Madden is an annual franchise, but
how long did it take to create the Longshot
mode?
MY: It was a four-year process, but it was a slow
burn. I pitched so many story ideas over the
years, because this has been my passion. Some
of them didn't work because the tech wasn't
there yet and the game wasn't in a position
where the audience might've been receptive.
The first couple of years were just me and a few
others developing the story. Writing multiple
drafts, getting feedback. We reached out to
some of the great storytellers within EA like
Amy Henning and got the materials in front of
her. We did test scenes, storyboards and then
when we felt we had something compelling, we
showed some scenes to the executives and then
we got greenlit to have a team for Longshot.
WGC: Who is your favorite football team?
If Devin gets drafted in your playthrough
of Longshot, where do you want him to
end up?
MY: Pittsburgh Steelers. I grew up in St. Louis,
but when I was very young our first football
team left just as I was getting into the sport.
And our college team, Missouri, was also really
bad back then. It was games like Tecmo Bowl
and those early [Madden entries] that really
fostered my love for the sport. But I'm also a
huge hockey guy, and Mario Lemieux is my
favorite player, and I love the black and gold,
so when it came time to pick a football team, I
went with the Steelers.



Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GameCenter - December 2017

Contents
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