Former Madden Developer Speaks Out Regarding Frustrations and Disappointments
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There are always the arguments about why a product, in this particular case Madden, may not live up to expectations. Generally those discussions take place between people who don’t have the necessary information to make a true determination regarding the various failures or misguided decisions that were made along the way. In more dramatic cases details may come from sources directly in the know speaking out and quite possibly against their own good within the industry and apparently when not under NDA. Some might consider such an act unfiltered honesty and standing up for consumers while others may perceive doing so as an unprofessional meltdown. Regardless it’s a perspective that the public rarely gets to hear.
So when a former developer openly comments on disgust with the process and people making decisions it is well worth contemplating what is being said and – beyond just the entertainment of it all – hoping that it leads to change for the better. AJ Dembroski, who worked on Madden NFL 12 and Madden NFL 13, was on a roll on Twitter yesterday doing just that.
Continue on for the entire flow of tweets relating to the subject presented without further commentary. Keep in mind however that it is just one side of the story and though likely carries truth there is surely a lot more that goes on behind the scenes that factor in to the work situation and final result. Make sure to then leave any thoughts in the comments!
I know everyone’s gonna want me to dish the dirt on EA. I ain’t about to do that. Good friends I left behind. I’m not going to shit on them.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
and honestly, EA treats their people well. They really do. The EA Wife letter… I dunno, I didn’t experience that. Good people there.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
But I AM glad to be rid of them. It wasn’t what I’d imagined. It wasn’t what I’d hoped.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
Sadly, any corporate involvement in a creative business is doomed to fail.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
Because creativity is stiffed by corporate culture. It’s sad that so many brilliant people at EA are held back by corporate structure.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
There are great… GREAT people at EA. I wanna call out John White and Patrick Bellanca in particular…
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
You’ll be hearing a lot from Pat, I think he’s going to be the media focus going forward for Madden… and deservedly so. He’s awesome.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
point is, if you’re following me for my connection to Madden, please unfollow, I’m done with Madden, and happy about it.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
like Phil Frazier and Ian Cummings, I found myself questioning my own fucking self-worth because of it.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
EA is held back by being a publicly traded company. that’ll never change.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
I’d go so far as to say J.R. is a good dude, but he doesn’t understand GAMES. He thinks of them as a collective of statistics.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
I think Metrics are the worst things to happen to gaming.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
Breaks everything down to numbers, without the benefit of reason.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
So a football game wants to reach feature parody with Call of Duty… without the realization that theyre different fuckin games.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
There were 4 designers on CCM… 3 of them competent. The incompetent one undid most of what we did and fucked it all up.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
Micah Brown is still there, still kicking ass, andappreciate that dude, because he’ll move on to something FAR better eventually.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
@matt_doza I’m glad to not be at EA. Very glad. The culture really sucked me dry. I found myself missing driving taxi, of all things.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
@rudyjuly2 I am not willing to get into specific things like that. Looman works hard. I don’t agree with many of his decisions.( continued
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
@rudyjuly2 … but he works hard for you guys. he does.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
I’ll be serious, I might be SERIOUSLY fucking myself over just saying what I have. I don’t want to screw whatever chance I have to…
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
.. remain in gaming… but I’m so frustrated right now, and YOU people get lied too so much, I kinda feel like I’ll find something on Karma.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
but seriously… don’t trust EA. Not because they’re bad. They do good by their people, really. But because they’re robotic.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
Paint by numbers. They see video games as a collection of features. They don’t understand the artistic aspect of it.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
And they NEVER fucking will. EVER! Nor will any corporate entity.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
I’m not going to sit here and dump on people who worked their asses off on CCM, no matter how much I dislike them. It’s not their fault.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
@maddenfreestyle NFL fans deserve better than what EA gives them. Simple as that.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012
Who’s awesome at EA? Patrick Bellanca, John White, Micah Brown. These are good people, please treat them well.
— AJ Dembroski (@adembroski) December 2, 2012