Madden 27 and beyond Improvement Ideas for Franchise mode/In General
Hello, hope you guys are doing well, i’ve recently been thinking about some ideas I personally think would really make franchise mode specifically a more immersive experience for the next madden and I wanted to share them. I understand that i’m not a developer so some of these things might be unrealistic for what is possible in terms of time constraints but I feel that I have a great eye for what franchise players would value as a franchise player myself. It’s quite lengthy, similar to papers i’ve written academically.
Customizable Faces: One main feature I think would be great to add is the ability to have customizable faces for auto generated players in franchise mode. In superstar mode, this is currently an option but i’ve always been curious as to why this isn’t an option for generated players in franchise mode. The preset faces given to generated players in franchise mode are admittedly dull and they should be expanded upon by being fully customizable. It would greatly help with making every player feel unique and would eliminate the concept of various generated players having the same face preset.
CPU Draft Trades: Another feature that would be a great addition to madden 27 is the ability for CPU teams to make trades with one another during the draft, as currently that is not a feature. Trading during the draft is a huge part of what makes the NFL draft special, and it would make it feel very immersive if CPU teams were to trade up and down with other CPU teams and not limited to just the User. Also, as a user it would make you more willing to trade up for the player you’d like to draft because the CPU might trade up themselves.
Play as a coordinator and General Manger: Another feature should be the ability to play franchise mode as not only a head coach but also an offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and a general manger. Being a offensive and defensive coordinator is currently an option in the EA college football series, and bringing that to madden where you can start as a coordinator and eventually become a head coach would be a great addition. With the addition of a General manager position, the power of being a Head coach could change as unless you are a longtime coach similar to how Bill Belichick was, you would have less influence on the drafting and free agency selections. As the general manager would have full control over those matters.
Improved Coaching Carousel: A huge part of the NFL that makes it so interesting is the emergence of talented coordinators that have a great amount of success that eventually leads to them earning head coaching jobs. Ben Johnson for example, goes from being the play caller of the Lions to become head coach of the Bears which has drama and storylines attached to it. What if you truly had to worry about your coordinator who has great familiarity with your squad going to a division rival? Some improvements that would make this work is to differentiate the talent levels of coordinators through certain abilities that they maintain which give boosts to the offensive or defensive side of the ball. Also, a player knowledge score can be incorporated similar to NFL Head Coach 09 where players develop familiarity with plays in the playbook. If that coordinator were to leave, the play knowledge would reset with a different coordinator and players would be more inclined to run the wrong routes or not know their coverage or blocking assignments for example. Also going back to the coaching carousel features, a feature could be added similar to offseason free agency where you have to negotiate with staff members if you want to hire them from another team, if they are on the open market, or to renegotiate with your own staff members. It would implement the same motivations that players have where staff members would prefer to have a franchise QB for example, or a certain market size which limits who you can hire. This event can occur during the staff week point on the calendar after the super bowl.
Scouting Discrepancies, More Scouting Insights, and The return of the “Slow” Development Trait: Within the nature of the NFL during the scouting process, the belief of a “Sure Thing” in terms of a prospect simply doesn’t exist. Every Nfl team grades certain prospects differently during scouting, and I would recommend that a feature where the player grades of generated prospects should be different for every team user and CPU, as certain grades might be inaccurate and be higher or lower than what they truly are. This could be based on the abilities of the general manager which I recommended earlier, but also the national and area scouts should have an impact on this. More experienced and higher tier scouts are less likely to have inaccurate player grades while less experienced ones are more likely to have inaccurate player grades. Also, the addition of the “slow” development trait would ultimately make the draft process a lot more immersive and scarier. Also during the scouting process, a generated list of the players stats in college would be another way to improve the scouting experience.
Enhanced Training Camp: This is a very ambitious addition but I believe training camp should have it’s own designated weeks on the calendar instead of being limited to the home page of pre season week one. With this enhanced training camp, you would still be able to perform drills but I would recommend the return of the scrimmage feature that was present in previous Madden Iterations, where a multitude of scenarios would be playable. Not only would this be a fun and realistic way to earn XP for players, but also the addition of Injuries in training camp which is a huge part of the NFL could be a factor. For example, imagine if your highly drafted Day 1 or 2 pick tore his ACL in training camp, that would be heartbreaking but it’s a realistic feature. It could be a two week training camp to do scenarios and drills, and then another feature during the third week is a joint practice with another team where you scrimmage a game. Then after that, preseason week 1 would begin. Some players might not like this addition so it can be skippable but it would be a cool feature. The scenario feature would also be a great addition during the regular season, where you could for example practice Redzone scenarios which could give boosts to players inside the Redzone during the real game.
Expanded Upon Scenario System: I am a big fan of the scenario system present now, but I believe a further expansion of it would continue to tie back to player personalities, morale, and approval ratings of every facet of the team and media would further improve the experience. Every week after a game as a head coach or coordinator you should have to answer to the media about specific questions that could positively and negatively impact your team. Also adding scenarios where players may ask for an increased role in the offense or defense. Also, I think there should be a scenario system when negotiating with free agents, current players, and draft picks.
Other additions: The ideas listed above were some of the ones I really wanted to go in depth and explain while these ones will be more simplistic
*Players are able to request trades and engage in contract holdouts
*Updated Injured Reserve that is more up to date with current NFL criteria
*Compensation Picks being awarded for losing high overall players in free agency or coordinators being hired, similar to real life
*More meaningful CPU-CPU trades that could involve potential blockbuster trades
*Custom playbooks being available in the team scheme section when selecting playbooks
*(This is in general) Create a play: Being able to create your own offensive and defensive plays from scratch
*Weekly Power Rankings Tab
(Final thoughts and conclusion): These are my ideas of what should be implemented for madden 27 and beyond. Once again I understand that i’m not a developer and these things take time. Credit to everything that they do and I just wanted to brainstorm some ideas as a player. Thank you to anyone who took time to read even a few sentences of my essay and take care.
