Bringing Cinematic Storytelling to Sports Gaming
Overview
In 2017, EA Sports set out to do something Madden had never attempted before: create a cinematic, character-driven playable movie inside one of the most successful sports franchises in the world.
The result was Longshot, a narrative experience following Devin Wade, a young quarterback fighting for a second chance at his football dreams. Inspired as much by television and film as traditional sports games, Longshot introduced millions of players to a new way of experiencing Madden.
As a writer and narrative designer, I helped shape the story, characters, dialogue and emotional arcs that brought the project to life.
The Challenge
Sports games traditionally focus on competition, mechanics and user performance. Longshot required us to build something entirely different: a story players would care about emotionally.
We needed to create believable characters, authentic relationships and dramatic stakes while remaining true to the culture of football and the expectations of one of gaming's largest audiences.
The PROCESS
My co-writer and I approached Longshot with the ambition of creating a TV-quality narrative experience within an interactive medium.
My work included character development, story structure, dialogue, scene writing, and collaboration across design, production, performance capture and cinematic teams.
Most sports-game narratives focus on taking a created player and winning the Super Bowl. With Longshot, we wanted to create a story where working towards being drafted in the 6th round felt as significant as winning the Super Bowl.
The Results
• Helped launch the first cinematic story mode in Madden NFL history.
• Contributed to a narrative experience played by millions of users worldwide.
• Helped expand expectations for storytelling within sports video games, leading to a sequel being greenlit (which I also co-wrote).
• Earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Video Game Writing.
• Demonstrated how character-driven storytelling could coexist with one of gaming's most established franchises.
• Contributed to a narrative experience played by millions of users worldwide.
• Helped expand expectations for storytelling within sports video games, leading to a sequel being greenlit (which I also co-wrote).
• Earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Video Game Writing.
• Demonstrated how character-driven storytelling could coexist with one of gaming's most established franchises.
What I Learned
Audiences want great stories, whether they're sitting in a theater, reading a novel, attending a live event or holding a controller. The fundamentals remain the same: compelling characters, meaningful choices, emotional stakes, and a reason to care about what happens next.