Hey all! Yuri Bialoskursky here with the follow up to D-Cas's blog about our two new modes for Madden 08 current-gen...or last-gen...or gen-2...or whatever the heck it's being called now. Anyways, since we've never met before, here's my story. I was born, went to school, briefly joined the working ranks of "normal" society and then saw the light (which strangely enough turned out to be coming from the flashlight that clocked me on the back of my head). The next day I found myself chained to a desk, wearing a QA Tester t-shirt with a PS2 controller in my hand and some guy shouting at me to mash the buttons faster. Eventually I escaped and became a producer.
So I'm sure that after reading about our new Skill Drills, you've all been wondering what this other new mode could possibly be. I present to you...Fantasy Challenge! No, this isn't a new mini-game about coming up with the best way to seduce Angelina Jolie...but if you're thinking more along the lines of a Franchise lite then you'd be on the right track. Our goal with Fantasy Challenge was to create a mode that's easily accessible, doesn't bog you down with countless screens of statistics and attributes, and can be completed in a relatively short amount of time.
Fantasy Challenge is also about bending the rules...which is admittedly the fun part and something we don't often do in Madden. The idea is to create your ultimate dream team and then take them through three competitive leagues, all the while protecting your current players and adding new superstars on the way to the fourth and final Supreme League. Leagues consist of eight teams in two different divisions, with each league becoming more difficult as you advance. Your goal is to advance through all four leagues and become the Fantasy Challenge Champion.
It sounds pretty basic in principle, but believe me, there's definitely more here than you might think. Below I'll break down the different aspects of the mode and how they relate to the overall experience.
Create Your Team
One of the key things we don't want you to have to worry about when playing this mode, is having to manage an entire 53 man roster. In order to do that, we've pared it down to a more manageable 29 essential players. With several different draft types, Fantasy Challenge by far has the most options available to you for creating a team of your favorite players.
The first draft type is the Mini-Draft.
The Mini-Draft is a 15 round...well, um...mini-draft! So at this point you might be asking yourself, how can a 29 player roster only have a 15 round draft? Well we've shortened the drafting process by allowing you to draft units of players from the same team like your Offensive Line, Defensive Line, Linebackers, Defensive Backs and Kicking squad.
The second draft type is the Dream Draft.
This is where we basically give you a roster point budget and let you loose. Pick players from any team to fill out your roster, but make sure you stay within your allotted budget. Finally, the last draft type simply allows you to choose your favorite team with their starting roster and jump right into the mode.
Protect Your Players
You'd think helmets and pads would be enough to protect your players once you put them out there, but not so in Fantasy Challenge. Once you've assembled your team, you'll be asked to protect three of your most valuable players. Protecting a player is basically like putting a franchise tag on them...they're yours and no one can negotiate them away from you.
The whole point of protecting players is to shield them from other teams who are able to come around and dig through your roster looking for players that aren't being paid what they deserve. Players who aren't protected can have negotiation offers made to them, at which point you'll need to decide if either matching the other team's offer or just letting that player go is the better choice.
Player Transactions
Naturally you'll have the opportunity to steal players away from other teams as well. In between games, you can attempt to negotiate unprotected players away by making them a better offer. You'll have to be careful what you offer them though because if your bid is too low, they'll decline and you won't be able to make another offer to that player until the next round.
Trades on the other hand can be made for both protected and unprotected players of the same position. You might however have to sweeten the pot by throwing in a few roster points in order for the other team to accept. Trades can also be used to recover roster points by trading away expensive players.
Player Progression
In Fantasy Challenge you have complete control over how your players progress. Not only that, but there's an element of strategy that you can apply as well. After any game that you win, you'll be awarded an amount of skill points which can be applied in any way to the players on your team. The important factor to note here is that a player's value will never increase regardless of how much you've improved them. This basically allows you to take lesser skilled player and improve them while only paying them at their original value. Of course these are exactly the types of players that other teams are looking for, so make sure you protect them!
Mini-Game Challenges
Another cool feature we have in Fantasy Challenge is that occasionally after a game, a rival team will propose a Mini-Game challenge in which both sides will risk something of value. If you win, you can acquire anything from a better player, to more roster points or even extra skill points to improve your players. Of course if you lose...well, you'll have to kiss whatever you risked good bye.
The Supreme League!
So this is it...the mysterious fourth league that you've been fighting to get to. What lies ahead is a collection of some of the most fearsome teams that you'll ever come across. In true Fantasy Challenge spirit, these teams break all the rules and never look back. Aside from each new Supreme League team having their own fantasy stadium, they also have special traits or abilities that are unique to that team. The best part is that once you beat a Supreme League team, you unlock both their stadium and team for use in any Play Now game! Here's a small preview of what to expect...
The Dummies
Tired of receiving continuous punishment on the practice field, this team of renegade dummies is playing for keeps! Designed for speed, these dummies are precise and efficient when playing opponents.
The Glaciers
The Glaciers are an arctic team who've perfected the art of stealth and incorporated it into their game. Keep an eye on their players...you never know when one might disappear right in front of you!
The Tridents
Hailing from the newly discovered continent of Atlantis, the Tridents are a giant, hard-hitting, warrior-like team. Their increased size allows them to deal punishing blows and break tackles easily.
The Deceivers
A team made up of scoundrels, cheats and rogues, the Deceivers will do anything they can to gain an advantage over their opponents, including influencing the refs.