Let me write Madden 22. The story has not been good for years. The organization is too focused on showing the ins and outs of the new game mechanics through story and less so on telling the actual story of a professional athlete. We have to start looking at the Madden story as an opportunity that interacts with the gameplay but is not guided by it. Here’s one example of what I mean:
What if the player starts at the YOUTH level and builds up from the playground to the middle school to exposing the reality of High School recruiting and then exposing the reality of College recruiting? After a college run in which our protagonist has a chance to switch positions, we are led into the updated combine and draft process and finally the player is packaged in an actual downloadable draft class.
What I am talking about is a process that alights the possibilities of the college game and also moves us into a pro career that can be played as a version of the franchise mode. This is all about possibilities and I think the game has been too limited and stagnant for way too long. It is time for Madden to step up and become something of actual value as opposed to something complained about to the point where the designers are forced to make changes. Believe me when I tell you that nobody wants to be forced to change. It puts a shadow over the whole thing. However, if this is all Madden is going to ever be then it comes down to accepting and living with that or moving on. Soon the fans will have somewhere else to go…