A consistent source of complaints about gameplay in the NFL Madden series is the animations. Specifically, catch animations interrupt movement in an unnatural way. This can make the movement look bad visually and feel bad from a gameplay standpoint. Luckily, Madden NFL Gameplay Producer Clint Oldenburg has heard your feedback. In an exclusive interview, Clint Oldenburg reveals to SGO’s Lead Content Creator The Natural that the Madden team has been focusing on updating how catches looks and feel. Oldenburg identifies multi-player catches as an especially guilty party. He adds that he’s proud of the work his team has put into catches in Madden 22.
Interview with Clint Oldenburg: Multi-Player Catches
The Natural: Speaking of animations, so there should be less 2-man animations in the game as far as at the catch point and all that?
Clint Oldenburg: Yeah, correct. So, I wanna be really clear: we have not completely gotten rid of multi-player catches, those are still gonna be there, but we want them to trigger in the exact situations where we feel they are appropriate. One case where they will not be seen anymore are RAC, Run After Catch. In previous years we had multi-player catches for those running catches, and players told us that they felt like their receiver would have a step or two of separation… on the defender, [but] because we matched a multi-player interaction, they felt like their receiver would inappropriately slow down. So there will be no more run after catch multi-player interactions… You’re gonna feel more control, and you’re gonna see a lot more single-player animations that branch into thinks like mid-air collisions and catch tackles, rather than the full two-player interaction taking over that catch.
Signature vs. Archetype Animations: What To Expect
In the interview, Clint Oldenburg clarifies the difference between signature and archetypal moves. He tells The Natural to expect more archetype animations over more player signature moves.
Natural: Something that we talked about kind of in the past was signature things. I know this year, we have some signature releases and cuts that are being added for receivers. In Madden 22, are there any other signatures or player-specific details that have been added?
Clint: In terms of player signatures… no. We added a lot of archetype custom content. For example, big backs like Derrick Henry are gonna play different types of tackle animations than smaller backs. The break tackles are a little bit different for bigger backs versus smaller backs. And then, like you said, we captured and added a bunch of signature releases for wide receivers. So like, Keenan Allen, Stefon Diggs, we got their content. We tried to find the guys that looked the most identifiable, and those are some of the guys at the top of the list. So those are signature animations as opposed to archetype animations, I wanna be clear about the difference there.
For all this, plus more information about next-gen stats and upcoming Madden 22 features, check out the full interview with Clint Oldenburg above. For more news on NFL Madden 22, like this year’s X-Factors or player ratings, follow us on Twitter and Facebook to make sure you don’t miss news as it breaks.
